30 Gallon Stocking Suggestions?

[thezodiac]

Hi unfortunately the cichlids you have picked out are all whats known as Rift Lake cichlids - they come from Africa and require quite specific tanks because they are pretty aggressive with each other and other fish they are not a community fish and will most likely kill your exisiting fish. The Jewel is not a rift lake but is very very aggressive - I would avoid at all costs. You need to keep an eye out for Dwarf American Cichlids - like Rams and Apistogrammas among others.

The Tetras you have picked out are quite similar but are nice tetras - they can be quite nippy but if you keep a big enough school of them (say about 12 or 15) you should be okay.

The Dwarf Gourami could work in your tank - though they can be problematic with Angelfish as they inhabit the same region of the tank.

The Panda Cories are a great fish though For me out of all the fish you listed I would add more platies and a group of these Panda Cories. And keep your eyes peeled for anything else you like

Wills

thanks for the feedback. how many panda cory should i prob get? and ive kept a dwarf gourami in this tank before and it had no problems with my angel.

im thinking ill start with some of those, about a week or so later add in prob 6 of 1 type of tetra a week later 6 of the other type.

another fish they carry is a blue ram. although ive heard they are very sensitive to water condition.

 

[Mybbygotsauz]

Blue rams are actually very hardy with water conditions, they require clean water and most people say they require a very needy PH, however they are actually hardy towards there PH conditions, they are extremely beautiful fish and most honestly the best choice for your current set up in my opinion, also various Apistogramma cichlids are awesome, such as the triple and double reds.
Hope this helps, good luck

 

[thezodiac]

so im thinking my stocking plan is: (fully stocked mind you)

1 Angel fish
3 fire platy
2 blue platy
2 bristlenose pleco
5 black phantom tetra
5 black skirt tetra
6 panda cory
1/2 blue ram + dwarf flame gourami ?

does this sound alright? (would it be over/under/correctly stocked? ) and compatibility wise

 

[ZoddyZod]

so im thinking my stocking plan is: (fully stocked mind you)

1 Angel fish
3 fire platy
2 blue platy
2 bristlenose pleco
5 black phantom tetra
5 black skirt tetra
6 panda cory
1/2 blue ram + dwarf flame gourami ?

does this sound alright? (would it be over/under/correctly stocked? ) and compatibility wise

sounds fine, but I'd be inclined to go with 10 of 1 tetra, they will be happier and will exhibit more natural behaviour.....will also look better aesthetically IMO

Make sure you have some bogwood in there for the bristlenose, they love to graze on it. Also ensure there are some caves as they like to hide away when they want to.

 

[thezodiac]

so im thinking my stocking plan is: (fully stocked mind you)

1 Angel fish
3 fire platy
2 blue platy
2 bristlenose pleco
5 black phantom tetra
5 black skirt tetra
6 panda cory
1/2 blue ram + dwarf flame gourami ?

does this sound alright? (would it be over/under/correctly stocked? ) and compatibility wise

sounds fine, but I'd be inclined to go with 10 of 1 tetra, they will be happier and will exhibit more natural behaviour.....will also look better aesthetically IMO

Make sure you have some bogwood in there for the bristlenose, they love to graze on it. Also ensure there are some caves as they like to hide away when they want to.

i have driftwood in the tank currently, as well as an actual cave. (and natural + fake plants for cover)

 

[Wills]

Blue rams are actually very hardy with water conditions, they require clean water and most people say they require a very needy PH, however they are actually hardy towards there PH conditions, they are extremely beautiful fish and most honestly the best choice for your current set up in my opinion.

Sorry but this is not true, Blue Rams are quite a hard fish to keep - though there are a few strong strains. The main problem with them is that after quite a few months they stop eating and die this is because they need high temperatures and low ph which aides with their digestion and metabolism - hard water and medium temperatures slows all of this down and as the fish grows it causes problems. But like I say there are a few strong batches and many many less than the weak batches which are either broods that have been bred in local water or broods that are many many times away from wild fish but these are often weak for other reasons but it is impossible to tell which these are so I would always recommend Bolivian Rams over Blue Rams which can thrive in most tap waters with no altering and I would be careful about suggesting Blue Rams to everyone.


To thezodiac - your plans sound good but I agree with Zod about just having one school of 10 this will prevent them being nippy with other fish - I think Widows are the better behaved tetra as well.

Wills

 

[thezodiac]

I'm not sure what a widow is? Some variation of tetra?

 

[ZoddyZod]

I'm not sure what a widow is? Some variation of tetra?

widow and skirt are two names used to describe the same tetra.

 

[thezodiac]

okay so ive decided im moving my angelfish to another tank because its far too aggressive if i add any fish into the tank.
so what should i put in to replace it ?
current plan

currently have:
3 fire platy
2 blue platy
2 bristlenose pleco
1 flame dwarf gourami

planning on buying:
10 black skirt tetra
6 panda cory
1/2 blue ram
(looking for ideas )

also just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has helped so far, its been really helpful

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Are Rams and Angels compatible with platys? I'm not judging the stocking, I just really dont know the answer. They just seem like they wouldnt be. I was under the impression that angels can be to aggressive and that cichlids are primarily compatible with other cichlids (without mixing new world and african cichlids)

 

[thezodiac]

I had to remove the angel fish because it was being too aggressive. I've had rams and one was aggressive (protective) for a day or so then relaxed.

 

[Louiseness]

Are Rams and Angels compatible with platys? I'm not judging the stocking, I just really dont know the answer. They just seem like they wouldnt be. I was under the impression that angels can be to aggressive and that cichlids are primarily compatible with other cichlids (without mixing new world and african cichlids)

In my experience platies are pretty much compatible with anything personality-wise. Unless of course you have an angel or ram who's a particularly bad bully but that's down to the individual fish really.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

The Angelfish is going to need a tank with at least 18" of actual water (excluding sand/gravel), the tank discribed in the first post was almost certainly not deep enough. What size tank has it been moved to? Being a cichlid, adding new fish without reshuffling the tank's furniture immediately beforehand is likely to spark aggression from cichlidds, they will see the new fish as invaders of their territory.

If you want some Corydoras, Pandas are not a good choice for your existing fish, they are one of the cooler water appreciating species (almost to the extent of Peppered) and should be kept at 20C or lower for most of the year. A suitable species is going to depend upon if you choose to add Ram Cichlids.

Blue Rams are infamously fragile fish and need warm water in the 27/28C ballpark, which I suspect is going to be rather stressful for your Platies. Bolivian Rams are far more hardy and need a tank temp more in the 24/25C ballpark, which would work well with Corydoras sterbai, for example.

While your existing platies may just about cope with Bolivian Ram temperature requirements, being kept at the extreme end of their needs all year round is far from ideal. Like many Central American livebearers, these are temperate water fish and as such they will do much better at temperatures close to 20C for most of the year. In this respect, they would work well alongside Panda Corydoras.

Given what is already in the tank (5 Platies, 1 Dwarf Gourami, 2 BN Catfish), I would personally choose a group of 8-10 Black Widow Tetra (more ought to help reduce nipping of tenkmates) and leave it that for now.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Are Rams and Angels compatible with platys? I'm not judging the stocking, I just really dont know the answer. They just seem like they wouldnt be. I was under the impression that angels can be to aggressive and that cichlids are primarily compatible with other cichlids (without mixing new world and african cichlids)

In my experience platies are pretty much compatible with anything personality-wise. Unless of course you have an angel or ram who's a particularly bad bully but that's down to the individual fish really.

That's good to know I have a tank of platys and swords. I wouldn't house my swords with other fish, cause I have see them be aggressive a few times. They went after my cories the first couple of hours. But my platys are very chill

 

[thezodiac]

Given what is already in the tank (5 Platies, 1 Dwarf Gourami, 2 BN Catfish), I would personally choose a group of 8-10 Black Widow Tetra (more ought to help reduce nipping of tenkmates) and leave it that for now.

is it me or wouldn't this be a bit understockeD? (especially since i have an overpowered filter)