30 gallon tank ideas

[Pizzashark94]

Good evening/afternoon!

I hope everyone is staying safe!

I was just looking for some advice I have recently started to cycle through a new 30 gallon tank (19.5x19.5x19.5in). When I was younger I used to have a tank with an angelfish and I’m looking to add an angel to this same tank.

I would love some suggestions about other fish I may be able to keep with the angel? I am a big fan of Rummy nose, and would love a school of about 15 or so? I had this idea for the tank ideally:

1x Angelfish
12-15x Rummy Nose
1 or 2x German Blue Ram
6-8 Corydoras
6-8 Kuhli Loaches

Would this work? Is it a little overcrowded or is it an okay setup?

Thank you!

 

[Byron]

Welcxome to TFF.

First question, we like to know the parameters (GH and pH) of your source (tap) water. Yoou may be able to get this from your water authority, check their website.

Angelfish is a shoaling species which means it lives in groups and to be at its best it requires a small group. The 30g tank with those dimensions willnot support a group, and even one is not advisable.

The German Blue Ram (and any of its other varieties,l species is Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) is a species that must have warmth above most other "tropical" species. Minimum is 80F/27C but a couple degrees higher will not hurt. The Rummynose (Hemigrammus beleherae) can manage with this, but not Corydoras species.

The Rummynose has another issue though,it needs a longer tank because it is a swimmer. A 3-foot is the shortest length tank I would advise.

Cories and loaches should not be combined anyway, and the kuhli could manage with this temperature. Keep in mind though that the kuhli is primarily nocturnal and you may not see much of them during the day (when the tank light is on). They like to burrow in the sand, or hide in chunks of wood which must be provided. BTW, the choice of substrate must keep in mind the sometimes specific needs of certain fish.

If you decide to go with the Blue Rams, you will need to acquire a bonded pair; they will not accept any mate, and two males in this small a space will soon mean one male.

There are species well suited to cube-shape tanks, once we know the GH (especially) and if the rams are still on.

 

[Retired Viking]

Welcome to the forumI agree with @Byron. I had a mated pair of angelfish in my 55 gallon tank. That is the only other way you should keep angelfish. One grew to 6 inches the other to almost 5 inches (just body) I would not have them in anything smaller that a 50-55 gallon when they grow up. Knowing the hardness of your water would help us help you to pick the right fish for your water. I keep both soft and hard water fish in their own tanks using RO water to soften the hard water.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

I agree with Byron.

Your cube tank(less than 2 ft long) is quite limited for most fish that you mentioned.
They need longer tank.

A 20 gallon long (30" long) or 30 gallon breeder(36" long) will be better than your current tank.

Anyway, you can still go for some smaller species fish after you have confirmed your water GH, KH, pH.

 

[Pizzashark94]

Hi!

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I have taken a dip test this morning and I am getting the following readings:

GH - 8
KH - 6
PH - 6.4

I hope this helps?

Thank you

 

[Byron]

Hi!

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I have taken a dip test this morning and I am getting the following readings:

GH - 8
KH - 6
PH - 6.4

I hope this helps?

Thank you

Presumably the GH and KH numbers are in degrees. Most of our tests seem to use numbers in degrees. The other commonly-used unit is ppm (= mg/l) and 8 dGH would equal 143 ppm. This is moderately soft water, so you have some nice options for this cube tank. All will be fish that are not active swimmers, more cruisers. And you will want to ensure every level from surface to substrate has a species so the tank will not appear empty or "lop-sided."

Fish to consider (you can look these up on Seriously Fish for data and photos):

Nannostomus eques, a pencilfish that swims at an oblique angle and remains very near or at the surface. Must have some floating plants.
Hyphessobrycon amandae, Ember Tetra
Boraras brigittae or one of the other Boraras species, dwarf rasboras.
Trigonostigma hengeli, a "harlequin" type small rasbora.
Danio choprae, Glowlight Danio
Corydoras pygmaeus or Corydoras habrosus, two "dwarf" cory species; must have soft sand substrate.
There are some small to very small gourami species too.

Not all of the above together, due to space, and for the present I have primarily been thinking of suitable fish with respect to their size and manageability in this tank. They do all get along. All of these species are shoaling fish, so a group is necessary, and as they are primarily quite small, more is always better for them. I would suggest somewhere in the 8-9 up to 12 range, depending upon which species. You could have three, four, five, even six of these species. I could probably think of others givben time, and other members will certainly have ideas.

 

[Pizzashark94]

These are in degrees, my mistake.

I have kept Gouramis in the past (never managed to breed them so that could make for an interesting project).

If I was to raise the temperature of the tank would it be possible to keep Bolivian or German Blue rams? I know their needs are a little different.

I do have another tank upstairs with Harlequin and Ember tetras so I’d probably be looking to stay clear of them (nice to have variety).

 

[Byron]

These are in degrees, my mistake.

I have kept Gouramis in the past (never managed to breed them so that could make for an interesting project).

If I was to raise the temperature of the tank would it be possible to keep Bolivian or German Blue rams? I know their needs are a little different.

I do have another tank upstairs with Harlequin and Ember tetras so I’d probably be looking to stay clear of them (nice to have variety).

The blue ram needs the higher temperature, the Bolivian is OK in the 77F/25C range. But space is now the issue here.

I would want a larger tank (meaning, longer) for a Bolivian Ram. I would not put this fish (singly or a bonded pair) in anything under 30 inches (75 cm) by 12 inches (30 cm) footprint. They are not active, but they do like a suitable area for their territory which will always be the tank whatever size. I had a male in a 5-foot tank for over 11 years, and every other fish in the tank knew the space belonged to the Ram.

The Blue Ram really needs more area too, though not quite as much; a 24-inch/60 cm length tank could work for a solitary ram or a bonded pair.

 

[Pizzashark94]

That could be problematic in that case. It looks like it could be a gourami situation which is great.

Do you have any suggestions for any other Rasbora or an alternative to the Embers?

What sort of size tank would you suggest for a BN? I’ve kept a pair in a tank before and they did breed.

 

[Byron]

That could be problematic in that case. It looks like it could be a gourami situation which is great.

Do you have any suggestions for any other Rasbora or an alternative to the Embers?

What sort of size tank would you suggest for a BN? I’ve kept a pair in a tank before and they did breed.

The BN would have no problems here. I would not go any smaller for the tank though, but the cube of 30g is fine. Obviously need some wood, you likely know that.

Gourami will need to be the small sized species, given the cube which limits the male's territory size. The pygmy sparkling (Trichopsis pumila), maybe T. vittata, Trichogaster chuna (Honey), Parosphromenus deissneri (Licorice), Parasphaerichthys ocellatus.

Most tetras are largish by comparison. Pencilfish have some options in addition to the N. eques, the N. marginatus or N. mortenthaleri, or N. diagramus.

 

[Pizzashark94]

Of course, there’s a piece of driftwood in the tank for him.

I was leaning more towards a Honey Gourami, would you find they bring in that size tank?

Tetras are a definite no go in a cube tank then? I’ll look into pencil fish the next time I’m in my local store.

Any other suggestions are more than welcome!

 

[Byron]

I was leaning more towards a Honey Gourami, would you find they bring in that size tank?

Tetras are a definite no go in a cube tank then? I’ll look into pencil fish the next time I’m in my local store.

The Honey is as large a gourami as I would consider suited to this tank. A trio (1 male, 2 female) perhaps.

Most tetras are larger. One possible is Paracheirodon simulans. Maybe even P. axelrodi. With cooler temperatures even P. innesi now I think of it. None of these are active swimmers, and there is the height here.