30g Tank Stocking

[Kyle E.]

Hello!
I have a 30g currently stocked with an Amazon Sword plant, 1 male guppy, 3 female guppies, 5 veiltail cherry barbs, and one dwarf gourami. This stocking calculator says that my tank is 55% stocked.

Is this accurate?

I want to get a shrimp or 2 and I also want another bigger fish like the gourami, but I know I need to be careful with the guppies, especially since they are not full grown.

Does anyone have any advice on a peaceful bigger fish that would still fit in my 30g?

I would love a 4.5 incher or something but I don't know enough to be confident that they would be compatible with my smaller fish. The gourami gets along fine most of the time but if one of the smaller guppies gets too close he will lunge at them.

Is this normal and do I need to be worried?

Thank You!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Hi, Kyle. Always nice to have another westerner on the forum.

I use aqadvisor a lot to plan new tanks. It is VERY conservative in its estimates of stocking, which is a good thing for beginners. I usually end up with more than 100% in an established, planted tank.

I don't know of too many bigger fish that would do well in a 30G. You could try pearl gouramis, but I'm not sure how they'd get along with the dwarf gourami. If you do get some, be sure to get one male and two females to prevent breeding aggression. They can get up to 4 inches, but they won't get that big in a 30g. Snakeskin gouramis can get quite big, too, and might be OK in a 30g; you'd have to research that. Amano shrimp are bigger shrimp, and you could get quite a lot of them in a 30g.

If it were me, I would get a bunch more cherry barbs (they are happier and look amazing in big schools), a bunch of amano shrimp, and some bottom feeders like cories or anchor catfish. Oh, and don't forget to leave room for the bazillion baby guppies that will be along shortly.

 

[Kyle E.]

It is good to hear that Aqadvisor is a good tool to use!

I have been doing some research and swordtails interest me. I have seen that they grow to 4-5 inches and are peaceful. Is the 4-5 inches including the long tail? If it is then they are not as big as I think!

It would be cool to have a bunch of cherry barbs, I will think on that. I would like cories but I have a gravel bottom. I have heard they need sand. Is that true?

I would love more guppies but I think they would all get eaten or sucked into the filter as I don't have the equipment to move them into another tank and raise them. I think I might just have to let them go and see what happens.

 

[HoldenOn]

It is good to hear that Aqadvisor is a good tool to use!

I have been doing some research and swordtails interest me. I have seen that they grow to 4-5 inches and are peaceful. Is the 4-5 inches including the long tail? If it is then they are not as big as I think!

It would be cool to have a bunch of cherry barbs, I will think on that. I would like cories but I have a gravel bottom. I have heard they need sand. Is that true?

I would love more guppies but I think they would all get eaten or sucked into the filter as I don't have the equipment to move them into another tank and raise them. I think I might just have to let them go and see what happens.

Ye they need sand (corydoras), also some of your fish don't like the same water. Do you know your general hardness?

 

[Kyle E.]

I don't know my hardness but they all seem to be fine.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I don't know my hardness but they all seem to be fine.

They probably are. But hardness will influence what species we recommend for you, because some fish like hard water, some like soft, and some are OK either way.