Completely new.. what fish do I get?

[Newtoallofthis]

I've just got my 30 gallon tank, it's not cycled yet but looking to see what fish I should get (meaning I can research them
Before buying when the tank is ready).

I've heard of so many different types of fish the only ones I'm 100% set on getting are Cory cats and I'm stuck on deciding the others as there are so many! I love angel fish and Bettas but I don't know much about them and if they would even go well together or be able to live in a 30 gallon! Would love as many different fish as possible but that are easy for beginners!

Can someone please give me a group of fish that would live well together?? And how many of each for my 30 gallon??

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi there

We need to know the dimensions of the tank and the hardness of your water before we can recommend species for you.

 

[Essjay]

The hardness of your tap water should be somewhere on your water company's website. We need both the number and the unit as they could use any of half a dozen different units.
If you can't find it, post the name of the company and we'll see if we can find it.

 

[Newtoallofthis]

Sorry for the delay, not 100% sure on the tank dimensions but will have a look when am home from work and water hardness is 333mg/l and classes as very hard (can I make this softer?)

 

[Newtoallofthis]

HARD WATER
The area supplied by Affinity Water has 'hard' water. The hardness occurs naturally and is characterised by the presence of high levels of calcium and magnesium, which are good for healthy teeth and bones.
CALCIUM 133 mg/l
Calcium is the principal constituent of hardness.
TOTAL HARDNESS 333 mg/l
Total hardness is usually expressed in terms of calcium carbonate and is measured in milligrammes per litre (mg/l) which is the same as parts per million (ppm). The recognised classification scheme we are using is: 0-75 soft, 76-150 moderately hard, 151-300 hard, 300+ very hard. Your water is very hard.
Degrees English (or Clarke) 23
This hardness measurement is used on some British appliances.
Degrees German 19
This is used on some German appliances.
Degrees French 33
This is used on some French appliances.
MILLIMOLS 3.3 mmol/l
Millimols per litre. Some appliances refer to water hardness in millimols per litre (mmol/l).
FLUORIDE 0.1025 mg/l
Fluoride naturally occurs in the water in many areas. Affinity Water does not add any fluoride to your water. Fluoride is measured in milligrammes per litre (mg/l).

this Is the info from my water company

 

[Newtoallofthis]

found the dimensions online 80cm length 30cm width 50th height

 

[Essjay]

The way to soften your water would be to mix it with reverse osmosis water (RO for short). This is made by forcing water through a membrane so that all the dissolved minerals are removed. It can be bought from some fish shops, or you can buy equipment to make it yourself. It does waste a lot of water so if you are on a water meter it could be expensive.
You would need to buy a hardness testing kit and work out how much RO would give the hardness you want, then use that exact ratio of tap:RO at every water change. And it would be safest to have some RO on hand at all times in case an emergency water change was ever needed.


Or keep fish that like hard water. Unfortunately, cories, angelfish and bettas like soft water (and to answer the question in your first post, bettas and angels should not be kept together, bettas should ideally be kept on their own)
And the tank is not really big enough for angels either.

 

[Newtoallofthis]

The way to soften your water would be to mix it with reverse osmosis water (RO for short). This is made by forcing water through a membrane so that all the dissolved minerals are removed. It can be bought from some fish shops, or you can buy equipment to make it yourself. It does waste a lot of water so if you are on a water meter it could be expensive.
You would need to buy a hardness testing kit and work out how much RO would give the hardness you want, then use that exact ratio of tap:RO at every water change. And it would be safest to have some RO on hand at all times in case an emergency water change was ever needed.


Or keep fish that like hard water. Unfortunately, cories, angelfish and bettas like soft water (and to answer the question in your first post, bettas and angels should not be kept together, bettas should ideally be kept on their own)
And the tank is not really big enough for angels either.

thank you, will look into making my water softer! alternatively I will look at other fish

 

[Essjay]

The best place to look up fish is Seriously Fish. Some of their fish profiles use German degrees - also called degrees or dH - and some use ppm which is the same as 'total hardness' in your table.
From your water company's data, the two you need to use are
German dgrees/dH 19
ppm 333

 

[HazMatt]

I've never really looked into them but, I think African cichlids like hard water. I do know there are many strikingly beautiful fish in that category. There should be some that will do well in a 30 gallon tank. It's just an idea of where you might start looking.

 

[Essjay]

It's Rift Lake cichlids that need very hard water - fish from Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika are the ones sold in shops, though the two should not be mixed. Cichlids from other parts of Africa may need softer water (eg kribs). Take a look in the African/Old World cichlids section.

 

[Newtoallofthis]

It's Rift Lake cichlids that need very hard water - fish from Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika are the ones sold in shops, though the two should not be mixed. Cichlids from other parts of Africa may need softer water (eg kribs). Take a look in the African/Old World cichlids section.

so I've spent the day trawling the internet to find fish that would suit my tank/water and also get along!

I think from what I've found these would suit my tank:

short finned black molly
Platy
blue or lemon tetra (can you mix them?)
stripped pleco
Rainbow fish

(all of these are compatible with each other or so the charts say- weather they would all go in a 30gallon I don't know)

Have I got this all wrong or does this sound right, any advice welcome and although I would like as many as possible I don't mind getting just 2 or 3 species!

 

[Essjay]

If this is what you mean by lemon tetra http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/hyphessobrycon-pulchripinnis/ I'm afraid you water is too hard. The maximum hardness for these fish is 215 ppm and your tap water is 333 ppm.
I don't know exactly what you mean by blue tetra?
And what species is the striped pleco? There are hundreds of plecs and more than one striped plec.

But livebearers such as mollies, platies, guppies and swordtails are suitable. The only problem you would have with them is that they breed like rabbits. So either only males or only females, but as females can store sperm you would still have fry every month for several months till they had used up all the stored sperm.
Most rainbowfish also like hard water, but most also need a tank longer than 80 cm.
Celebes rainbowfish fit your hardness and tank size as would slender rainbows http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/melanotaenia-gracilis/ . But you would need to search all your local shops to find some. Dwarf rainbowfish http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/melanotaenia-praecox/ are easily available and would fit but don't like water quite as hard as yours.

For small fish there is the forktail blue-eye http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/pseudomugil-furcatus/ and emerald rasboras /http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/celestichthys-erythromicron/
Possibly X-ray tetras http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/pristella-maxillaris

Those members who have very hard water will be able to suggest other species suitable for an 80 cm (31 inch) long tank.

 

[Newtoallofthis]

If this is what you mean by lemon tetra http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/hyphessobrycon-pulchripinnis/ I'm afraid you water is too hard. The maximum hardness for these fish is 215 ppm and your tap water is 333 ppm.
I don't know exactly what you mean by blue tetra?
And what species is the striped pleco? There are hundreds of plecs and more than one striped plec.

But livebearers such as mollies, platies, guppies and swordtails are suitable. The only problem you would have with them is that they breed like rabbits. So either only males or only females, but as females can store sperm you would still have fry every month for several months till they had used up all the stored sperm.
Most rainbowfish also like hard water, but most also need a tank longer than 80 cm.
Celebes rainbowfish fit your hardness and tank size as would slender rainbows http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/melanotaenia-gracilis/ . But you would need to search all your local shops to find some. Dwarf rainbowfish http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/melanotaenia-praecox/ are easily available and would fit but don't like water quite as hard as yours.

For small fish there is the forktail blue-eye http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/pseudomugil-furcatus/ and emerald rasboras /http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/celestichthys-erythromicron/
Possibly X-ray tetras http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/pristella-maxillaris

Those members who have very hard water will be able to suggest other species suitable for an 80 cm (31 inch) long tank.

My mistake, I've looked at so many fish I'm losing count! These are the blue tetras http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/mimagoniates-microlepis/ will most likely have to search far and wide for them though!

Don't worry about the pleco, the one that was suitable for the water wouldn't suit my tank size. I will look at the others you suggested! thank you so much for the advice and help! I'm going to see if I can find a thread with people who have hard water tanks!

 

[Essjay]

I'd not come across those blue tetras before. I'll have to remember them for anyone else asks about hard water fish