Opinions On My Intentions?

[KrystaK]

I have a 30 Gal (aprox 110L I think) Tank. It's 36x12x18....
I was planning on changing my substrate from fine gravel to white sand. I was also going to change my stock a little.
My current stock is:
6 Mollies
2 Platy's
4 Panda Cory's
1 Guppy (Soon to be 2 or 3)

I'm planning on rehome 3 of the Mollies, I'm also willing to rehome a few other of my stock if I must.

This is what I'm hoping to get:

-Two more Cory's. (Can I get Albino Cory's or something to mix it up or would it be better if I just got more Panda's?

- Either 6-10 Cardinal Tetra's
OR the same number of Danio's

- Either a Gourami (Two if theres room)&(Either a Honey Sunset or a Dwarf, as those are the only ones my local lfs sells)
OR a pair of Cichlids, probably Convicts...

-I was also thinking on getting some Ghost shrimp just to liven it up a bit, maybe 5 or so


I was wondering if anyone has any advice on what I should go with, weather my choices would be good together and if I'd be over stocked even with rehoming three Mollies and so on.

Thanks

 

[AshleyT]

Iv had gouramis an found that I couldn't keep two of any type together, mabe it was just bad look for me

 

[fee de mer]

do not use white sand, it looks great to start with (except the first few days it clouds your water) then it looks dirty and even when you clean it (which to keep your tank looking clean needs to be done every 3-5 days) it still never looks as good as when it was first put in. I have white sand and regret it.

 

[KrystaK]

So would black sand possibly be better?
I knew that Gourami pairs are very hit and miss, I'm more worried about my stocking levels, I don't want to be over crowded.

 

[fee de mer]

yeah black sand would look good

 

[Jay-93]

do not use white sand, it looks great to start with (except the first few days it clouds your water) then it looks dirty and even when you clean it (which to keep your tank looking clean needs to be done every 3-5 days) it still never looks as good as when it was first put in. I have white sand and regret it.

+1. Spent about £20 on brilliant white sand for my 4ft tank. Let's just say I'm looking for an alternative, haha

The only way I can actually properly clean it is to take it all out the tank and wash it in a bucket. Not worth the hassle.

 

[snazy]

Well it's better to see if the tank is dirty, isn't it, rather than living with the ilusion of a good looking but dirty tank.
If there is dirt staying on your white sand it is because you are overfeeding/overcrowding/lack of weekly water changes or your filtration is either not up to scratch or is not setup properly to make good circulation.
I have white sand too and it stays relatively clean if not very clean, considering I have a pleco that poops constantly.

 

[Ruskull]

Well it's better to see if the tank is dirty, isn't it, rather than living with the ilusion of a good looking but dirty tank.
If there is dirt staying on your white sand it is because you are overfeeding/overcrowding/lack of weekly water changes or your filtration is either not up to scratch or is not setup properly to make good circulation.
I have white sand too and it stays relatively clean if not very clean, considering I have a pleco that poops constantly.

I agree. I have very lite beige/white Quickrete Playsand in my 20 gallon for about 3 weeks now & I've only done a single 1/3 water change in that time. There's not much if anything building up on the bottom because the Corys loosen everything up so the filters can do their thing. I do have 2 filters hanging on the back but both are small and rated for 20 gallons each. The tank has 3 Honey Gouramis, 4 Guppies, 5 Corys, 5 Glowlight Tetras, 3 Molly fry and a huge Mystery Snail so it's a bit overstocked and still no serious buildup of fish poo.

 

[Tonyb111111]

Well it's better to see if the tank is dirty, isn't it, rather than living with the ilusion of a good looking but dirty tank.
If there is dirt staying on your white sand it is because you are overfeeding/overcrowding/lack of weekly water changes or your filtration is either not up to scratch or is not setup properly to make good circulation.
I have white sand too and it stays relatively clean if not very clean, considering I have a pleco that poops constantly.

Fully agree, it looks dirty which means it is dirty and needs cleaning. It doesn't get dirtier than black, just let's you see it needs cleaning

 

[Ruskull]

As far as re homing some of your fish that would be your own call of course. Not sure which ones you're most attached to.

I would try the Honey Gouramis. The Three Spot types are all somewhat aggressive & not suited to a peaceful community tank. I have a female & she's even a terror. Back when I had a Gold Gourami male, he used to chase practically ever other fish that came near him. The Dwarf varieties are very fragile from my experience & susceptible to Dwarf Gourami Disease. I would avoid those for that reason.

Convicts? Not unless you hate the rest of your fish.............let's just say they aren't team players. They even beat up on each other let alone delicious looking Cardinals.

Cardinals are a great choice and you have plenty of room for a nice shoal of 10 or so, assuming you're re homing 3 of your Mollys.

Increase the number of Corys to 6 also. Popular opinion says all 6 should be the same exact species but I know plenty of folks who have 2 or 3 of each type instead & they get along fine, especially if they're of similar size & the water parameters are similar. Albinos are the same as Bronze Corys, but I don't know water stats offhand. I believe the Bronze type grow a bit larger than Pandas too. I wanted to add a couple of Pandas to my 5 Threelined Corys but I think the Panda's water is supposed to be colder than the water of The ones I have. In other words, check into it before you buy. Just do an online search, the info is out there.

 

[Ruskull]

Just checked it out:

Pandas get up to 2 inches long & Bronze get to be 3 inches long. The Albinos are just a color mutation of the Bronze.

 

[onidrase]

convicts are a horrible choice for your tank. my two are a handful, both of them will able and willingly take on any fish twice their size. The convict in my 75 gallon spend 4 hours chasing around rainbowfish when he got into my tank. He finally leaves them alone since he realizes he can't catch them. He also instantly lip locked with my jack dempsey which is quite literally over twice his size. And he picked the fight.

My female was isolated for months because of her aggression, she was even attacking the catfish and pleco. As of right now she's behaving in my 37 gallon, but I'm not expecting it to last.

You could do something more peaceful, though. Festivums might be a good choice, as would keyhole cichlids, bolivian rams, or apistogrammas.

 

[Ruskull]

convicts are a horrible choice for your tank. my two are a handful, both of them will able and willingly take on any fish twice their size. The convict in my 75 gallon spend 4 hours chasing around rainbowfish when he got into my tank. He finally leaves them alone since he realizes he can't catch them. He also instantly lip locked with my jack dempsey which is quite literally over twice his size. And he picked the fight.

My female was isolated for months because of her aggression, she was even attacking the catfish and pleco. As of right now she's behaving in my 37 gallon, but I'm not expecting it to last.

You could do something more peaceful, though. Festivums might be a good choice, as would keyhole cichlids, bolivian rams, or apistogrammas.

The Petsmart near me getting in some German Rams...............now if only I could get another tank setup.......

 

[Man of fish]

Exactly what I was going to say saves me the typing

As far as re homing some of your fish that would be your own call of course. Not sure which ones you're most attached to.

I would try the Honey Gouramis. The Three Spot types are all somewhat aggressive & not suited to a peaceful community tank. I have a female & she's even a terror. Back when I had a Gold Gourami male, he used to chase practically ever other fish that came near him. The Dwarf varieties are very fragile from my experience & susceptible to Dwarf Gourami Disease. I would avoid those for that reason.

Convicts? Not unless you hate the rest of your fish.............let's just say they aren't team players. They even beat up on each other let alone delicious looking Cardinals.

Cardinals are a great choice and you have plenty of room for a nice shoal of 10 or so, assuming you're re homing 3 of your Mollys.

Increase the number of Corys to 6 also. Popular opinion says all 6 should be the same exact species but I know plenty of folks who have 2 or 3 of each type instead & they get along fine, especially if they're of similar size & the water parameters are similar. Albinos are the same as Bronze Corys, but I don't know water stats offhand. I believe the Bronze type grow a bit larger than Pandas too. I wanted to add a couple of Pandas to my 5 Threelined Corys but I think the Panda's water is supposed to be colder than the water of The ones I have. In other words, check into it before you buy. Just do an online search, the info is out there.

 

[Ruskull]

Exactly what I was going to say saves me the typing

As far as re homing some of your fish that would be your own call of course. Not sure which ones you're most attached to.

I would try the Honey Gouramis. The Three Spot types are all somewhat aggressive & not suited to a peaceful community tank. I have a female & she's even a terror. Back when I had a Gold Gourami male, he used to chase practically ever other fish that came near him. The Dwarf varieties are very fragile from my experience & susceptible to Dwarf Gourami Disease. I would avoid those for that reason.

Convicts? Not unless you hate the rest of your fish.............let's just say they aren't team players. They even beat up on each other let alone delicious looking Cardinals.

Cardinals are a great choice and you have plenty of room for a nice shoal of 10 or so, assuming you're re homing 3 of your Mollys.

Increase the number of Corys to 6 also. Popular opinion says all 6 should be the same exact species but I know plenty of folks who have 2 or 3 of each type instead & they get along fine, especially if they're of similar size & the water parameters are similar. Albinos are the same as Bronze Corys, but I don't know water stats offhand. I believe the Bronze type grow a bit larger than Pandas too. I wanted to add a couple of Pandas to my 5 Threelined Corys but I think the Panda's water is supposed to be colder than the water of The ones I have. In other words, check into it before you buy. Just do an online search, the info is out there.

Wide minds think alike.