Ready To Get Fish

[CKutz]

hi,
I am home now for easter and ready to put some fish in the 30 gallon (36"x12"x16") i recently picked up (recently as in sunday)...

...hehe juusstt kiddinggg it has been set up..oh maybe around 7 or 8 weeks. i did a fish in cycle with feeder fish (sorry, didn't really want to go through explaining a fishless cycle to my little brother, and thought having something in the tank would keep him interested). i'm going to be training him over the summer so he can manage it while i am at school.

I'm trying to get fish that we both like, so as to keep him interested. he doesn't understand many of the limitations of a tank and fish..but i want to try and get some that he likes (most were like bala sharks, silver tip sharks, some synodontis catfish)

we're interested in:

Kribensis - i have been thinking 2, 1 m 1 f, they are happier in a couple like this right? also like GBR but since they are pretty touchy about water, i thought we'd pass on them. we both like the kribensis.
5 loaches - these are my favorite..passing on cory's to get these instead i think. chain are $10 at lfs..so maybe zebra or yoyo..kubotai get kinda too big right? but they are my favorite.
1 gourami - wanted angels, but found out tank is too short. and the leopoldi or w/e species is $25 so i think we'll pass. i don't know what gourami we'll get, pearl, opaline, blue, depends what lfs has in and prices.
6 tetra/something to school - rummynose seem to be a favorite by my brother, i think cardinals are kinda too common, i have harlequin rasbora already in a 10 gal. any other suggestions?
3-4 glass catfish - my brother really wants these..i think they may be pretty demanding for us, but everytime i mention what fish we want he brings up these..and after telling him no about 20 other insensible fish, i'd like to say yes to something.
1 swordtail - i'm not really a livebearer fan, but my brother thinks these are really cool, i figured 1 swordtail in a 30 gal. isn't a big deal, why not.

i'm not planning on adding these all at once. we're going tomorrow (PLEASE REPLY FAST!!) to the store to possibly pick a few up. i'm sure the biofilter that grew from the feeders isn't enough for half of them yet..but since it reproduces quickly thought it could handle part of the stocking now, part next week when the lfs has a huge sale.

please give any comments/suggestions/conflicts with stocking, because we're going to the store tomorrow.

tank has a bunch of rocks, no plants (don't think my brother will keep up on pruning..not yet anyways, i'd love some eventually) except a few fake ones, i'm going to get more at that big sale next weekend. it's got a really big airstone/pump, and the filter is a whisper 40 i think...between the bubble bar and the filter it seems there is a lot of moving water. i think the filtration is plenty.

(if this would be better in a different section please move)

 

[fatheadminnow]

This is a perfect section for this thread!

The one concern I have is about the tetras. Especially if you want to get Neon Tetras, just because Neon Tetras need a well established tank to go into, a tank that has been running for 6+ months. Neon Tetras, are very vulnerable fish to any fluctuations in the water parameters.

So if you want a shoaling fish, I would suggest to get Endlers.

Other than that, I would not get more the 2 Kribs.

There will be other members that will come on here hopefully soon that can help you out more than me, as I am not too familiar with the compatibilities of fish stocking yet.

-FHM

 

[fifefish]

a nice shoal of zebra and yoyo loaches would be nice though you might get some territorial behavior at first

 

[CKutz]

fathead, you're also in college right? i think i "heard" you say that somewhere before...i've seen you on here a lot late at night ahh the college life haha

i'm not really interested in neons or endlers. thanks though! mostly rummynose (girlfriend also likes them a lot) and any other possibilities...i just like fish that shoal tightly and add color. i think it looks so nice.

with the krib..would it be really bad to add them first? i called the lfs a few days ago and they had two in (not sure if m/f) so i thought we could pick them up..but being cichilids they are probably going to be the most territorial.
if not them, i'll probably get the gourami, and the schoolers...i want to get the cheap ones now, since next week they will most likely be 25% off, and the kribs are $3 i think.

thanks for the input!

 

[fatheadminnow]

Yup, I am in college, ahh the college life...lol. What about you?

Anyways, You should not have a problem on which you add first, so if you want to add the Kribs first, I would say it would be okay. And they are territorial fish, so it would probably be a good idea to add them first, to get them familiar and comfortable with the tank before the other fish arrive.

EDIT: I see that you are going for Mechanical Engineering, what a coincidence...so am I!

I am currently at UW Stout. In Wisconsin.

-FHM

 

[CKutz]

whoa! that's crazy! haha, now i really understand why you're on late

fifefish; that would be awesome! do you know if loaches ..interschool? haha. like if one species will school with another..i had kubotai before (when i didn't know better) and just going by their personality and how they interacted with my chinese algae eater, i would think loaches in general would be very buddy buddy with anybody, especially someone resembling themselves.

 

[fifefish]

whoa! that's crazy! haha, now i really understand why you're on late

fifefish; that would be awesome! do you know if loaches ..interschool? haha. like if one species will school with another..i had kubotai before (when i didn't know better) and just going by their personality and how they interacted with my chinese algae eater, i would think loaches in general would be very buddy buddy with anybody, especially someone resembling themselves.

well ive seen yoyo loaches shoal with other bigger loachs so i dont see why not,
and that chinese algae eater is a killer, i would return it asap.
i used to have one until it killed one of my white cloud minnows..

 

[CKutz]

thanks, but the algae eater and those fish were in a different tank that has long since gone. Beginner mistake.

does anyone think I can actually have all those fish listed?

 

[yuedar]

a fellow WI person

 

[fatheadminnow]

a fellow WI person

Hows it going, yeah there is me another member on here from Wisconsin, and now you!

I have a buddy that goes to college down there at M.S.O.E.!

Sorry to get off topic on this thread.

-FHM

 

[CKutz]

so i guess no one else has any opinions?
haha

well i today i got a lavendar gourami, 1 swordtail, and 2 krib (they are only like 1.5" each!!! ) a male and a female.
i also got a 50 lb bag of sand (anyone remember the guideline for amount of sand per area or w/e, trying to figure if i'll have some left over for a 10 gallon)

still trying to sort out the rest of what we'll get

does anyone know if cherry shrimp..or any, would survive with these fish...i'm kinda thinking the loahces i'm planning on getting will make a quick meal of them, as would the cichlids?

 

[fatheadminnow]

1-2 pounds of substrate per US gallon is a good rule of thumb.

If you plan on planting then you want at least 2 inches of substrate.

-FHM

 

[CKutz]

still curious for more opinions on the fish.

the kribs i got turned out to be two female so they will be going back, unless i keep the one that seems less aggressive..except i can't really tell them apart..

me and my brother put the sand in last night, omg what a chore that was. i should have looked up more methods first..but i have the fish living in a wash basket lined with a garbage bag and an airstone, the filter pads, plants, and heater were all in there also..seemed to work pretty well. i think the black bag helped keep their stress down possibly.

i should have looked up more methods for washing sand. the only one i could remember reading was the pillowcase method, but i didn't really have a spare pillowcase..and wasn't sure about running that much water in one spot. so we got a bucket that fit in the sink, put the gravel vac in leading to a 5 gal bucket on the floor, then a scrap bed sheet over it, then dumped the sand on. ran the water, started the siphon, and really stirred around the sand with a hand. it probably took 16 5 gallon buckets to do it all though (good thing mom and dad were in bed haha). maybe not the most efficient method..i don't know..then put it in the tank with enough water in to run the filter. put some of the sheet over the plastic frame from the filter pad, and ran the filter. i did that thinking it would catch any more dirt or something that was in the water. let it set over night. it cleared up pretty well..but decided to siphon most the water out the window and start with new clean water. water came from a hose so it was cooolldddd...waiting for the temp to get up then putting the fish in
we used play sand, it looks awesome.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Glad to hear that you got it all under control!

-FHM

 

[CKutz]

thanks for all your help FHM

still trying to get more opinions on the fish stocking though.