Tank Mates

[Carey27]

I have a 30 gallon planted tank. I'm looking to add some fish to fill the tank, do you guys have any recommendations? I was thinking either a small group of colorful mid - upper tank fish or a few more unique fish.

Current Tank Mates:
1 Butterfly Pleco (3" im told its actually a catfish & wont get big)
1 Firemouth Chiclid (3")
2 Bolivian Rams (2")
* Current lengths


Thanks in advance

 

[Ripley]

I would go with Tiger Barbs or a large type of Danio. Be careful with the Firemouth, it may get a little aggressive; have lots of caves for the cichlids.

 

[Carey27]

I had tiger barbs and really liked them (the heater malfunctioned about 2 weeks ago and killed all the barbs... ) I was thinking about rosy barbs, do you think they will be too small for the firemouth?

 

[Ripley]

Rosey Barbs are a good choice aswell, you can even go with Rosey barbs and tiger barbs if you liked them.

 

[Carey27]

Thanks for the tips. Just came back from the pet store and refrained from bring anything home. Some fish that i would like to add that maybe a problem are:
Small Green Terror (1 - 2.5") Small Red Parrot (1.5") & Rainbow Fish (2").

Any thoughts? Worried they might not play well with the others.

Note, Ill be upgrading my tank (probably to a 55) when i move next spring.

 

[Ripley]

Green Terror- too aggressive for the fish in there, and get too big for a 30 gallon.

Red Parrot- is ok for the tank size and is'nt too aggressive. Some people disagree with buying these fish b/c they are a hybrid.

Rainbow fish- it depends on what species of rainbow fish. Some are good for a 30 gallon tank. Keep in mind that they are schooling fish.

Even though you are upgrading to a 55 gallon in the spring, thats pretty much a year; so the Green Terror will be after killing most of you're fish.
I would only put two Green Terrors in a 55 gallon max. aswell.

 

[Carey27]

Thanks for the tips. Just came back from the pet store and refrained from bring anything home. Some fish that i would like to add that maybe a problem are:
Small Green Terror (1 - 2.5") Small Red Parrot (1.5") & Rainbow Fish (2").

Any thoughts? Worried they might not play well with the others.

Note, Ill be upgrading my tank (probably to a 55) when i move next spring.

Im thinking about getting 4 bosemani rainbows. Do you think that will be enough to keep them "happy" as schooling fish but a small enough number not to overwhelm the tank.

 

[ox5477]

GT's are def out of the question and i wouldn't put more than one in a 55G unless they were a mated pair.

I would be concerned about the fm as I feel they are a little too big for a 30G when adults, but just my opinion.

usually with schooling fish, 6+ is the best. This gives them a large enough group to feel secure

Even though your upgrading in the srping, always best to stock to the size of your tank as is. People will always say they are upgrading so its ok to overstock the current tank to plan for the future tank, but this is bad as it overwhelms the smaller tank with fish waste. Also, with cichlids, you have to worry about aggression issues so putting a few aggressive fish into a tank that is too small is just asking for injured and/or dead fish...

 

[Carey27]

Thanks for the tips... You're dead-on about the tank size. To be honest id resize now but i'm moving in Feb/March so it just wouldn't make sense.

I miss the barbs and Im thinking about just re-adding them but I'm thinking about taking to opportunity to re-spec my tank. If i re-home the firemouth that would leave me with: 2 bolivan's and the butterfly pleco. I was thinking of adding a small shoal of neons and another pair of peacefully chiclids, probably blue rams. That would give the final setup: 2 Bolivians, 2 Germans, 1 pleco & ~7-10 neons. What do you think of this setup?

Also, a more "aggressive" setup (not only in the nature of the fish but their growth) would be small parrots. From what I've read, i believe their size will not be an issue by March (1.5 - 2" from store), but i think they maybe too aggressive for the neons.