What Would You Do?

[KrystaK]

Alright, I'm planning on re-stocking my 30 gal tank. I have that problem everyone seems to have - I have so many ideas that I don't know what to do.
At the moment I'm favoring a Pearl Gourami and some schooling fish, 
But last night I thought a 30 gal Betta sorority would be cool
 
So what would you do with a 30 gal tank? (My pH is 8.0) So if anyone has any suggestions for that pH range I would be super excited! (But also feel free to just throw your ideal 30 gal stock at me.) Also feel free to include how you would decorate the tank, I'm not opposed to doing an entire tank overhaul this holiday season  

 

[eaglesaquarium]

High pH fish that would work in a 30.... Hmmm...
 
I hate to say that Pearl Gourami and bettas really wouldn't fit there...
 
 
You could go with a group of livebearers - males only if you don't want to deal with fry.  I think they are far less appreciated than they deserve to be... lovely fish.  (Ones that I cut my teeth of fishkeeping on)
 
You could go with a group of rainbowfish...
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/Melanotaenia-maccullochi/
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/Melanotaenia-praecox/ (less appropriate pH wise, but more widely available)
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/iriatherina-werneri/%C2
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/melanotaenia-boesemani/ (Assuming your tank is 4 feet long).
 
 
If you are looking for something 'different'...
http/www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=65
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/Lamprologus-ocellatus/
 
 
Just some thoughts that would match your water conditions...

 

[Dstocks95]

I agree with rainbow fish in there why not have many different fish harlequins are lovely colours and admitted not the hardyest but certainly wont be the first to go other additions such as beckfordi pencils or cardinals so you have a number of shoals. following on from that you could add a showpiece fish such as an electric blue ram or kribensis.

 

[KrystaK]

I would go with live bearers, I love them, but for some reason they don't do well for me. I've tried on several occasions and they never do well. 
I had a Gourami for several months and she was fine, and I currently have a few female Betta's and they've been fine in my tanks for the past 6+ months. 
 
I was thinking of going the cichlid route, though I know my tank is on the small side for that - unless I went with shell dwellers (Or whatever their called ) 
 
I'll look into the rainbow fish though

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Lake Tanganyika - is where you would find the 'shellies'. 

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

pH is not a good way to decide what fish suit your tank, gH and kH hardness levels using liquid test kits is better, a TDS meter is better still.

 

[KrystaK]

I've been reading around and most sites agree that fish shops tend to have the same pH as the surrounding area so most fish are used to the pH of an area (I know most fish aren't bred in shops, but they can't be shipped far from where they were bred I would assume.) 
 
So I was thinking some of the fish i was looking into (such as the Pearl Gourami) may do okay in my pH, granted fish who prefer lower pH's, so most south american cichlids, would still be a no-no.... 
 
Would Honey Gourami do alright? I assume they like a similar pH to the Pearl...

 

[eaglesaquarium]

A lot of fish are shipped across the WORLD.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Have you looked at the SeriouslyFish profile for Pearl Gourami? http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/trichopodus-leerii/
 
They are very adaptable fish, a hardness tolerance of 2-30 is huge.

 

[daizeUK]

So what would you do with a 30 gal tank? (My pH is 8.0) So if anyone has any suggestions for that pH range I would be super excited! (But also feel free to just throw your ideal 30 gal stock at me.) Also feel free to include how you would decorate the tank, I'm not opposed to doing an entire tank overhaul this holiday season

 
I've just stocked my 32G tank (pH 8.2, 300mg/L CaCO3) with threadfin rainbowfish and harlequin rasbora  and a few rogue platies.  So that's what I would do   Pseudomugil furcatus was also on my shortlist.
It's only 2ft wide though unlike yours so I wouldn't be able to stock the larger gouramis, I think a pearl gourami would be great.