Looking for ideas to stock my tank!

[flipofone]

I am looking particularly for a freshwater, tropical schooling fish! But I am up for suggestions!
Tank size: 30gallons
Tank Dimensions (give or take an inch!) : 25 inches long, 15in tall, 13 in wide
Substrate= sand, with a couple of marbles on top
Two sponge filters: one that's meant for a 10 gallon tank and another that doesnt specify the gallons, but people say it supports their 55gallon tank

My tank is currently cycling so i have a bunch of time for suggestions!

Ideas/questions so far:
1. neon/rummynose/cardinal tetras, If i am going to get them, unsure how many I can stock in my tank
- if possible I would put silvertipped tetras as my first choice because I like active fishes that interact with me(but not necessary), but there is none in sale around me! ): + don't like ordering online
2. I don't like guppies/mollies/plats(the way they look)
3. When I researched around, people talk about having a 'center' piece for my tank.. curious about what this means and why it's wanted in a tank (i.e. people saying to put a center piece like a predator like an angel fish in with tetras)
4. Also curious about what type of plants I should stock my tank with... I am looking for a carpet-like plant(like dwarf hairgrass), though I am up for any ideas, but would prefer that seachem flourish would be enough to help the plant grow and that it's fast growing ... heard water wisteria might be an option
5.Would the top layer of marbles I have make it unsuitable for plants to grow? I could take it out if that is an issue

 

[Colin_T]

hi and welcome to the forum

don't bother with centre piece fish, it is rubbish and entails having a big showy fish that contrasts to the other fishes in the tank. Your tank is not big enough for a show piece fish.

if your water is hard and alkaline you can keep Pseudomugil signifier or some other Pseudomugils. If it is soft and slightly acid you could look at Iriatherina werneri.

hair grass is not a true aquatic plant and dies under water. Pygmy chain swordplants are a better option.

do not put marbles in a tank, they are not necessary.

 

[flipofone]

hi and welcome to the forum

don't bother with centre piece fish, it is rubbish and entails having a big showy fish that contrasts to the other fishes in the tank. Your tank is not big enough for a show piece fish.

if your water is hard and alkaline you can keep Pseudomugil signifier or some other Pseudomugils. If it is soft and slightly acid you could look at Iriatherina werneri.

hair grass is not a true aquatic plant and dies under water. Pygmy chain swordplants are a better option.

do not put marbles in a tank, they are not necessary.

Hi, thanks for the fast reply!
My water is soft, and I was looking at information about the Iriatherina werneri ! I was curious about some things...
from my search I saw that they like a heavily planted environment, since I have yet to purchase any plants or have any, would this put stress on the fish once i get them? I am hoping to purchase plants before the fish, but I was hoping to buy a few plants to let them grow in my tank instead of buying a bunch at the beginning to support my tank.
I was looking at some videos too, and I notice that some are clear colored, while others have a distinct bright red... is this because of they show the red when they're happy(not stressed)? or not grown yet

 

[Byron]

Welcome to TFF.

First opn the tank size...the dimensions equate to a 20-21 gallon, not 30 gallon (US gallons). That is important to keep in mind as you consider fish species/numbers.

I agree with all Colin posted. Info on Iriatherina werneri can be found here:
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/iriatherina-werneri/

If you have soft water, avoid all livebearers. There are more options with soft water species fortunately. Of those you mention in post #1, I would avoid Silvertip Tetras; they are more active (= larger tank preferable) and will limit options for tankmates more than say cardinals or neons and similar. Rummynose really need more length as this tetra while not particularly active does like to swim lengths. A group of cardinals, say 9-12 would be fine. Or a group of the Iriatherina werneri on their own. Small substrate fish like one of the dwarf cories would be OK, if you have a sand substrate.

I would recommend sand for the substrate. Plants grow well in it, it is natural, all fish are OK with sand...and play sand (which is what I use) is very inexpensive.

Most of the fish suited to this tank will be forest fish from dimly-lit waters. Floating plants are almost essential. You could have lower plants, like the chain sword which should do very well (mine does with low lighting) or you could have a more biotope tank with sand, chunks of wood and branches, and plants mainly just floating species. These forest fish will really sparkle in this aquascape.

 

[flipofone]

Another quick question about cycling a tank..
if I take media from an establish tank (55gallons with a bunch of snails and a couple of fishes in it) from a friend, and he has a sponge filter, is it ok to just rip off a little bit of the sponge as the media? Or is it better to bring in new media and put it in his tank for the bacteria to develop and then use that as media
I understand that I will still have to wait a couple of days for my tank to fully cycle if I use established media

 

[flipofone]

Welcome to TFF.

First opn the tank size...the dimensions equate to a 20-21 gallon, not 30 gallon (US gallons). That is important to keep in mind as you consider fish species/numbers.

I agree with all Colin posted. Info on Iriatherina werneri can be found here:
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/iriatherina-werneri/

If you have soft water, avoid all livebearers. There are more options with soft water species fortunately. Of those you mention in post #1, I would avoid Silvertip Tetras; they are more active (= larger tank preferable) and will limit options for tankmates more than say cardinals or neons and similar. Rummynose really need more length as this tetra while not particularly active does like to swim lengths. A group of cardinals, say 9-12 would be fine. Or a group of the Iriatherina werneri on their own. Small substrate fish like one of the dwarf cories would be OK, if you have a sand substrate.

I would recommend sand for the substrate. Plants grow well in it, it is natural, all fish are OK with sand...and play sand (which is what I use) is very inexpensive.

Most of the fish suited to this tank will be forest fish from dimly-lit waters. Floating plants are almost essential. You could have lower plants, like the chain sword which should do very well (mine does with low lighting) or you could have a more biotope tank with sand, chunks of wood and branches, and plants mainly just floating species. These forest fish will really sparkle in this aquascape.

thanks for the reply!
Had no idea my tank was only 20 gallons, thanks for the heads-up, my tank would of overstocked if I was looking to house fishes for 30gallons but it was only 20!
What kind of floating plants do you recommend?
Also, since most of the fish are from dimly-lit water, should I keep my light on only for a few hours a day? (like 6?)

 

[Byron]

Another quick question about cycling a tank..
if I take media from an establish tank (55gallons with a bunch of snails and a couple of fishes in it) from a friend, and he has a sponge filter, is it ok to just rip off a little bit of the sponge as the media? Or is it better to bring in new media and put it in his tank for the bacteria to develop and then use that as media
I understand that I will still have to wait a couple of days for my tank to fully cycle if I use established media

There's more to it. But first, using filter media or any other item from someone else's tank is very risky. You've no idea what pathogens may be present in his tank, and they could be dangerous things you do not want in yours. For the same reason, never use media from store tanks. We recommend quarantining new fish for the same reason, the risk of introducing disease. There are safer methods.

If you do have live plants and they show signs of growing, they can cycle for you. They need ammonia/ammonium as their source of nitrogen. Floating plants are best at this, being fast growing.

There are also bacterial additives like Tetra's SafeStart.

Cycling a tank without plants can take anywhere from two weeks to eight weeks; each tank can be biologically different so there is no common time. Using plants is immediate, once they are clearly growing.

 

[Byron]

thanks for the reply!
Had no idea my tank was only 20 gallons, thanks for the heads-up, my tank would of overstocked if I was looking to house fishes for 30gallons but it was only 20!
What kind of floating plants do you recommend?
Also, since most of the fish are from dimly-lit water, should I keep my light on only for a few hours a day? (like 6?)

Light affects fish considerably. It is a question of the intensity, no matter the photo period, though fish also must have absolute darkness for several hours. You do not want an overhead light that is too intense (bright) but you also need sufficient light for the plants. Each species of plant has different requirements for light, and thus for nutrient availability in balance. Light drives photosynthesis so it must be sufficient to do this in the plant, and as I say they vary in their need for light intensity.

The duration is critical for plants, because you need to balance the nutrients so the plants can use the light and nutrients to grow; if any of this is out of balance, like too much or not enough light, or insufficient or too much nutrients, algae will take advantage and become a nuisance. Without plants, this is not so critical because algae is not going to do any harm, being a plant itself, though it can become unsightly. But with plants, algae once it starts coating the leaves can kill the plants.

The intended fish and plants should decide what lighting you need. Duration then can be somewhere around 7-8 hours each day; generally more than this and algae may become troublesome. A simple timer like those sold for table lamps is the best way to ensure a regular duration from day to day.

 

[flipofone]

Light affects fish considerably. It is a question of the intensity, no matter the photo period, though fish also must have absolute darkness for several hours. You do not want an overhead light that is too intense (bright) but you also need sufficient light for the plants. Each species of plant has different requirements for light, and thus for nutrient availability in balance. Light drives photosynthesis so it must be sufficient to do this in the plant, and as I say they vary in their need for light intensity.

The duration is critical for plants, because you need to balance the nutrients so the plants can use the light and nutrients to grow; if any of this is out of balance, like too much or not enough light, or insufficient or too much nutrients, algae will take advantage and become a nuisance. Without plants, this is not so critical because algae is not going to do any harm, being a plant itself, though it can become unsightly. But with plants, algae once it starts coating the leaves can kill the plants.

The intended fish and plants should decide what lighting you need. Duration then can be somewhere around 7-8 hours each day; generally more than this and algae may become troublesome. A simple timer like those sold for table lamps is the best way to ensure a regular duration from day to day.

sorry for asking so many questions!

I was snooping around my house and I found that I still had this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DH0QM/?tag=ff0d01-20 substrate in my house, it is 4 years old and was loosely tied in a bag (not sure if the age + the way it was bound affects the substrate)

Was wondering if this would help my plant grow if I just put it on the top layer of the sand

But I did see that chain swords like sandy substrate... but turns out my lfs doesn't have any chain swords that you and Colin mention... could the gravel lead to a wider variety of plants I could use in my tank?

My lfs did have a bunch of different variety of anubias plants, which I plan to use as my floating plants (is this a good idea?)

Also, when I went to my lfs when I put a finger on the glass, all the fishes inside (was a wide variety of different species of tetras, and some other fishes that I cannot remember) flocked to my hand... is this a thing that schooling fish do only in large numbers? would 9-14 fishes display this kind of feature? Or was it the type of fishes inside, (for sure there was bloodfin tetras in there!)

 

[Byron]

I was snooping around my house and I found that I still had this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DH0QM/?tag=ff0d01-20 substrate in my house, it is 4 years old and was loosely tied in a bag (not sure if the age + the way it was bound affects the substrate)
Was wondering if this would help my plant grow if I just put it on the top layer of the sand

In my experience Eco-Complete will not provide any benefit. Also, it is sharp enough to damage substrate fish. I would not use it. A few years ago I tried Flourite which is much the same sort of substrate, and after two years tore the tank apart and dumped the Flourite in the garden; it had no effect on plant growth, and I had to remove my cories as it tore their mouths apart.

But I did see that chain swords like sandy substrate... but turns out my lfs doesn't have any chain swords that you and Colin mention... could the gravel lead to a wider variety of plants I could use in my tank?

No, the opposite. Sand is the overall best substrate for plants in an aquarium. That doesn't mean they will not grow in fine gravel, they will; but all plants will grow well in sand, and fish like it.

My lfs did have a bunch of different variety of anubias plants, which I plan to use as my floating plants (is this a good idea?)

Anubias is not a good floating plant. Also, it is slow growing, which means it uses fewer nutrients and requires less light.

Also, when I went to my lfs when I put a finger on the glass, all the fishes inside (was a wide variety of different species of tetras, and some other fishes that I cannot remember) flocked to my hand... is this a thing that schooling fish do only in large numbers? would 9-14 fishes display this kind of feature? Or was it the type of fishes inside, (for sure there was bloodfin tetras in there!)

That was the fish's reaction to possible food; fish in stores tend to be somewhat more receptive to people because they are around all day with no harm, and people provide food, so the fish associate the two.

Bloodfin tetras by the way tend to fin nip sedate fish, so not a good tetra for community tanks.

 

[flipofone]

Thoughts about if Brazilian pennywort or najas grass works?

 

[Colin_T]

Anything you want to know about all the rainbowfishes found in Australia and New Guinea can be found at the following link. It was written by Adrian Tappin, who is well known in Australia for his work with these fishes.
http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm

The different colour forms of Iriatherina werneri are related to where they originate from. The fish from New Guinea have the most colour (lots of red).
The fish from Cape York Queensland (Australia) have a bit of red but not as much as the ones from New Guinea.
The fish from the Northern Territory (Australia) have more yellow and no red.
Captive bred fish can be a mixture of any of these and usually don't show as much red as wild fish from Cape York or New Guinea.

In addition to the above, the males have the colour and big fins but the females don't have the colour, and they have much smaller fins.

-----------------------
They like plants along the back and sides but need an open area in the front to swim about and show off. If you a picture/ backing on the tank and some bits of driftwood, they won't stress out too much if there are no plants yet.

The best plants for aquariums include: Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma, narrow Vallis, Amazon Swordplants, & Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta). The Water Sprite floats and can also be planted in the substrate. The other plants need to be planted in the sand/ gravel.

 

[flipofone]

Thanks for the help!!