Fish Choice For A Planted 30 Gal. Tank

[Faythee]

I am unhappy with the looks of the tank and the fish I currently have. I will be adding more plants and re-homing the fish I and would like some ideas. Here is the tank right now:

I will be keeping my Cory Cats only, so options are open. Thing is the tank has a high PH of 7.5 to 7.8. What do I choose ? Here are my thoughts........

-live bearers....however I am afraid of fish that can be sucked up in the gravel cleaner....freaks me out.....LOL....and I believe they prefer a lower PH

- 1 Angel and

-Bolivian Rams and

- How about a Betta and ......I have no idea what PH they prefer or tankmates

-I have heard people talk of Kribs....hmmmmmm

Any ideas ? Thanks !

 

[n3ont3tra]

livebearers would work, and they prefer a higher pH so you're good to go.

Unfortunately angels need an 18" tall tank.

Rams, may fight with your cories

A betta is a terrible waste of space and they don't usually do well with other tankmates.

Have you looked into tetras? There are many different types and most are peaceful. Also look into rainbowfish, hatchetfish, and gouramis.

 

[Bubblenester]

Your pH is perfect for bettas, but keeping a male betta with tankmates is always risky. The betta won't bother most fish, but his fins are a perfect target for even slightly nippy fish.

I'm a bit biased, but how about doing a tank of female bettas? They get along when kept in groups (an occasional nip or chase, but usually nothing to worry about). They're really smart fish and spend time in all levels of the tank so it's fun to watch them swim around exploring everything, and they come in lots of colors so if you get a nice variety your tank looks awesome. They mix well with a lot of other fish. I keep mine with a pearl gourami, honey dwarf gourami, and bumblebee gobies. Here's a photo I took of everyone gathered around the worm feeder. Most of the torn fins are from a flagfish that I thought would be okay in the tank, not from the other bettas.

The only thing is, you may want to add more plants/other decor to decrease their aggression if you decide to try them.

If you are interested, feel free to ask me questions or visit the betta forum.

 

[wolfwolf]

I would not recommend kribs with cories. I am in the process of moving my cories to a different tank. The kribs will not tolerate them very well. Especially now that they have eggs. However, kribs are great fish.

I just got 8 harlequin rasboras about 2 weeks ago for my 29 gallon tank. They are awesome. No hiding and in constant motion.

 

[mark.w.jones]

I would offer the following advise.

1. Go for a black backing for the tank.
2. Please lose that fake skull
3. Loads more plants. Buy 3-4 at least of each species you want and plant them together in groups. Avoid anything thats not green as red / variagated species are often harder to keep.

 

[Bubblenester]

I love the skull! I gave my neighbors a betta with a full setup, and I made sure to include a skeleton hand.

 

[TylerFerretLord]

Live-bearers would do great in your tank, they love high ph.

I suggest you get more plants, too. Vallisneria would be a good choice as they do stunningly in high ph.

 

[mark.w.jones]

Live-bearers would do great in your tank, they love high ph.

I suggest you get more plants, too. Vallisneria would be a good choice as they do stunningly in high ph.

Although I have found that without decent root fertiliser they don't do as well as is suggested.