Large Peaceful Fish For 30 Gallon

[MattTHEFISHMANROOKIE]

Hi,I have a 30 gallon with 3 Zebra Danios, 3 glofish or glo danios, 2 angelfish, 1 algae eater, 4 bronze corydoras, 2 male swordtails(they get along fine), 1 giant gourami, and that's it. Some may say I need a bigger tank, but I disagree and don't want to hear that. I was wondering what would be a good larger sized peaceful fish for my tank. I like my danios and glofish and they would be my only concern with large fish.What would you recommend? Also, would live plants grow in fake rocks? And how do you clean planted tanks?

 

[Byron]

You have no room for anything else, and you have problems waiting to happen now with the fish you have; some of these do not go together, and some are shoaling fish that should have more in the group but I hesitate to even suggest this as it will only exacerbate the problems..
 
You may not want to hear whatever, but this is a fish forum and most of us care about fish and will advise the best we can to ensure their health and happiness in your or anyone else's aquarium.  The fish must come first.
 
Byron.

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi there.
 
What are the dimensions of the tank, and is your water hard or soft? We don't like to make recommendations without knowing those.
 
I have to say though, if your tank isn't big enough, then people will tell you. We have the very best interests of the fish at heart, and keeping fish in tanks that are too small causes many issues with their health, and can lead to a short, unhappy life for them. The giant gourami is going to suffer badly, and, if you really care about your fish, you will look at rehoming it ASAP before it becomes stunted and deformed, which will happen in a tank that size. There's no point coming here asking for advice and then saying, in advance, that you're not going to listen Our advice is based on many, many years in the hobby, and as a 'rookie', you should listen to people who know more than you; we all hard to learn when we started.
 
You have a bad mix of fish already. The danios don't like tropical temperatures, and keeping them too warm will shorten their lifespans. You have some fish that like soft water (corydoras, angels) and some that need it hard (swordtails), so one group, depending on your water, is not going to do well.
 
Live plants will grow fine on fake rocks, and you clean planted tanks the same as any other, you just don't dig your gravel cleaner around the roots.

 

[MattTHEFISHMANROOKIE]

The gourami I was referring to only grows to be 4 inches only

 

[fluttermoth]

So, not a giant gourami then? What species is it, exactly? Some gouramis can be very aggressive.

 

[Munroco]

Today I've learned that there are 2 types of giant gourami. The one I knew can grow to a couple of feet but there is now another fish called "giant gourami" ie colisa fasciata which indeed does grow to only 4".  This said, I agree that you don't have a great mix of fish there.

 

[MattTHEFISHMANROOKIE]

Also called banded,rainbow,or striped gourami.

And my temp and hardness should be ok,my corys and swordtails have lived together for almost 2 years just fine.

 

[MattTHEFISHMANROOKIE]

That being said.Can somebody answer my question.I don't mean very large,5 inches max.

Sorry for any misunderstandings

 

[Byron]

You do not have room for more fish, and if you care about the fish you should consider re-homing some as others have said.  Angelfish will grow to 6 inches in length, with a vertical fin span of 8-9 inchesd...if they are healthy.  A 30g will house these two fish if they are a bonded pair (male and female that have accepted one another and "bonded"), but otherwise no.
 
Fish have evolved over thousands of years and each species has specific requirements.  Aquarists learn that this cannot be changed, it is programmed into the respective species.  All of us here will offer what advice we can to help you have healthy fish, but it will be pointless if you ignore it.  What may seem to be working for two years, may in fact not be working.  We cannot get inside the fish's being to know what is or isn't working, we can only assume what should be normal for the species.  As it says in the blue citation in my signature, the fact that fish "live" doesn't mean they are actually do well.
 
Byron.

 

[MattTHEFISHMANROOKIE]

Thanks,but I will not relocate them for I don't have any other tank.If they start to grow to big,then I could get something figured out for relocation

 

[fluttermoth]

Thanks,but I will not relocate them for I don't have any other tank.If they start to grow to big,then I could get something figured out for relocation

 
The trouble with this is that many fish are prone to stunting in small tanks, so they might never grow. Stunting leads to physical deformities and a shortened lifespan; but you won't know it's happening until it's already too late

 

[AmtotheBurr]

To answer your question, there is no other larger peaceful fish that will work in your tank and with your current inhabitants.