30 Gallon Ideas

[SpAceGiRl94]

Hello all,

So I've been contemplating ideas for a 30 gallon tall that will eventually be in my apartment. Here's my list of ideas, please let me know what you think:

Option 1:
Move my 3 platies (currently in a 10 gallon) to said 30 (cannot do this until I find out why one is sick and make sure none of the other 2 are ill)
Move my 1 cory catfish from 10 gallon to 30 gallon (I'm going to do this anyway) and then purchase 3 to 5 more cories
Have a school of 12 neon tetras
Total fish count: 3 female platies, 4 to 6 cories, and 12 neons possibly a snail or 2
The 10 gallon would then become home to a betta or 2 (if 2 then divided)

Option 2:
Keep the platies in their 10 gallon but move the cory and still get 3 more cories
Female betta sorority (7-9 females) - I know this is risky but it would be heavily planted

Option 3:
Combine both above options and have 3 platies, 4 cories, and a female betta sorority in a 30 gallon and a male betta in the 10 gallon (male betta would be the last to move in as I would want to keep the 10 just in case one or 2 of the females don't work out)

Option 4:
Any ideas?

I would love to have a betta sorority at some point, but I also know it is majorly risky. I'm loving Option 2 but the issue is I wouldn't have a good immediate space for an aggressive female betta if I have to remove one, other than a skimpy 1.5 gallon. I also really like the idea of a community tank full of friendly fishes (like Option 1). My boyfriend likes the idea of quickly limiting me to two or three tanks.

More facts on the 30 gallon tall? A Penguin 150 filter would be on it, and I would also purchase a heater for it. I do have very high pH of 8.2 in my area and that is after it sits for awhile in the tank so fish would need to be fine with that which is why I would be buying locally so then the fish are already used to it.

 

[SaraB]

I wouldn't do the platys with the betta sorority. Also make sure you have a long tank over a tall one for bettas.
If you wanted a betta sorority make sure you purchase all from the same place and only the ones who can all see each other. Or place them next to each other in the store and see how they act.What you can do is find a breeder or store that carries baby betas. That way you can make sure they are sisters.
moving the corys either way and buying more is the best for the cory you have.

 

[SpAceGiRl94]

I was leaning towards not having platies and bettas in the same tank, just based on what I have learned. Would the bettas need a 30 gallon long? Because I'm getting a 30 gallon tall based on my friends description of her tank.

And yes. I definitely want to move my cory. When I got him (impulse buy) I didn't realize that he would be better in a group in a larger tank. So would 4 or so cories and a freshwater community in the 30 gallon tall be a good plan? What fish would you recommend with platies and cories in a 30 gallon tall freshwater community? I also am aiming for sand or fine gravel in said tank, so some type of snail or borrowing species would be fine as I've heard something about anaerobic pockets developing in sand???

 

[SaraB]

You'll want long for the bettas for 2 reasons.
1. It will be easier for them to get a breath of air from the top
2. It will give them more room (sounds weird but it matters)
Cory cats are peaceful so you can pretty much put almost anything with them. Again a longer tank would be better but not necessary.
Tetras are always nice. You can find one that's not known for nipping and it should work. You can put your platys in there and add more livebearers if you wanted. Rasboras are nice fish and come in a variety of colours. You could do a big school of those depending on your budget.
Just find s fish you like and work around it.
As for borrowing snails the only type I'm familiar with are Malaysian trumpet snails and they breed like crazy.

 

[SpAceGiRl94]

Okay. Yeah I'm thinking Option 1 just because, while I love bettas, maybe I should leave that for when I'm more experienced and also when I have a bigger house LoL (I'm currently a graduate student so I'll eventually be moving in a few years). I didn't realize that the bettas would need a longer tank so I'm glad that I didn't go ahead and do the betta sorority without checking first.

As far as the freshwater community, do you think that 3 platies, 12 or so neon tetras (or similar species/size), and 4 cories would be a nice stock? Or can I add another couple of fishes? I don't want to overstock my tank and lose fish.

 

[SaraB]

Maybe up the cories to a minimum of 6 in there. In the wild they are used to being in the hundreds. Other than that stocking looks ok. You might be able to up the number of neons as well.

 

[SpAceGiRl94]

Okay. So:

3 female platies
6 green cory catfish
12+ neon tetras (or similar)

When I get the tank and get it cycled (fishless cycle) could I use it to quarantine the tetras? And then once they've been quarantined add the platies and the one cory that I have? And then use the 10 gallon to quarantine the 5 cories that will be purchased after that?

 

[SaraB]

Sounds like it should work. Just keep an eye on the neons as they are prone to disease.

 

[SpAceGiRl94]

Okay. And yeah... I was just reading about that as I was looking up more information on them. What about cardinal tetras? Apparently they're usually pretty healthy?

 

[SaraB]

From what I hear yes. You could also do rasboras like I said earlier. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

 

[SpAceGiRl94]

Okay. This sounds good to me thanks so much

 

[SaraB]

No problem. Let us know what you end up doing.

 

[SpAceGiRl94]

I will once I get the tank hopefully my friend gets it to me soon

 

[SpAceGiRl94]

Another quick question: what sand type should I use? I've found that a lot of ocean/reef type sands are available in the stores around me but are these okay to use in a freshwater community? I've been reading various opinions on both pool filter sand and play sand... and to be honest I'm not sure what to think. I'm leaning towards the pool filter sand just because most of the posts have been positive. I was thinking 1/2 inch layer of sand and I would manually stir it once in awhile. Would it be best to go with a cheaper sand (pool filter versus play) or splurge and get an actual aquarium sand (reef/ocean versus not ocean?)? What are the differences between the aquarium sands?

Currently my cory has been in normal sized gravel, but I would like to get this new tank right and give him a good substrate. I don't plan on having live plants as of right now in the 30 gallon (I'll be experimenting with live plants in the 10 gallon with the betta).

 

[King Fisher]

Play sand is messy stuff and needs to be rinsed thoroughly before adding it to your aquarium. Pool filter isn't as bad. Actual aquarium sand is cleaner than both from my experience.

If you are going to add plants later I would add more than 1/2 inch of sand. Adding sand later if you decide you want plants is going to be a pain in the rear.

Cory's will stir up the sand for you.

 

[SpAceGiRl94]

Okay. So if I add more than 1/2 inch then the corys will do all the stirring and I won't have to mess with manually doing it? Or should I just automatically stir a section when I do a wc?

 

[earhtmother]

Not a sand person but I've read that some aquarists poke a chopstick into the sand to aerate it

 

[King Fisher]

You could use a plastic fork to stir it up. I've never really stired up sand outside of a vacuum during a water change.

 

[SpAceGiRl94]

Okay. Both sound like good ideas to me! Thanks guys

 

[SpAceGiRl94]

And yet another question: has anyone had a community of tiger barbs and gold barbs? I've been researching 30 gallon aquarium fish and saw the tiger barbs. Researched them and discovered that they can be aggressive but only about half of the posts I've read had horror stories, the other half have said that their tigers got along well in a community tank. So I thought I would ask this group and see what the general consensus would be: 6 gold barbs, 8 tiger barbs, and 6 cories in the same tank? Most of the posts that were horror stories said things about the tigers attacking their platies so i will probably keep the platies in the 10 gallon if i go the barb route (unless i go with the gold barbs, not tiger barbs). Thoughts? (I'll also continue researching)