30 gallon stocking question?

[FreshNate97]

i have a heated 30 gallon tank with a penguin 350b filtering and large round gravel with moderate lighting and fake plants. i am relatively new to Aquarium Advice and i wanted you guys to check out if my tank is properly stocked. Thanks!
5 buenos aires tetras
5 tiger barbs
5 cardinal tetras
5 java loaches
4 small trapdoor snails
1 very small chinese algae eater
1 dwarf gourami

to me it seems a little much, but it is overfiltered and i do a weekly 30 percent water change. opinions wanted!

 

[Aces11]

Not sure what java loaches are, but Chinese algae eaters grow to be very large and aggressive. I would rehome it. But I think everything else is fine.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Looks good. Watch out for the CAE though, it could turn out nasty in there with them.

 

[FreshNate97]

Ive heard a lot of the aggression of the CAE, but Ive had three different ones in the past that lived for 4 years, never got over 4.5 inches, and never displayed ANY aggression. who knows why. Also, java loaches are the 3 inch little eels that petsmart sells as "kuhli loaches".

 

[TheFishBoss97]

tiger barbs get around 2.5"-3"
and are pretty aggressive

i'd skip those........they will tear up the cardinal tetras and gourami

to lower aggression, they need to be in minimum schools of AT LEAST 8-10

just saying otherwise it should be fine, i'd also take out the CAE liek others have mentioned

you could switch out the tiger barbs with some other barb species or get more cardinal tetras

 

[Ice Man]

I had CAE and except occasional chasing other large fish, like tiger barbs, he never displayed aggressive behavior. Never chased smaller fish than himself, 4 inches. Tiger barbs are aggressive toward fish with flowing fins. My long fin zebra danio was one of his victims.
Just keep algae eater well fed and he should be fine. I had funny situations when smaller fish would come down and actually eat together with CAE his algae wafer.

 

[FreshNate97]

i really like the tiger barbs though. do you think icould have a school of 8-10 barbs and the cardinals? its probably pushing it, but if its possible to pull it off, i could probably do it.

 

[Ice Man]

i really like the tiger barbs though. do you think icould have a school of 8-10 barbs and the cardinals? its probably pushing it, but if its possible to pull it off, i could probably do it.

It is a hard decision. 8 TB and 8 CT for 30g tank sounds good. Just make sure when you buy tiger barbs they are young and small. This way they will leave cardinals alone. I would get just cardinal tetras and wait at least few weeks before getting tiger barbs.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

IMO I wouldn't try cardinal tetras with tiger barbs. Cardinals are a little shy and stick with each other, whereas tiger barbs are total animals and voracious. I would think the cardinals would get picked on by the tiger barbs.

 

[FreshNate97]

i think ill just skip the cardinals. i actually was contemplating them anyway, because they look good in a well lit, planted aquarium with a dark background. my aquarium is kind of brown. brown gravel and background. the tiger barbs and tetras look good in it though!