30g Iwagumi Stocking Ideas

[Dragon.goby]

Hello all! I've decided to take my empty 30g out of storage and start a Iwagumi style aquarium. Its going to have dwarf baby tears for the carpet and maybe some moss or swords for the back but I'm not positive. Ok anyway, I've been having a lot of trouble for finding ideas on stocking this tank. Right now I'm thinking:

16 Neon Tetras
16 Cardinal Tetras
1 Flame Dwarf Gourami
5 Otos
5 Cherry Shrimp

I'm very interested in the Otos and tetras but I'm always up for suggestions.

 

[azmodan]

Any particular reason you're going with neons and cardinals? Personally I'd skip the neons and just go with a school of 15 or so cardinals. 30 tetras in a 30g iwagumi seems a tad too busy, as you want some empty space too. The rest sounds solid though, although those RCS could become snacks without much cover.

 

[Dragon.goby]

Any particular reason you're going with neons and cardinals? Personally I'd skip the neons and just go with a school of 15 or so cardinals. 30 tetras in a 30g iwagumi seems a tad too busy, as you want some empty space too. The rest sounds solid though, although those RCS could become snacks without much cover.

Ok thanks! Any ideas on gouramis? I've never had one before so idk which one to buy or how to care for them. What's a good species?


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[azmodan]

I like honey gouramis a lot for smaller tanks. They are very peaceful and tend to be a bit healthier than dwarf gouramis. Like all gouramis though they prefer cover and shaded areas so sometimes iwagumi setups aren't the best fit. In bright light with no shade their colors can become a little washed out.

 

[Dragon.goby]

I like honey gouramis a lot for smaller tanks. They are very peaceful and tend to be a bit healthier than dwarf gouramis. Like all gouramis though they prefer cover and shaded areas so sometimes iwagumi setups aren't the best fit. In bright light with no shade their colors can become a little washed out.

Hmmm ok. What other fish could I use that are a bigger than the neons but won't eat them?


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[azmodan]

You could try fish like a ram, apisto, betta, or badis. Blyxa japonica is a good pairing with HC in iwagumi scapes.

 

[Dragon.goby]

You could try fish like a ram, apisto, betta, or badis. Blyxa japonica is a good pairing with HC in iwagumi scapes.

What about a cichlid?


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[azmodan]

Rams and apistos are cichlids. An angel is another option although it could potentially go after smaller tetras. Not a ton of cichlid options for that size tank outside of the usual South American dwarf types.


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[Gillie]

An iwagumi would not be a good setup for a dwarf cichlid there isn't enough cover to make them feel comfortable

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[Dallascowboys16]

iwagumi setups are meant to be more about the aquascape with the fish as an accent. You usually will want to go with nano fish species to give the scape a large feel. Boraras brigittae is a popular nano fish with awesome coloration and stays very small. I would say go with 15 Boraras brigittae, 5 ottos, and whatever shrimp you want. Just a suggestion. In the end you decide on what YOU want, It doesn't matter what We want!

 

[azmodan]

Rams and apistos are cichlids. An angel is another option although it could potentially go after smaller tetras. Not a ton of cichlid options for that size tank outside of the usual South American dwarf types.


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I agree with this in most cases. In a two plant layout though I do think the combination of hardscape and a taller plant like blyxa could create enough cover for a single ram.


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