30G Tetra Tank

[NickRummy]

We've had this running for a couple years now. It's in my wife's office so she has something to watch to take mental breaks.

We recently had an issue. We had a Sailfin Pleco that was sneaking fish at night. We had 5 Tiger Barbs and 5 Serpae Tetras in the tank and they were randomly being picked off one at a time even when we were feeding him algae pellets. He was up to about 6" so we decided he was outgrowing the tank and he needed a new home. A friend of mine took him in and since we were down to 1 Serpae remaining we figured we'd stock the tank with more Tetras. Here's the stock list right now.

1 - Serpae Tetras
6 - Neon Tetra Jumbo
3 - Penguin Tetra
4 - Harlequin Rasbora Tetra

I'm not actually sure what bulb is in the tank, It's running a Fluval 104. Tank temp is 78. I'd like to get a little more into it and make it more appealing to her. Do you think it's about maxed out for stocking? I'd like to add a couple more Serpaes and a small pleco like a clown pleco or maybe a bristle nose.

Sorry just have this cell pic for now. Will get some nice pictures soon. I'm very tempted to remove the blue background and go with black as well.

 

[Jason7894561230]

Yes you could add some more Serpea and a clown pleco but honestly i would go for some Ottos heres a link
Otocinclus Catfish, Otto Cat
Aslo corydoras are really cute and you could put a nice group in there of 6
And hanging the back round is really easy and make the tank look better with the black making the green pop out

 

[NickRummy]

Yeh I know the background is easy but I guess I'm a procrastinator

Those Otto Cats are really cool! She might be interested in those for sure!

 

[Coleallensmom]

Are your Penguins very agressive? I don't think you are maxed out with stocking at all. Since Tetra are most happy in higher numbers, I'd recommend just adding to the groups you already have. If you could increase the numbers of your Serpae Tetra and Penguin Tetra up to groups of at least 5-7, they'll be much happier..same with your Rasboras. I think even then you'd still have room for a new pleco if that's what you wanted.

I too have a tetra community tank (37 gallons) and I have 11 Pristella tetra, 7 Black skirts, 7 Black Neons, and 4 Zebra danios. Even with snails and shrimp, I have no issues with my water parameters...Tetra, especially the smaller ones are not huge waste producers.

 

[NickRummy]

Funny you mention that...... We put the fish in there Saturday. My wife was off work until today and she told me today that she has noticed that one of the Penguins has been chasing other fish around!

 

[Jason7894561230]

But the problem with plecos is that they are nocturnal and they arent very active during the day
But the plan of adding more tetras is a good idea, increasing numbers will also increase their activity thus making it more enjoyable. I have a tetra tank once. Complete failure because i had no idea what i was doing and i out so many in there.
Have fun with this too

 

[Coleallensmom]

They may be agressive towards smaller fish like the Rasboras. Increasing their numbers like I mentioned, may help them feel more comfortable and possibly less likely to do as much chasing. Some say Black skirts are fin nippers but my group of 7 are very peaceful.

Have you ever tried the stocking calculator at AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor ? They are conservative with their stocking estimates but at least it may give a rough idea of what your tank can hold.

 

[Jason7894561230]

I have to disagree with that this time. As tetras are a smaller and the species he has mentioned are smaller then bio load would be quite small. Its a debate that no one is going to win

 

[Coleallensmom]

I have to disagree with that this time. As tetras are a smaller and the species he has mentioned are smaller then bio load would be quite small. Its a debate that no one is going to win

Not really sure what there is to debate about. If you'll read, you'll see that I said the exact same thing..

Tetra, especially the smaller ones are not huge waste producers.

 

[NickRummy]

According to that calculator I'm already way over stocked.

 

[Coleallensmom]

What is your tank demensions? That will influence what the calculator says. I know that it's *very* conservative, but I'm surprised it says you're way over stocked.

I randomly picked two different 30 gals filled with your stocking and got this:

My tank is overstocked according to the calculator, but I added slowly and have had no problems. Tetra do have a low bioload like Jason said.

 

[NickRummy]

I believe its a 24 x 12 x 24 or so.

So going to 5 fish per group would be a pretty big load?

 

[Jason7894561230]

sorry Cmum i didnt see that.
No a group of 5 would be a small bioload in tetra poop. I would increase the numbers for better activity and comfort and the ottos are a fine addition!

 

[Coleallensmom]

I believe its a 24 x 12 x 24 or so.

So going to 5 fish per group would be a pretty big load?

That's what I figured after looking at your photo some more- it looked like a 30gal Tall. You don't want to overdo it BUT if it were me, I'd def at least add 1-2 Penguins to increase their size to 4-5...I'd probably go ahead and add a few more Serpae as well.

 

[NickRummy]

Yeh they didn't have any serpae there or we would have added those as well. I think we're going to add Penguins for sure.

I did some searching on ghost shrimp and they didn't seem to have any negative effects with the fish. Would they be an ok addition?

 

[Coleallensmom]

If you can get them, I think that's a good move adding more Penguins.

I just recently added 5 ghost shrimp to my tetra tank. I wasn't sure if any of my fish would want to make a snack but ghosts are relatively inexpensive, so I decided to give them a go. So far, everyone has been getting along very well!

 

[Jason7894561230]

But ghost shrimp wont breed in freshwater they can only breed in salt to braskish water.

 

[NickRummy]

But ghost shrimp wont breed in freshwater they can only breed in salt to braskish water.

That's fine with me. I dabbled in the breeding thing a while back and have no interest in going there now.

 

[amesdrew]

Nick, I have 3 zipper loaches in my tank, with tetras and other community fish. They are a lot of fun to watch ( a lot more fun then my clown pleco ). and they would be even more fun in the gravel that your tank has!

Just a thought, the tank looks real good.

 

[NickRummy]

Ok after a trip to the LFS we have some new inhabitants! Here's what the new total stock list looks like.

3 - Serpae Tetras
6 - Neon Tetra Jumbo
4 - Penguin Tetra
4 - Harlequin Rasbora Tetra
1 - Kuhli Loach
10-12 Red Cherry Shrimp

I think my wife has hinted at wanting a larger tank though so I might be working on a 55g build here after getting my 65g reef going.

I think I might look into getting some Java fern for the shrimp. Would it do ok with just a 24" bulb over them? I need to look at getting a new bulb as well. Who knows how old the one in there is.