Starter fish advice

[ricefamily]

We are in the process of getting a 30 g freshwater tank! We have two glofish in a tiny tank but wanted some advice a larger fish to start looking at. We would also like some kind of Algie eater ? Very new to this so we want to start slow and do it right!
Thank you

 

[Aliray]

Bristle nose plecco are fun to have. I have one male albino and 2 young blue eyed lemon. I keep one in each tank as I do not want babies. All three of mine are out and about all day and I get a big kick out of watching them. They don't grow that big and because of the lighter color are very easy to see. Alison

 

[keegster803]

I'd recommend otos, as they are "true" algae eaters, plecos will each algae, but they like veggies more. But you could get both if you like how the plecos look, but want something that will eat most of your algae.


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[ImACoolguy]

I'd recommend otos, as they are "true" algae eaters, plecos will each algae, but they like veggies more. But you could get both if you like how the plecos look, but want something that will eat most of your algae.


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Otos are good. If this was a larger tank I would say a SAE.. Pleco's are cool but just know they will eat algae. BUT they poop out x3 as much as they take in. They are messy fish and need good filtration to handle the bioload.


Caleb

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[ImACoolguy]

If you want a super active fish try Tiger barbs. You could do a large school of like 10-12 of them and some Otos or a pleco.

Tiger barbs can nip long fins but they leave bottom feeders alone.


Caleb

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[sinibotia]

Hello ricefamily, welcome!

My fiance and I started up a 29 gallon tank about 6 months ago and have had great success with it! Here's what we have:

1 Angelfish
5 Platys
4 Kuhli loaches
4 Corydoras

Any of those fish are great starter fish except maybe angelfish, which can be a little bit mean. Corydoras catfish are great bottom dwellers, as are kuhli loaches. Platys are really fun and colorful fish for the middle and top of the tank.

Some other great starter fish I would recommend are glowlight tetras, zebra danios, and guppies

Algae eaters are generally unnecessary; if you maintain your tanks well you can avoid serious problems with algae. I've got 5 fish tanks and not a single algae eater! Snails are probably your best option if you need something to eat algae. Plecos get extremely large and are very messy, while otto catfish are delicate and sensitive to water quality.

Do you know about the cycling process, and do you have an API master test kit?

 

[ricefamily]

Wow thank yall so much we will look into all these! Yes we have read up on cycling. Thank you

 

[ricefamily]

Thank you this is good info !

 

[NigelK8485]

I'd advise against otos. While they're good for algae eating, if you're just setting up this tank there won't be enough algae to sustain them. As sinibotia mentioned they're pretty delicate and most are wild caught and don't have a high success rate when transitioning to life in an aquarium.

Are you wanting a bottom feeder or an algae eater? A farlowella vittata is always a cool addition to a tank. Your tank would be about the minimum size for them but they are pretty inactive yet still make an interesting looking fish.


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[Tigerbarb12]

You could go with a school or corydoras, a pleco and a school of 6 or 7 gold barbs or cherry barbs. Maybe even a dwarf gourami

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[sinibotia]

You could go with a school or corydoras, a pleco and a school of 6 or 7 gold barbs or cherry barbs. Maybe even a dwarf gourami

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Only if the pleco is a bristlenose lol

 

[Fishobsessed7]

You could get more glofish and move them into the bigger tank.


Fishobsessed7

3 tanks and counting! (6 if you count the bettas)