Stocking my 30G

[elliott_001]

So far i have 3 zebra loach and 2 oto's in my 30G tank. I next want to add a rainbow shark.

I was just thinking about what else i would like when i thought about some corys (sterba's corys), then i thought "i'll just work out a rough idea of how im doing so far, using the 1" of fish to every gallon".

I know this rule is very vague but i did it anyway. With the corys, i read somewhere that they should ideally be in groups of 6min, so i had this;

6corys = about 18" of fish
3 loach = 9"
Rainbow shark = 5"
2 oto's = 4"

total = 36" of fish in a 30 Gallon tank...im already over the limit!! 8O

This is not my final decision by any means, but i was just a bit suprised that that was all i could fit (using 1"fish/G). So far they are mostly all bottom dwellers too, havn't even moved up to mid yet!

Am i right in thinking i could have more than this really?

 

[Tiffi]

If you get more little "poopers" instead of just a few big ones you could have more. I know there will be people telling you you could have more fishes in your tank. BUT you will have to make alot of water changes CONSTANTLY, have a great filter and a good planted tank.

I would forget about the corys and get some more Otos, they like to be in groups of at least 4 too. Or you could get pygmy corys which get about 1" in length.
If you stick with the list in your post I say don't buy anymore fishes, it's enough! And actually zebra loaches get up to 4", not 3".

 

[elliott_001]

Yeah, i think my choice of fishes isnt the best, as they all grow fairly large! The corys were the ones i was thinking about leaving out, as i have to have six. I will get some more oto's, they seem to have ran out everywhere i go!

Another method i found for working out stocking is by the surface area of the tank, after all the working out (using the same fish i posted originally) i can have 35.75 inches of fish in my tank.

I think i will leave the corys out. I was planning on getting a blue ram, or two in the future, once i have stable water conditions, and if they are compatible. And also i would like a small pleco. (thats all i have thought about so far).

The tank is fairly heavily planted already.

 

[Yuri]

Personally, I'd use the 1 inch per gallon as a very general guideline. Use your nitrate levels and common sense with the types of fish to stock. Especially sense you have a heavily planted tank!
Though they definitely wouldn't mind the extra company those cories would be perfectly happy in sets of three. So don't count them out yet. Their antics are hilarious.

 

[mattrox]

A 3" cory would be a huge cory. You proably have over-estimated the bio-load of the corys.

As you have stated you have a lot of fish that occupy the same location of the tank. Swimming space is important. Maybe look at some fish that will be near the surface and some mid water fish. My inclination would be to leave out the rainbow shark, but that is just my preference for that size of tank. The loaches will scour the bottom so you probably don't need another fish to do that job. Perhaphs see how much room the loaches actually utilize before looking at more bottom fish?

 

[RoK]

I agree about the over-estimating of the cory bio-load. However, I think a school of some small mid-water fish instead, would keep the loaches happier because of more swimming room.

 

[elliott_001]

I think i probably have over estimated, i just got a general idea of sizes on different websites. I would really like a rainbow shark, so i dont really want to leave it out.

I dont really want to leave the corys out either. Realistically i shouldn't really have this many bottom dwellers in this size tank? But would it be possible if i include enough caves and territories for the fish to hide in? I suppose its mainly the loach and the corys that will have the problems as they will be more actively swimming about the bottom, whereas a rainbow shark will be more happy patrolling its cave or hideout?

As far as mid level fish, i dont really know what to go for, i dont really want danios or teras as my brother has them (we want to keep them different really). I thought about some cichlids, maybe a blue ram, or are they better as a pair? I know they are sensitive fish, so i would only get them when i have a stable environment for them.

Or i suppose some dwarf gouramis? They're nice little fishes!

What do you reckon? Thanks for the help.

 

[mattrox]

Before you add the corys, I would really advise that you see how much room the loaches need. You have to get a feel for how the tank is going before adding new fish. If there is still plenty of room you can add more.

Dwarf Gouramis sound like a good addition. Rams would be suitable too. Just keep up regular water changes with them. When I had Rams they did really well with 10 - 20% pwc twice a week. If you go for rams, get at least 3, 2 females and one male preferably. I know this is hard to achieve when getting them as youngsters from the LFS.

 

[RoK]

2 or 3 dwarf gouramis might be ok but I would keep an eye on them for aggression with each other. 1 male per tank is usually the safest choice with them. Rams usually stay in the lower part of the tank, so they would be taking up even more room on the bottom. I also like many different kinds of bottom dwellers so I know how you feel. That's probably one of the reasons I want more tanks.

 

[elliott_001]

Yeah, they just seem more appealing at the moment!

I think so far there is more room for some corys, the loach have loads of room at the moment, but im going to add a rainbow shark next, thats a definite, then after that i will see how it goes, corys are not definite, and i will only have three if any.

Pleased to hear that rams and gouramis will be suitable. I hope the lfs can tell the males from the females! I always thought gouramis were sold as a pair? (1 male, 1 female)

 

[RoK]

I've never heard gouramis being sold as pairs? Especially not dwarfs, I think I've only seen 3 female dwarf gouramis in real life, ever! Female dwarf gouramis are rarely sold in pet stores because of their rather unappealing color.

 

[elliott_001]

Oh right, im most likely wrong then. They're a sort of dull grey aren't they? So you buy a group of three males, are they aggressive to one another?