30 Gallon stocking advice

[bud29]

Guppies, Zebra Danios, and Platys?

Hi, I have a 30 gallon tank and have just begun to cycle it (without fish). I have a very limited selection of fish, but from what I had, I thought a cool combo would be zebra danios, guppies, and platys. I have done a lot of research as to whether or not they will get along and have found answers ranging from "Zebra Danios don't even get along with themselves, so they can't get along with any other fish" to "They'll get along perfectly fine if you have enough danios." So my question is, will they actually get along or not??

Given the size of my tank, I am planning on getting 6 danios, 6 platys, and 4 guppies. Would a different number of each make them get along better??? Say, more danios, less platys? I really have no idea.

Also one more thing...I have heard a few stories of the danios taking all the food and the other slower fish starving...Is this common? Will having a bigger, more spread out tank help?

If you think I should get a completely different assortment of fish, here are my other options besides the 3 I talked about: (I told you they were limited)

High-Fin black tetra
Red-Eye Tetra
Neon Tetra
Mixed Fruit Tetra (Really don't want to get those as they're dyed)
Glo-Fish (Aren't those painted or dyed also?)
Fantail Goldfish
Fancy Goldfish
Tiger Barbs (all one color though)
Bala Shark
Catfish (not sure on the type-they grow to 6" and do best in groups of 3)
small pleco
Pink Kissing Gourami
Blue Gourami
Giant Danio
Mollies (Again, not sure on a specific type)
Balloon Mollies
Male and Female Betas
mystery snails


Thanks in advance

 

[Luna09]

Ok,
All good questions and it turns out you have discovered the main thing everyone here is annoyed with- copious amounts of conflicting advice.

I have never kept zebra danios but I did have gold ring danios and I ended up getting rid of them. With my experience, they are very nippy. They taste most things they can put their mouths on and because they are so fast it tends to be other tank mates that can't swim as fast.

I would be mainly concerned with the guppy-danio mix as guppies have such long beautiful fins that are all too tempting. They tend to get shredded with a whole list of community fish.

I love my guppies and have kept two males In a ten gallon with harlequin rasbora and neon tetras. I personally LOVE harlequins and I would definitely recommend them they are peachy and black and do some pretty cool dances with each other if you have enough.

 

[bud29]

Thanks, because that might not work do you have any other suggestions?

 

[Luna09]

To replace which, the danio?

 

[bud29]

Sure, or pick a whole new group. I'm just looking for new ideas

 

[Luna09]

I was just recently introduced to threadfin rainbowfish. They stay small and are quite different from the run of the mill aquarium fish.

Have you looked at dwarf cichlids like rams? They are beautiful and get to be a nice size for a 30 gallon.
I love pristella tetras but they aren't a wow factor. I have them in a tank with a male betta and they all do splendidly. I personally love tetras. They come in many sizes and colours and they are active, they bring a high pace to the tank that is amazing to watch.

Some other fish to consider:

Endlers livebearers
Bosemani rainbowfish (are larger but super cool)
German blue rams
Pristella tetra
Black neon tetra
Honey gourami
Sparkling gourami


Really it totally depends on what atmosphere you want to go with. Lots of action, or a slow rainbow of guppies? uncommon wow factor fish or fish that your friends will know on sight- who even in the non-fish addicted community doesn't know of neon tetras..?

There is such a large world of fish.

I usually bring my iPhone to the store and then research anything that interests me while I browse the tanks.

 

[bud29]

thanks, but with my pitiful selection I don't have any of those fish. I have a list of the fish I can choose from besides the zebras, platys, and guppies in the original question.

 

[Luna09]

Ok sorry, did you edit it? I didn't notice that when I originally read the question...

As to the glofish and mixed fruit, yes they are dyed. Correct me if I am wrong but aren't glofish just genetically modified DANIOS? I wouldn't get them and don't support science experiments with any animal.

Ok with your selection I personally would go with

7-9 Neons
6 High fin blacks
6 Red eyes
1 kissing gourami, ONLY 1 !!

**tiger barbs are aggressive and can limit additions to your tank later on, sharks generally need more space, goldfish need ALOT of space**,

Most gourami are aggressive. Personally I have had nothing but headaches with the blues- they are belligerent to everything in the tank gourami or other.
Putting more than one of the same type of gourami can work out but I generally steer clear as they are territorial and are very mean to each other.

 

[wryly23]

I keep danios with guppies and they aren't nippy. I wouldn't keep danios with bettas as they will chase and stress the betta out. I keep my danios with neons and they play tag!

Happy Fishkeeping

xx wryly

 

[bud29]

And thus, the conflicting advice.


How many danios and guppies do you have?

 

[wryly23]

And thus, the conflicting advice.

How many danios and guppies do you have?

I have 2 guppies and 4 danios. I started off with six, but two died I tried to save Walmart danios but those two were too far gone. My danios don't pay attention to my guppies. Only my tetras. They really seem to enjoy each others company!

Happy Fishkeeping

xx wryly

 

[bud29]

thanks!

 

[librarygirl]

It can be frustrating with the conflicting advice around the Internet. Fish have their own personalities just like people do, so what works for one may not work for another depending on what kind of fish you end up with, whether they are more aggressive or more docile. There's no 100% way to be sure unfortunately. My replies below in BLUE on some of your options.

Hi, I have a 30 gallon tank and have just begun to cycle it (without fish). I have a very limited selection of fish, but from what I had, I thought a cool combo would be zebra danios, guppies, and platys. I have done a lot of research as to whether or not they will get along and have found answers ranging from "Zebra Danios don't even get along with themselves, so they can't get along with any other fish" to "They'll get along perfectly fine if you have enough danios." So my question is, will they actually get along or not??

Given the size of my tank, I am planning on getting 6 danios, 6 platys, and 4 guppies. Would a different number of each make them get along better??? Say, more danios, less platys? I really have no idea.

Also one more thing...I have heard a few stories of the danios taking all the food and the other slower fish starving...Is this common? Will having a bigger, more spread out tank help?

If you think I should get a completely different assortment of fish, here are my other options besides the 3 I talked about: (I told you they were limited)

High-Fin black tetra - would be ok in your tank, a group of 6 minimum
Red-Eye Tetra would be ok in your tank, a group of 6 minimum
Neon Tetra would be ok in your tank, a group of 6 minimum but as they are the smaller variety of tetra you could do a larger shoal of 8-10
Mixed Fruit Tetra (Really don't want to get those as they're dyed)
Glo-Fish (Aren't those painted or dyed also?) -genetically modified, not dyed
Fantail Goldfish - coldwater, not tropical
Fancy Goldfish coldwater, not tropical
Tiger Barbs (all one color though) can be VERY aggressive toward eachother and occasionally other tank mates. It's generally recommended to keep a large group of these in a species-only tank
Bala Shark - wouldn't work in a 30 gal
Catfish (not sure on the type-they grow to 6" and do best in groups of 3) - probably wouldn't work if they grow that large
small pleco - what kind? If its a common, they grow way too large for a 30 gal. Most LFS sell them very small but they can be very large. If it's a smaller variety like a bristlenose, that would work, but i'd find out the exact name of them first; also they need real driftwood to munch on for digestion
Pink Kissing Gourami - can be aggressive and grow fairly large
Blue Gourami - seems like the larger type of gourami, i dont know if it would work in a 30
Giant Danio - might be too large (adult size 4")
Mollies (Again, not sure on a specific type) - one or two of these would work Balloon Mollies - these would work too; they're bred for their balloon shape and there is some debate about the ethics of this
Male and Female Betas - can be hit or miss in a community tank; definitely not with longer-finned fish like guppies or mollies
mystery snails - larger type of snail, you could fit one or two


Thanks in advance

There are many possible combinations but here's one:

2 platy
3-4 guppies [careful if you get a mix of male and females as you will have babies]
8-10 neon tetra
1 mystery snail
1 pleco (only if it's a smaller variety like a bristlenose)

 

[bud29]

Thanks, I was considering this combo myself.

There is no specific name on the tag for the pleco, (just 'small plecostomus') but it can grow up to 20", so it's definitely not a smaller kind.

 

[bud29]

Help Stocking 30g tank.

Ever since I got my 5 gallon tank, I have strictly followed the inch-per-gallon rule. Now I have a 30 gallon tank and am considering what to stock it with. Because I have such a bad selection of fish, my options are still sort of limited as to what kind and how many fish I can put in. So I was wondering, do you have to strictly stick to the one inch-per-gallon rule? I don't want to overcrowd, but if I can put more fish in without overcrowding, I would in a heartbeat.

Someone suggested to me that I should get 7-9 neon tetras, 6 hi fin black tetras, 6 red eye tetras, and 1 pink kissing gourami. That amounts to 46-48 inches of fish for my 30 gallon tank! I think it would be a cool combo, but I don't want to overcrowd. Also, I read that the kissing gouramis can be aggressive to the smaller fish, eating their slime coat. So if I took out the neons, that would be 39 inches for 30 gallons. Would THAT be overcrowding?

Here are the fish I have to choose from so if the mix I mentioned earlier won't work, you can make your own combo you think I should get:

Neon Tetras
Hi Fin black tetras
Red Eye tetras
Mixed Fruit Tetras (Don't really want to get those as they're dyed)
Glo-Fish (Aren't those painted?)
Male Fancy Guppies
Platys
Tiger Barbs
Pink Kissing Gourami
Blue Gourami
Giant Danio
Zebra Danio
Catfish (not sure on the type, but grow to 6" and live in groups of at least 3)
Bala Shark
Mollies
Balloon Mollies
African Cichlids
Fantail Goldfish
Fancy Goldfish
Shubunkin
Male/Female Beta
Mystery Snail
Plecostomus (tag doesn't state a type; they grow to 20", though)


Thank You in advance

 

[pocket22]

8 guppies, 9 black skirt tetras, 1 gourami, 7 mollies, 2 algae eaters and that's it!

 

[jlk]

I dont do tropicals & Ill let the experts offer their opinions on these guys. But, I can inform you a 30g can hold two fancy/fantail goldfish with heavy filtration (min 300gph). Shubunkins are pond fish & do not realistically belong in an aquarium. Same applies to commons, comets, koi, etc. Good luck!

 

[bud29]

pocket22, isn't that quite a few fish for just a 30 gallon? Also, thanks jlk, I really wasn't considering them as something about them I just didn't like.

 

[pocket22]

27 fish? NO! Some platys and other fish I put need 2 inches or MORE per gallon. Don't get more that 28!

 

[bud29]

huh......and as for the gourami, do you mean a blue gourami or a pink kissing?