30 Gallon Aquarium Stocking Plan

[FallenAngel]

I am about to start seriously gathering all of my decorations and plants for a 30 gallon Amazon Blackwater Biotope aquarium. Before I actually begin buying, I wanted to run the stocking plan by you'll for two reasons: 1.) I want your opinions of how well all the fish will get along and 2.) I want to make sure everything is from South America. The only fish store near me is an hour away That being said, I dont really know all the people who work there, so multiple opinions make me feel better before I start.

The tank is the average 30 gallon aquarium, lighting is low, and the filteration system is the aquaclear up to 70 gallon filter. I plan on finding some driftwood on my own, and then buying some Malaysian, Mopani, and maybe a little Manzanita. For substrate I was going to use white river rock and cover it with a thin layer of sand. As far as plants go, I'm leaning towards swords and maybe a little frogbit.

As for fish, I think I am going to be overstocked with this plan so I was wondering what you'll think I should substitute.

3 Angel Fish
5 Rosy Finned Tetras
1 Clown Pleco
5 Leapord Cories
1 Apisto
7 Cardinal Tetra

I really want cories, the rest are pretty flexible, though I would really like angelfish. I also like upside down catfish and those oto algae eaters a lot.

Thanks for any help!

 

[PNWaquarist]

If by "Rosy Finned Tetras" you mean Bloodfin Tetras, those are good, hardy fish and I would add them first after your finish cycling. I'd add one or two more, as they like to school. Add the Cardinal Tetras near the end of your stocking. They need an established, stable tank that is at least a couple of months old.

Avoid really small fish like Neon or Green Neon Tetras, as the Angels will eat them.

 

[FallenAngel]

If by "Rosy Finned Tetras" you mean Bloodfin Tetras, those are good, hardy fish and I would add them first after your finish cycling. I'd add one or two more, as they like to school. Add the Cardinal Tetras near the end of your stocking. They need an established, stable tank that is at least a couple of months old.

Avoid really small fish like Neon or Green Neon Tetras, as the Angels will eat them.

Sorry, I meant these guys

They are very hardy also though, I have some in my 10 I was going to move over. Will the tank be over stocked?


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[PNWaquarist]

I'm not familiar with those, but a quick web search indicates that they may nip at your angels' fins. I'd suggest getting something a little more peaceful, like Rummynose or Bloodfin Tetra. If you have a reputable speciality aquarium store within short driving distance, I'd suggest purchasing there, instead of Petsmart.

Also, I'd not go with the gravel/sand mix. Your Corys prefer sand. Medium-grade sand won't get sucked up into your filter.

 

[FallenAngel]

Okay, I had some problems with 100% sand before but I'll try again for my cories. Their my favorite fish. I don't like buying at petsmart, but my closest fish store is an hour away. That's why I like asking you guys questions, some petsmart workers are unreliable. I'm going to try to buy most my fish from that store but I may get a few from petsmart and quarantine them till I'm sure their healthy. Will the apisto cause problems with the angels?


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[Venom_]

I think 3 angel fish with a lot of tetras would be a little overcrowded at the top, maybe one pair of angel fish and one school of roseys or cardinals, but maybe just the angelfish only. Also cories would work if the apisto is not aggressive because they also hang out at the bottom. Clown plecos and Otos aren't black water fish species and I don't know if the roseys are either.

Do you want to create the same South American parameters too?

I have a South American black water biotope myself.
It's 36 gallon with 2 aquaclear 50, aqueon pro heater, and t5 light. The stock is 3 apistos, 7 neons, and 7 black neons

 

[Dragon.goby]

Okay, I had some problems with 100% sand before but I'll try again for my cories. Their my favorite fish. I don't like buying at petsmart, but my closest fish store is an hour away. That's why I like asking you guys questions, some petsmart workers are unreliable. I'm going to try to buy most my fish from that store but I may get a few from petsmart and quarantine them till I'm sure their healthy. Will the apisto cause problems with the angels?


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The apisto shouldn't harm your angels



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[FallenAngel]

I think 3 angel fish with a lot of tetras would be a little overcrowded at the top, maybe one pair of angel fish and one school of roseys or cardinals, but maybe just the angelfish only. Also cories would work if the apisto is not aggressive because they also hang out at the bottom. Clown plecos and Otos aren't black water fish species and I don't know if the roseys are either.

Do you want to create the same South American parameters too?

I have a South American black water biotope myself. View attachment 246404
It's 36 gallon with 2 aquaclear 50, aqueon pro heater, and t5 light. The stock is 3 apistos, 7 neons, and 7 black neons

Okay, I would like to create the same parameters, the Otos aren't important, the clown pleco I just mentioned because he's in my 10 but I can always leave him there. I was going to break down that tank but I could just move him and my tetras. I'll defiantly have to be careful about the apisto. I'm also cool with not both schools but I do want some little schoolers somewhere. How would upside down cats fit in the tank?


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[FallenAngel]

By the way, cool tank!


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[Venom_]

Thanks and upside down catfish are from Africa.

 

[absolutangel04]

I do not suggest 3 angels. It rarely works out long term, and more often than not 1 angel will just be bullied to death, especially in that size tank. I would do 1 or 2.
Upside down cats are cool, but are pretty nocturnal. I have kept them in the past and ended up trading them away because I never saw them. I would just stick with cories if I was you.
If you are looking into South American, have you considered hatchet fish? They school up at the top. You have to watch for jumpers though.

 

[FallenAngel]

Thanks and upside down catfish are from Africa.

Geez, okay, I misread a site.


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[FallenAngel]

I do not suggest 3 angels. It rarely works out long term, and more often than not 1 angel will just be bullied to death, especially in that size tank. I would do 1 or 2.
Upside down cats are cool, but are pretty nocturnal. I have kept them in the past and ended up trading them away because I never saw them. I would just stick with cories if I was you.
If you are looking into South American, have you considered hatchet fish? They school up at the top. You have to watch for jumpers though.

I used to have upside down cats and they where always out (though I did have one I had to rescue out of my Texas holy rock...) I haven't really considered hatchets because I don't like the flight risk! Lol, I have worries about fish jumping while I'm cleaning the tank. You should have seen my tank after I found out my amino shrimp where known escape artists... Duct tape, everywhere! Lol, they never escaped but not very presentable... Never again


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[Luananeko]

Agreed on sticking to 1 or a mated pair of angels instead of 3.

Those Rosy tetras look related to Serpae Tetras (Hyphessobrycon eques)... If so, there's a strong possibility that they'll nip your Angel's fins. I wouldn't mix them unless in a school of 8-10+, and even then you'll want to keep an eye on them. The larger numbers helps keep the nipping to within themselves. If you go with the larger school you'll need to opt out of the Cardinals though.

As mentioned above, you may see aggression between the cories and the apisto. They're both bottom dwellers, so they'll be running into each other a lot. Cories are TERRIBLE at recognizing territories, so they won't tend to leave an Apisto's claimed area alone. Depending on your apisto's personality, he may either get overly stressed by the invasions, or he could attack and kill the cories. It's hard to say. It's also possible they'll be okay together if you get a mellow apisto since it may not defend it's territory without a potential mate to show off to.

Otherwise your stocking looks fine.

 

[FallenAngel]

Agreed on sticking to 1 or a mated pair of angels instead of 3.

Those Rosy tetras look related to Serpae Tetras (Hyphessobrycon eques)... If so, there's a strong possibility that they'll nip your Angel's fins. I wouldn't mix them unless in a school of 8-10+, and even then you'll want to keep an eye on them. The larger numbers helps keep the nipping to within themselves. If you go with the larger school you'll need to opt out of the Cardinals though.

As mentioned above, you may see aggression between the cories and the apisto. They're both bottom dwellers, so they'll be running into each other a lot. Cories are TERRIBLE at recognizing territories, so they won't tend to leave an Apisto's claimed area alone. Depending on your apisto's personality, he may either get overly stressed by the invasions, or he could attack and kill the cories. It's hard to say. It's also possible they'll be okay together if you get a mellow apisto since it may not defend it's territory without a potential mate to show off to.

Otherwise your stocking looks fine.

Okay, we've always bought fish in odd numbers, I can do with a pair of angels. As for the apisto he doesn't have to be there, just thought they where cool. Would a larger school of those really work? I love them because their so active. I could substitute them however, there wouldn't be much color with just them


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[Luananeko]

Yes, Apistos are very cool, but unfortunately they do like to have their space...

Yes, a larger school will tend to curb their nippyness because they'll be so busy chasing each other that they don't have time to bother their other tankmates. You see this with Tiger Barbs and Zebra Danios a lot as well. Burn out their energy with space and ample school mates to sort out pecking orders with, and they can be quite docile. Otherwise, they get bored and need something to burn energy off on, so they turn to tasty morsels like their tankmate's fins. You may still have the occasional bully that insists on going after their tankmates, but chances are good that you won't. Keep an eye on them and remove any that seem to be bullies.

 

[FallenAngel]

Okay, I really do like the fellas but I may have to go with that larger school and watch them. I can see how they can be bullies, they are always dive bombing each other and I only have 5! Okay, so so far I'm not thinking:

2 angels
9 tetras
5 cories
1 clown pleco

Any other cool South American fish you'll can think of for me to consider that won't kill anyone?


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[PNWaquarist]

Okay, I had some problems with 100% sand before but I'll try again for my cories.

Small-grain sand such as beach sand is a pain to work with. You're much better off going with a grittier medium-grain sand. It'll cause fewer problems and it's soft enough that your corys won't be harmed by sharp edges.

 

[FallenAngel]

Small-grain sand such as beach sand is a pain to work with. You're much better off going with a grittier medium-grain sand. It'll cause fewer problems and it's soft enough that your corys won't be harmed by sharp edges.

Where can I buy that at? My last one caused a bunch of issues.


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[Kromlech54]

So some suggestions depending on a few things. So in the wild full grown angel fish dine on the smaller neon and very close cousin the cardinal tetra. From my experience I have had really good luck with rummynose tetra's and black skirt tetra's with angels, and both species are really active. Also something else you could try is a pair of dwarf rams? German blue ram is common to find but can be finicky with water peramiters. So if you were to go with rams I would suggest adding them last once u know how your peramiters are going to be and when you have a good cleaning routine. They are fun to watch and very colorful. With angels as well you may want to avoid oto's if it fits in there mouth they will eat it... lol

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