30 Gal Plant/Fish Stocking - First Tank Plans

[Ehpn7]

Hello, everyone!

I've been lurking for quite some time while I figure out what sort of aquariums I'm interested in, and I'm getting to the point in my planning process where I want to run everything I've come up with past people with actual experience for input and suggestions. I've got a lot of experience with pet care (used to be an animal trainer!) but I've never had fish.

Potential Setup So Far:

- 30 Gallon (3ft) tank (comes with a hood + light- "standard t8 flourescent")
- I'd like for this tank to be heavily planted. I like that the plants improve water quality (which, hopefully, would make maintaining the fish's health easier), I like that it's a more natural environment for the fish to live in, I think it should make it easier to have a community tank with a betta, and I really like the aesthetics.

Fish:
- 1 Male Betta
- 3 Upside Down Catfish
- 5 Cory Cats (specific type still up for debate)
- Some miscellaneous mid/upper-tank dwellers, open to suggestions!
- This is what I've plugged into Aqadvisor so far.

Questions:

-- Substrate : What kinds of substrate would be supportive of plant growth while safe for the catfish barbels?

-- Fish : Suggestions for fish to share the upper portion of the tank with the betta?

-- Filters/Heaters : Recommendation for appropriate equipment? First priorities are affordability and efficiency, but I'd also like to consider an in-water filter, as my tank will probably be viewable from both sides.

-- Is there anything I'm overlooking?

-- Plants : I love the look of these two, but I'd like some advice about what sorts of plants would work well with my fish's water conditions + are very easy to care for!this and this

 

[Samzter]

Hello, everyone!

I've been lurking for quite some time while I figure out what sort of aquariums I'm interested in, and I'm getting to the point in my planning process where I want to run everything I've come up with past people with actual experience for input and suggestions. I've got a lot of experience with pet care (used to be an animal trainer!) but I've never had fish.

Potential Setup So Far:

- 30 Gallon (3ft) tank (comes with a hood + light- "standard t8 flourescent")
- I'd like for this tank to be heavily planted. I like that the plants improve water quality (which, hopefully, would make maintaining the fish's health easier), I like that it's a more natural environment for the fish to live in, I think it should make it easier to have a community tank with a betta, and I really like the aesthetics.

Fish:
- 1 Male Betta
- 3 Upside Down Catfish
- 5 Cory Cats (specific type still up for debate)
- Some miscellaneous mid/upper-tank dwellers, open to suggestions!
- This is what I've plugged into Aqadvisor so far.

Questions:

-- Substrate : What kinds of substrate would be supportive of plant growth while safe for the catfish barbels?

-- Fish : Suggestions for fish to share the upper portion of the tank with the betta?

-- Filters/Heaters : Recommendation for appropriate equipment? First priorities are affordability and efficiency, but I'd also like to consider an in-water filter, as my tank will probably be viewable from both sides.

-- Is there anything I'm overlooking?

-- Plants : I love the look of these two, but I'd like some advice about what sorts of plants would work well with my fish's water conditions + are very easy to care for!this and this

Hmmmm. Having a male betta in a community setup doesn't work out often. I think it would be better to have a different centrepiece. I know the upside down catfish need a school, and I'm not sure on them either. Why not have a school of rummy nose or cardinal tetras? Then have an apistogramma or two for a centrepiece. For Cories I vote 6 panda Cories. For this tank I would get maybe a 55g filter or probably something higher. You need a filter which does 8x gph ( gallons per hour) on a tank.

 

[CharlieKlein]

Yeah! I agree, I'd skip the betta. How bout this?

2 apistogrammas
6 rumynose tetras
6 panda Cory's
3 upsidedown cats

 

[Ehpn7]

After doing a lot of research in betta keeper forums, it's been my impression that the idea that bettas are not suitable for community tanks is somewhat of a common misconception. The majority of the people who said they had tried a betta in a community tank had success when they were heavily planted, lightly stocked (at least on the mid-upper tank where the betta will want to hang out), and with carefully chosen tankmates! I'm not dead set on a betta, but I'm really just not drawn to cichlids. german Blue Rams are admittedly pretty cool looking, but i'm not sure how i feel about the cichlid personality. Open to suggestions on non-cichlids centerpiece fish! Maybe a neon blue dwarf gourami or a paradise fish?

I do like rummy nose tetras, and the more graphic Cory cats are really fun- both the bandits and pandas. I have noticed, though, that albino cories always seem much more playful and active than the others- they're really quite entertaining.

 

[CharlieKlein]

Well if you want, you could go with a pair of pearl gouramis for centerpiece! They're sweet lookin! And then you could have a huge school of rummys and then Cory's, so Mabye
2 pearl gourami
10 rumynose
6 panda Cory's
6 zebra danios
That be cool! You can DEFINATLY try a betta, just have a back up plan in case of aggression, something like
1 male betta
8 Cory's
3 upsidedown catfish
Mabye 8 neon tetras