New FW Tank

[alkataz]

I have 2 SW tanks currently, but have no experience with FW fish. My daugher wants fish of her own, but I don't want the heavy maintance and expense of another SW tank so I am looking into doing a simple FW setup that she will enjoy. The tank will be placed in her bedroom, so I'm trying to cut down on bulky equipment needs and things like that. It will be a 30gal with a HOB canister filter and moderate lighting. The details of equipment have nto been determined yet because I am trying to decide on inhabitants and will get equipment to suit their needs.

The fish desired are as follows

Blue/Pearl Damio
Silver Tip Tetra (6)
Topsail/Rainbow platy (2)
Sterba's Cory (2)
Sparkling Gourami
Swordfish

I am hoping these fish are easy to care for and fairly hardy. If you see any problems with this combination of fish please let me know.

The hardest thing to decide on have been the plants. I don't want overly intrusive plants that I will have to constantly fight with to keep them from taking over the tank, although I understand that regular prunning will be neccessary. Here is what I have com e up with please give me your opinion on how well these will work.

Chilensis
Micro Sword
java fern
narrow leaf Temple
Anubias Nana
was considering a banana plant as well, but only one kind of as a centerpiece

I was also going to add some ghost shrimp, but think they will probably get eaten. As for snails I don't really like them and I don't know if they are as neccessary in FW as they are in salt, but will add if absolutely neccessary. I prefer shrimp though.

Please give me your feedback.

[Lupin]

The fish desired are as follows

Blue/Pearl Damio
Silver Tip Tetra (6)
Topsail/Rainbow platy (2)
Sterba's Cory (2)
Sparkling Gourami
Swordfish
Keep 2-3 females per male when keeping livebearers. Stick with platies and eliminate the swordtails from your list. Both species can easily crossbreed and it is best not to do it.

Add more corydoras. Increase to 6-7. Danios are best kept in a group. 6-8 is the minimum I would suggest. As for the tetras, silver-tipped tetras are potential fin nippers and will harass the sparkling gouramis. Give cardinals, neons, glowlights, green fire tetras, ember, kerri and flame tetras reconsideration. They are far better choices than the silver-tipped tetras. Avoid serpaes, black skirts and red-eye (Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae).

Overall, it's a nice stocklist with a few revisions.

The hardest thing to decide on have been the plants. I don't want overly intrusive plants that I will have to constantly fight with to keep them from taking over the tank, although I understand that regular prunning will be neccessary. Here is what I have com e up with please give me your opinion on how well these will work.

Chilensis
Micro Sword
java fern
narrow leaf Temple
Anubias Nana
was considering a banana plant as well, but only one kind of as a centerpiece
Never tried some of these plants mentioned however Java ferns and anubias are easy to keep and do not demand too much lighting levels. Give cryptocorynes and Java moss reconsiderations. Both are easy to keep.

I was also going to add some ghost shrimp, but think they will probably get eaten. As for snails I don't really like them and I don't know if they are as neccessary in FW as they are in salt, but will add if absolutely neccessary. I prefer shrimp though.
Provided you have several thickets of plants, ghost, amano and cherry red shrimps should be fine in your tank. You could try mystery snails as well. Msjink might pop in here as well to give you tips on keeping invertebrates. Good luck.:)

[alkataz]

Hmm, won't two sets of schooling fish be too much in a 30 gal

I could revise the list to consist of

Sparkling Gourami (not sure how many maybe 3)
Topsail/Rainbow platy (2)
True Runnynose Tetra (6)
Blue/peral Damio ( I don't want to school this fish only wanted one at most two if this is not a good idea can someone suggest some small peaceful fish that can be kept singularly)
Sterba's Cory (2)

[alkataz]

Some of these fish like plants that float and driftwood to hide in. By floating plant do they mean plants attached to driftwood, or is there some specific floating plants i should purchase?

[Lupin]

Hmm, won't two sets of schooling fish be too much in a 30 gal
If you are referring to danios and tetras, no. Danios occupy the surface more than the mid level hence the tetras are free to take the space.

I could revise the list to consist of

Sparkling Gourami (not sure how many maybe 3)
Topsail/Rainbow platy (2)
True Runnynose Tetra (6)
Blue/peral Damio ( I don't want to school this fish only wanted one at most two if this is not a good idea can someone suggest some small peaceful fish that can be kept singularly)
Sterba's Cory (2)
I'd keep 3 sparkling gouramis. The danios are schooling fish and should be kept in at least 5. What genders are these platies you are going to keep? I've recommended the sex ratio in my above post. Females are easily stressed when constantly chased by males.

[Lupin]

Some of these fish like plants that float and driftwood to hide in. By floating plant do they mean plants attached to driftwood, or is there some specific floating plants i should purchase?
Floating plants float on the surface. Plants that attached themselves on the woods are Java moss, Java ferns and anubias.

[andi872]

corys like a group to i found this

They need a shoal of 6+ conspecifics in order to feel comfortable in their surroundings and in order for you to see the range of corydoradine interactionsat

this site
http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/freshwater/catfish/sterbacory.html

[alkataz]

Okay that works for me so the stocking list for the fish will be:

Sparkling Gourami (3)
Topsail/Rainbow platy (3) I will keep two females and one male that should help with the stress issue
True Runnynose Tetra (6)
Blue/peral Damio (6)
Sterba's Cory (2)

[Lupin]

Okay that works for me so the stocking list for the fish will be:

Sparkling Gourami (3)
Topsail/Rainbow platy (3) I will keep two females and one male that should help with the stress issue
True Runnynose Tetra (6)
Blue/peral Damio (6)
Sterba's Cory (2)
I'd add more cories. The more, the merrier. Keep 6 and this is okay.:)

[irishspy]

The hardest thing to decide on have been the plants. I don't want overly intrusive plants that I will have to constantly fight with to keep them from taking over the tank, although I understand that regular prunning will be neccessary. Here is what I have com e up with please give me your opinion on how well these will work.

Chilensis
Micro Sword
java fern
narrow leaf Temple
Anubias Nana
was considering a banana plant as well, but only one kind of as a centerpiece

The concern I have about your plants is that you're mixing low with high light plants. For example, assuming you mean Lilaeopsis brasiliensis (http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/myplants/69-Brazilian_Micro_Sword_Lilaeopsis_brasiliensis.html ) by "micro sword," that's a plant that needs high light, while anubias nana is a low-light plant. Either type are beautiful, but high-light plants require more light than you may have for that tank and, if you do have enough light, they'll need CO2 to help compete with the algae. If you want low-maintenance, stick with low to medium low-light plants such as anubias and several varieties of cryptocoryne (for example.) Here are some sites you should check out:

Planted Tank Forum (http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/myplants/) (Might require registration, has a good plant directory)

Aquatic Plant Central (http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/)(This is a link to their plant finder, which lets you search by various criteria.)

Plant Geek (http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php) has another good reference database and search tool.

Finally, there's Live Aquaria (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1619), one of several online plant stores. (The link leads to a specific entry for your narrow-leaf Temple plant.)

Regarding fish, I'd second the recommendation to up your sterbais to 6, because they're a social fish that are much happier in a group of their own kind. And, while Rummies are gorgeous, I've read they can be sensitive to conditions in a new tank. (Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, I'm sure. :) ) I'd consider replacing them an equally peaceful, yet pretty, tetra -- glowlights, for example.

It looks like you're off to a great start; I hope you and your daughter both have fun with the new aquarium! :thm:

[montysmum]

If you are looking for an easy maintainence tank why not just get fake plants, especially as the lighting is only moderate? Not for the purists I know, but it can look great with fake plants in it and is certainly easier.

As for fish, that's about 110litres isn't it, which isn't a bad size tank.

Corys would be good in there. The plattys will breed continuously so that may not be what you want - you then have to decide what to do with the fry. If you are looking for a decent show of fish then male Guppies can be quite good, and you could also have a shoaling fish - say some harlequin Rasboras. They are a lovely fish, attractive, active and usually settle in the middle of the tank, filling that up.

The other thing to consider is a coldwater tank (dare I mention it on this bit of forum?). A nice fantail and some Minnows would be easy to look after - you dont even have to heat the water:)

[Star_Rider]

you could easily pull off low light .
there are different species of java fern, as well I second java moss(you'll have to trip it back once it gets established tho)
several varieties of anubias, as well as bolbitus ( I was gifted some of this stuff slow growerlikes low light)

[alkataz]

Okay here is the list (I hope)

Sparkling Gourami (3)
Topsail/Rainbow platy (3) I will keep two females and one male that should help with the stress issue
True Runnynose Tetra (6)
Blue/peral Damio (6)
Sterba's Cory (6)

Is this overstocked? I will put a good canister filter on and use high quality media. As well as adding a variety of shrimp to the mix.

[alkataz]

Also I will make sure the tank is cycled and stable and will add the fish slowly. I have plenty of experience with that as I have two SW fish tanks one which is 55 and one which is 180g, both which are fully stocked. So can be patient and wait for the tank to establish itself.

[jm1212]

Okay here is the list (I hope)

Sparkling Gourami (3)
Topsail/Rainbow platy (3) I will keep two females and one male that should help with the stress issue
True Runnynose Tetra (6)
Blue/peral Damio (6)
Sterba's Cory (6)

Is this overstocked? I will put a good canister filter on and use high quality media. As well as adding a variety of shrimp to the mix.
it sounds likea good stock. make sure that the sparking gouramis are getting enough food though, because the danios and platies may outcompete them for food.

[alkataz]

Okay according to the links on live aquaria the plants I listed are moderate light. Can someone point out which ones have higher light requirements?

[Lupin]

Okay here is the list (I hope)

Sparkling Gourami (3)
Topsail/Rainbow platy (3) I will keep two females and one male that should help with the stress issue
True Runnynose Tetra (6)
Blue/peral Damio (6)
Sterba's Cory (6)

Is this overstocked? I will put a good canister filter on and use high quality media. As well as adding a variety of shrimp to the mix.
It's good.:thm:

[irishspy]

Okay according to the links on live aquaria the plants I listed are moderate light. Can someone point out which ones have higher light requirements?

If you follow the link I left for your micro-sword*, you'll see that plantedtank.net lists is as "high light." I'm sure there will be some disagreement among sites, but I'd give precedence to dedicated hobbyist sites, since they're not trying to sell something. (Although LiveAquaria, part of Drs. Foster & Smith, is pretty good.) My point was that, if I were you (and, in a sense, I am, since I'll soon be setting up a tank), I'd narrow my choices to plants that were definitely low to medium light.

*(Of course, I note a comment there that it grows under low light, too, but tends to get tall in that case. :huh:)

hope this helps,

[alkataz]

Thank you very much for helping me with fish stocking for this tank. I have moved on to the equipment.

Here are my choices:

Rena FilStar Xp1
I'm hoping that 250 gph that it sends is enough for the tank. I already have 2x400 and 2x600 as well as a 1200 maxijets laying around that have not been used yet. I can use them for some added flow in the tank. I would appreciate input on this. The aquarium will be planted so I'm worried about too strong a flow. Suggestions on this matter are greatly needed.

Dolphin 5 star airpump daughter wants those animated air stone things, this I hope will run them.

VisoTherm Stealth Heater 2x50w.

Lighting is still up in the air while I decide on plants.

[irishspy]

Looks fine to me. I'm a believer in redundancy when it comes to filtration, so I might add an Aquaclear 30 HOB filter to supplement the XP 1.

[alkataz]

I will look into the HOB filter. How many powerheads should I add for flow? I am leaning toward dropping 2x 1200 maxi jets and 2x 600 for some softer flow on the bottom but not so soft as to produce dead spots.