Any Suggestions?

[howlincody]

I currently have an empty 30 gallon (113 liter) aquarium. I just ordered tons of stuff from DrsFosterSmith.com (http://www.drsfostersmith.com) to set it up but I have one problem...I don't know what to keep! (i've ran through hundreds of ideas)

I really don't want to mess with my tap water (i've had problems in the past doing this). My tap water has a pH of 7.6 and is rather hard. The stuff I ordered online included a double bulb strip light and 40 lbs of flourite substrate and I definitely would like a well-planted tank. My filtration will be a Fluval 204 and a Penguin Bio-Wheel 125 and I will be running a DIY co2 system.

So in other words, I need fish that prefer hard water, can live in a 30 gallon, and will not harm plants. Any suggestions?

Thanks ;)

[Serrateeth_2002]

The smallest in the UpsideDown Catfish group

[Tempest]

Heehees.. There are so many of them it's hard to tell... What sort of fish do *you* like?

[howlincody]

I've always wanted to try Kissing Gouramis but they get big and I think they would eat the plants. I think the Balloon variety is smaller but they would probably still eat the plants.

I also am interested in livebearers. When I started in the hobby, I sort of just skipped over the platies and swordtails and went straight into the cichlids so I feel like I missed out.

Really, I'm open for anything...as long as it isn't African Cichlids (that's what was in this tank last and i wanna try something different) or Brackish (I have a brackish tank running and plus the salt limits my plant choices).

Thanks for any more suggestions ;)

[Serrateeth_2002]

A killifish tank?But those fish are small and i think need soft water.

[howlincody]

Yeah, I was thinking about killies too.

I found that this fish, Nothobranchius guentheri (http://petfish.net/gue.htm) , likes hard water. Plus PetFish.net (http://petfish.net/order.htm) has "A weeks worth of Nothobranchius guentheri eggs in peatmoss" for $6. My only problem here is that my tank isn't cycled. Would it be a good idea to put eggs in a non-cycled tank to hatch? Maybe I could hold the eggs somewhere else until the tank cycled and THEN hatch them but I don't know if the eggs can last that long. IF they can, how to I properly care for them until I am ready for them to be hatched?

[keely]

I have moderately hard water of pH 7.8 and you can keep anything in that water -- almost -- so don't limit yourself to fish that prefer it. Fish adjust, they do fine, they may even be living in it already at the fish store. If you wanted a tetra tank or something, don't let your water stop you.

I can't believe you are taking the best part of fishkeeping and asking someone else to do it... ;) Geez, I'm short on tanks and have too many ideas, not the other way around... :)