New to tropicals - and very confused!

kelliope

kelliope

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Jun 19, 2005
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I am fairly new to tropicals - I am used to goldies :D

The question I have is about stocking my new 30 gallon tank. Currently I have three 5-gallon tanks housing the following:

Tank 1 (5 gallons): 3 male Fancy Guppies and 2 small Panda Cories, several live plants and a couple of snails.

Tank 2 (5 gallons): 3 Cardinal Tetras, 1 baby Neon Tetra, 2 small Panda Cories, driftwood (good tanins in the water - I hear tetras like that) and several live plants and a few snails (geez - can't get rid of them :mad2: )

Tank 3 (5 gallons): 1 male Betta Splendens and lots of live plants (he likes to sleep on the leaves)

3 gallon glass container temporarily housing my newly arrived Red Cherry Shrimp.

Tank 4 (30 gallons): 3 male Fancy Guppies, 1 baby male Fancy Guppy, 2 Peppered Cory cats (this tank is fairly new and I am adding livestock slowly), several live plants (this is going to be a fairly well-planted tank - just waiting for them to arrive tomorrow), a couple of uncoated rocks and a piece of driftwood.

The problem I am having is sorting out compatibility. I understand about compatibility based on peacefulness, but what about requirements. I really wanted to have the 30 gallon house the guppies and 3 platies. I also wanted to add the 2 peppered cory cats (which I did) and 2 oto cats (which I don't own yet), but my understanding is they like different water conditions. They like water more like what my tetras like. Yet, I read of so many people having them all in one community tank. I am very concerned about their well-being, so I end up with nearly all species tanks. I would really like to have more of a communty environment. I was also hoping to add two dwarf Gouramis.

I just don't know anymore - it is so confusing - any ideas????? :help:
 
Except for the betta, all of your fish are "compatible". However.....

Cardinals and neon's are schooling fish. They should be in a group of 7-10.

Corys are "family" fish. They like to be with other corys. Put you panda and peppers in the large tank together.
 
Most hardy fish that have different requirements can be housed together. That is why the notion of keeping a neutral pH (7) becomes important.

Say you have neons, which tend to like something around 6-6.8 and livebearers such as platys and guppies, which like a pH around 7.2-7.8. If you house them together in a tank and keep the pH at 7, both species will do okay. Of course they will do a bit better in their optimal conditions, but they'll do just fine as close as that. Plus most tropicals we have these days have been tank raised and are so far removed from wild conditions, that they have adapted/evolved to live in less than perfect settings. The more popular types of tropical fish...that is to say, those that are often found in community or beginner setups will all do well if kept in good quality water and looked after responsibly.

There are of course certain species that very much require specific conditions such as African cichlids (they require a very high pH and hardness) and discus. (which enjoy a very low pH and soft water) These are usually recommended for more experienced aquarists who wish to setup very specific aquarium conditions in order to succesfully keep or breed these species. Once you get your feet really wet in this hobby you may want to consider such creatures, but for now stay with the popular community types so you can gain valuable experience by trial and error.

As far as aggressivness goes, there is really no simple or short way to discuss all of the variables in a short forum post. Basically you'd have to research each individual species and maybe ask questions on here about specific combinations. The fish you have in the tank are all perfectly good companions with each other as far as temperment.
 
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echoofformless

The search is disabled so i cannot post the link, but....

In the words of RTR, "Fish do not read PH"

Unless your ph is 6.1 or 8.9, it is irrelevant (unless you are breeding)

What matters to fish is ph stability
 
budrecki said:
echoofformless

The search is disabled so i cannot post the link, but....

In the words of RTR, "Fish do not read PH"

Unless your ph is 6.1 or 8.9, it is irrelevant (unless you are breeding)

What matters to fish is ph stability
Click to expand...


Is that not kind of what I said?
I did leave out the part about stability however. That is a good point.
 
Thanks. It makes a bit more sense now. I will give some thought to adding the neons to the 30 gallon community tank, as well as adding the panda cories to join their peppered cousins in the community tank.

Thanks again!
 
Alright the least complicated and accurate thing I know for sure about PH is this:
Stability is far better for fish than an unstable "ideal" PH.

IMO, you should take the Cardinal Tetras to the 30 gallon, and add 3-5 more. Then add 5 Neon tetras in the 5 gallon.

The reason I said Cardinals to the 30 and not Neons is because Cardinals get to twice the size of Neons.

You are probably already aware, but make sure your tank is cycled. If not, adding gravel or filter media to the 30 Gallon will boost the cycle. Established water doesn't help a tank cycle.
 
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