back into the hobby...stocking advice

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DarthPookie

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Jun 20, 2006
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Hi I am getting back into keeping fish after about 10-12 years. I have a 30 gal tank for which I am getting an updated filter, etc to make sure I have the most current filtering tech available (as opposed to my old filter that I had to pack with fiber and charcoal myself, I see they have cartridges now). Anyways, I was thinking about the following stock:

5 guppies, undecided on variety yet (2 in each)
3 boesmani rainbows (3-4 in each)
1 Gold Angel (6 in)

I figured with those estimates of max adult fish sizes vs tank size, I am safely under my 1 in per gallon of fish. I don't do much planting, but will install one or two caves/driftwood for hiding places. I had a couple of questions concerning my choices and am looking for suggestions/advice/etc.

1) I figure the Angel will try to be king of the river, will he eventually become an aggressor in the tank even though the other fish will have more of their own to stick together? If I bought the angel as a juvenile would he become "conditioned" to his tankmates and not be aggressive?

2) Would I be pushing it if I added a bottom dweller for algae consumption later on, such as a pleco or chinese algae eater? I used to have a pleco and he grew to be about 8" long!

3) Any other suggestions on other fish that could work with this gang but without overcrowding the tank?

Thanks
 
Boesmani need at least a 45 gallon tank for a proper school of six and I wouldn't put 4 in a 30g. It's just too small. They grow 3-3.5" in a year and will keep on growing until they die.

A member of Bowheads! just recently posted a picture of his 9 year old 5½" Boesemani male on my site:

http://bowheads.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=178&start=0

Mine are just under a year old and 3.25-3.5" in size.

Rainbowfish housed in tanks that are too small and not enough room to swim may become aggressive, especially during spawning and sparring.

Another note: rainbowfish and angels do not get along. Bows are very active, not hyper like danios, but they almost never stop moving. They will get in each others faces and the angel will most likely start hiding all the time. Same goes for any other schooler in with rainbowfish.

HTH

Roan
 
Angels can be indeed agressive with smaller fish. Small guppies have a good chance of being eaten alive by an angel. Even juvenile angels will probably attack the guppies.

As for the algae eater, I suggest ottos if you don't want to overcrowd your tank. I bought my plecos when I didn't know better and they are definately going to outgrow my 65 gallon.

Good luck!
 
wow I had no idea that rainbow could get so big, most sites and other references say 4" max. So maybe only one of them, however it might not do well without a few buddies. So angelfish eat guppies, I've seen a few places say they do well with swordtails and some tetras, is this true? If I were to keep the angel and go with a few swords instead of the guppies, what might I put in place of the rainbow that would still be colorful and compatible with the rest of the tank?
 
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