30 gallon stocking ideas

F

fwiffo

AC Members
Dec 5, 2007
442
1
18
well, i am looking at buying a 30 gallon aquarium soon. i like the breeder size best as it is wider compared to the standard 30 gallon long. landlord is up on fish and will not allow anything heavier like a 40 or 55 on the second story. so its like dang! anyway, what fully grown fish could i stock in there? i want cichlids, not schools of tetras or something.

the dimensions of the two tanks are as follows:
30 long: 3' long x 1' wide x 16" high.
30 breeder: 3' long x 1.5 wide x 1' high.

i guess another question i have is how can i gauge before i buy the fish how its adult size will fit inside my tank? i mean, is there a generalized rule like inches per gallon what the max size of a fish can live happily inside an aquarium?
 
hmmm, well i lover the looks of the electric yellow labs but im not sure if i could house 4 adults (5" each) in a 30 breeder. or am i wrong?

i like the south american and africans. the electric yellows are really very pretty and seem to recognize people. other than them, i know most africans getbigger and hence need a bigge tank than i can give.

the central and south americans are great fish too. i had a firemouth before for a long time. would a severum be too big? or could i get one of those geophagus earthdiggers for my tank. lfs has 1 that's like 6-7" and is really beautiful. could i swing him in the tank? or would it get too big. i think its of the larger one of the geophagus types. jurapari methinks off hand.
 
4 adults would be crowded in a 30 gallon. shell dwellers or calvus would probably be better choices. it may not be a good idea to keep them together though, because calvus are piscovorus and shellies are pretty little.

a firemouth would be ok, but sevs and geos will get to big. you may also want to look at rams and festivum.
 
Don't forget apistos. They look great. I like the idea of shelldwellers as well. If you went with rams or apistos, unless you had as many as possible, you could add some other things in there too. Kribs and keyholes are also an option.
 
you could also try the common convicts,angellfish and rams. you might be able to keep a dwarf pike or something in that manner.
 
hmm cool ideas everyone! alot of possibilities to consider i see!
i went to the lfs today for a few supplies and saw that a 33 long is the same price as a 30 breeder or 30 long. i could swing that without trouble from the landlord i think. a 33 long is like 4' long by 1' wide by 1' high.

what could work in that really long tank? something fast moving like sharks or a biotope resembling a stream with maybe some fast moving fish? im just throwing out some ideas here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom