30gal Combinations

[MasterZ]

I was curious about the different ways I could go with a new 30 gallon tank. Could people post what they have in their 30 gallon tank/what would go well?

For example, if I started with serpae tetras what could I add later?

What would go with cardinal and penguin tetras?

What about getting some type of shark?

Any other ideas welcome...

 

[snakeskinner]

what kind of tank are you wanting to end up with? a colorful "friendly" tank, a lively active tank, a setup you could breed a single type of fish, or a tank with fish that interact with the owner? A colorful friendly tank would likely include a couple types of tetras, platies and mollies. this is probably the most common starter tank among hobbyists. one of my favorite setups is my "lively active" tank that includes giant danio's and tiger barbs. You could put about 6-8 barbs with a mixture of tiger barbs, green tiger barbs and albino tiger barbs, add a few serpae tetras and some zebra danio's with some cory catfish for the bottom and you'd have a really active tank. You could also put a single species of something like Kribs or several other varieties of smaller cichlids and have them breed which is also an interesting group. Another possibility is an interactive tank. there are many types of cichlids and some other fish that act similar to a dog. In otherwords, they recognize you as the owner and respond to your presence and know when they get fed and where. Most of these fish are larger cichlids but there are some smaller fish that react this way. My angelfish gets very excited when I approach the tank because it anticipates feeding. It is quite entertaining. This might help narrow down your stocklist. Kyle

 

[MasterZ]

Currently I have 4 Zebra Danios to start off with. I later plan on adding Serpae Tetras. You are saying that I could put a variety of barbs in here INCLUDING cherry, tiger, etc?

 

[RobUK]

I have gone for slightly bigger stuff in my 35g, did have some silversharks (but no now, long story ).

How about 1 or 2 feature fish, I have a red parrot and then some smaller fish to fill it out???

Generally I prefer the bigger fish as I find they have considerably more character than smaller fish, all smaller fish (danios,tetras) can be very entertaining and active.

 

[Lynch]

I currently have a 30g hex stocked with 4 angels (mid size) and a clown loach. Probably too many angels for the size of my tank, but they are happy and healthy I'll probably sell them back to the store when they get too big.

 

[dwayne]

My fish are listed at the bottom of my signature.

Serpaes are cool looking fish, I had a couple of them a while ago (died during ich outbreak)... they're also very hardy (though not hardy enough to outlive ich, I guess).

If I were starting a new 30 gallon, I'd probably have pretty much the same fish as I do now, I really like the tiger barbs, they're so active (I plan to get a few more, once I can find ones that are approx the same size as my current ones).

You are cycling with zebra danios, they're very hardy fish and I would bet money that they'll come out of the cycle just fine. As you've noticed, the zebras stay 99% of the time at the top of the tank, and that's cool because very few fish stay so close to the top most of the time (except for bettas, but they can't be in a tank w/ serpaes).

Here's what I'd do w/ your tank:

4 zebra danios
Assuming they all make it thru the cycle... if I were you, I'd get a few more to make a total of 6 (once cycling is complete).

6 serpae tetras

6 cherry barbs
Tiger barbs would probably be too nippy to the tetras, or maybe even vice-versa, ime - though someone here may have had a different experience.

4 cories
Or 6 if you can find the 'dwarf' cories. Supposedly they are bottom dwellers, but my guys zip all around the tank. But they are invaluable when it comes to cleaning any excess food off the bottom!

Good luck, and have fun deciding what to get!

~Tara