new 30G tank

[dwayne]

First, take a look at this article regarding fishless cycling:

http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cycle2.html

I didn't do fishless cycling, so I don't really want to comment on it (pro or con), since like I said, I didn't do it. But I know a lot of people prefer it, because it's cut and dry for the most part - you know how much ammonia you put into your tank and you know what's going to happen to the tank etc...

If you don't want to look at an empty tank while you fishless cycle, then this would be my plan: Set up the tank (water and all), let it run for 24 hours (to make sure filters, heaters, lighting etc is working properly, and to get the water temp to 78ish). Test your water so you know what you are dealing with (as far as ph goes). Then go get 4 zebra danios and put them into your tank.

*disclaimer*... This is how I did things when I started my tank. I was a very bad, uninformed newbie, and really didn't test my water during cycling. That's not entirely true, I tested almost daily, and wrote down all my water parameters, but I didn't know what they meant ! I added a new type of fish every 2-3 weeks. I did 25% water changes every single week (still do).

Read the stickies at the top of this forum that explain about cycling, testing your water parameters, and water changes during cycling. Like I said, I tested, but didn't really know what that meant.

Good luck! (hope this makes sense!!)
~Tara

edited for spelling...

 

[snakeskinner]

I'm suspicious on those "penguin tetras" you mentioned. if they look just like a cardinal, they may be black neon tetras so check those out. Penguins should have the black stripe run down the bottom half of the tail. they also get their name because they will sometimes stand on their tail and waddle like a penguin. I believe penguin tetras get larger than cardinals but black neons stay about the same size. either ones are good community fish, just that the penguins get larger. Most of the tall, thinner tetras seem to be fairly hardy. I know my serpae's survived the cycle with no problems and I suspect my lemons would have done the same as well as blackskirts and such. dwayne has a good list other than the red tail shark (in my opinion at least). the few red tail sharks I've had were very aggressive and ultimately ended up on the floor after jumping out of the tank. I would lean more towards the upside down catfish most LFS's carry (there are some larger aggressive varieties so beware which ones), a banjo catfish or just stick with cories. I would stay away from puffers as they can definitely be deadly to other fish. If you had a much larger tank and were to stock with just a few fish, you could probably get away with it but not in the 30. the others should all go well together. Kyle