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I need help setting up a 30g.

4K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  Deku 
#1 ·
Okay so I acquired a 30gallon through a friend. Its not the best looking aquarium. But I figured itll do. I can possibly spruce it up.

Could you guys PLEASE help me?

Look here are some of the fish Iam looking for(no Iam not looking to get them all in one tank. I just want to know which one of these would thrive in this tank):
-Gulper catfish(I hear they are active, small 6inches at most and have that channel catfish look and dont grow humongus)
-Golden catfish(ived seen them in a store I worked at and grew up to 5-7inches. Id like info on these)
-Cichlids(jack dempsy, fire mouths, etc.)
-Puffer fish(any kind except pea puffers)

I like these fish because they are interesting to me I guess. They have the same attitude as my turtle does(ived seen them in action before). They like to beg for food constantly. They rarely hide. They are somewhat active. Etc.
I also like shoals of fish. But id rather see what larger fish I can keep on this tank. Also I have a fluval canister filter(well actually two of them). Iam hoping to cycle the tank.

I am getting sand(smallest grain), As for ornaments id like a sort of rockwork kind of thing. I hate those cheesy ornaments that they sell in stores. So Iam saving up for the expensive ones they sell there since they atleast look decent(drift wood, soft wood like ornament, etc).
Iam looking to getting fake plants and maybe some live floating plants. Id like to use tons of air stones(keeps the water moving). I have some powerheads but Iam trying to fix them at the moment. Also Iam thinking of making my own foods. See at this other forum that I went to. I was told its best to prepare your own foods for reptiles rather than commercial pellets and such. So I was thinking ID do something called "gel suspensions". Where you get colorless, odorless, chem-less gelatin, you get the foods you want it to eat, put it in a blender add a bit of calcium powder and vitamin powder and blend it all and then mix it up with the gelatin. So its a natural balanced food. Iam also wanting to start it on pellets first. Then use gel suspensions. Also any good sites or places to buy fish from? I live in nj. Most places sell me sick fish.


Please respond asap.


Also could you tell me how to do a fishless cycle? For my turtle tank I just used feeder fish. . . Because I didnt have the time to do a fishless cycle. But since Iam getting the carpet removed and putting in some tiles in my room. I need to reset my tank. Iam wondering how I can do a fast cycle. With everything restarted.

Please and thank you.
 
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#2 ·
#3 ·
Puffers are really cute but from everything I have read on here, they are pretty much a live alone kind of fish. First things first, get the tank cleaned up, set up and cycled. Get an API Master test kit for the fresh water aquarium and test the water in your tank and your tap. Post the results. What your water parameters are will help determine which fish can be comfortably housed in your tank. Pictures would be nice too.
 
#5 ·
sorry I must have confused you all. Iam not planning on housing them all in one tank. What I was trying to ask if I can keep ONE of these medium sized fish in a 30gallon ALONE? Like a single specimen tank. If not Id set up a tank for smaller fish. I remember going fishing and I saw this water plant that looked like blades of grass. I used to take them and put them in my turtle tank so my turtle has something to munch on. Ived also seen them on tanks over here.


So here is the bottom line what Iam looking for:
1)Single specimen tank
-or-
2)Single species tank(i.e. gulper cats-3 of them)
3)Community tank(small fish like tetras, raspboras, etc. Schoals.)
4)Community/single specimen tank(either way) with tons of live plants(planted to the brim like an aquatic jungle I guess. Like you see in a pond).

A long time ago I wanted to add musk turtles with fish. it turns out that I can. But I didnt know if I wanted one after all.
So Iam trying to rethink my choices. See Iam very selective about what I keep. Took me about a year or two to decide I wanted a turtle. Then a couple weeks later to decide which one I wanted(I take a long time to decide things, so I dont make the wrong commitment).
 
#6 ·
The poster said he's not looking to add all these fish in the same tank, just some he's thinking about.

No Gulpers and no Jack Dempseys. They get way too big for a 30 gallon. The Gulpers I've seen at my LFS were close to a foot long and JD's get to about 8-10". One pair of Firemouths would be ok. Not sure what a Golden catfish is. I don't have any experience with puffers so someone else will have to offer advice there.
 
#7 ·
Yeah a friend from another forum showed me his gulpers and their around 8inches. Before I asked this question I read a little about them and it said that they grew up to 5inches at most.

Could you show me some pictures of fire mouths?

Also could you show me pictures of OTHER fish I can keep in here? I saw this fish it was a type of gar. It was nice looking.
Here is a list of fish that I simply just like:
1)Puffers
2)oscars(they get huge I know)
3)Dempseys
4)parrots(not that much...)
5)Severums(more than the parrots)
6)Devils
7)Terror cichlids
8)Texas cichlids
9)Eels
10)shubunkins
11)Large schoals that school closely together(think finding nemo, remember how they were that close? You know how mackerels ussually school close together? Like that. Not a loose school)
12)Catfish
13)Bettas(I dont want 1inch fish in a 30gallon tank though...)
14)Angel fish
15)Puffer fish?
16)Crabs(blue crabs, fiddlers, red crabs, etc)
17)Mudskippers
18)Leopard bush fish?(the one in the previous posters display picture)
19)Snow flake eels(saltwater though...I wouldnt mind setting up salt water but itd be a last option)
20)Oddball fish in general.


Hopefully this sheds some light on what I look for.
 
#8 ·
Also. I decided to try to cycle using the shrimp method. But id use 1shrimp and a half instead. Because since I may go for a pufferfish or a delicate angel fish I should make sure the tank can "handle it". A long time ago I wanted to put musk turtles with fish. Sometimes I still do. I know a good source of where to buy 2 baby muskies which are free of parasites and anything!. My question is. All the time Ived owned one ived never seen one attack fish. Because they are literary tooo slow to attack one. Are there any recommended fish to keep with them? Iam planning on overfiltering the tank with a fluval 5x or so and a hang on the back. any suggestion?
 
#11 ·
Most of the fish you listed need larger tanks. You could probably do a pair of angels in a 30 with some shoaling fish such as some of the larger bodied tetras like Lemon, Pristella, Diamond tetras. If the angels spawned though they would shoo the other fish into a corner while they took care of the eggs. Cories would be ok for the bottom. I'll have to think about what other oddball fish you could fit into a 30.
 
#12 ·
Actually that sounds pretty nice. As for tetras... My favorite tetra is the buenos aires tetra. :p They eat like little piggies and are somewhat aggressive towards smaller fish(Ived seen it) so they may stand off with the angels(angels are surprisingly aggressive).

Hmm I like either long bodied fish or balloon shaped or just oddly shaped. I was also wondering while we are the topic.

I have this tank which is currently a 55g. But soon Iam going to upgrade to a 75g. There are painted turtles in this tank(1 baby and 1adult). Id like alittle variety. Currently there are some comets and one fancy goldfish. Iam giving them to a friend because he wanted large goldfish so I guess I took care of them for him? Except for the fancy. Iam keeping it in a seperate tank all by itself with maybe another goldfish(Fancy). What I was wondering is. Do you guys know any kind of fish that will do well with a turtle? Sides a pleco. Something that is EXTREMELY fast and the turtle will get tired of chasing it. Also something that will scare the turtle away if it tries to attack it. You know something that could stand its ground. Any suggestions? Fish should be atleast 6inches in length. The tank is constantly pristine and clean. It also has alot of watermovement(no strong flows, just bubbles, and fluval filters and hang on the back). So I was wondering if they may like that too. :p I just want to know if there is any possibility of me keeping fish with them. So the tank isnt dull with just 2 turtles in there. If not I dont mind. Though I heard I should try african cichlids because they are fast and will pretty much fend for themselves.
 
#13 ·
As noted above, if you found a pair of angels you could do them in a 30g. You could also do Silver Hatchetfish or Marble Hatchetfish. Dunno if that body shape qualifies as oddball in your mind, but it does mine.

There are also some smaller cichlids you could do since you seem to like the firemouths, dempseys, terrors, and what not. Look at both the German Blue and Bolivian Rams.

As for bottom dwellers, I think Khuli Loaches are oddballs too with their eel shape and tendency to burrow. You have to have quite a few before they get seen too often though. :-?
 
#15 ·
I don't know anything about weather loaches, though I suspect that they'd be a bit more difficult to get ahold of since I haven't seen them at my well stocked LFS.
 
#16 ·
I can get them through online. Also Id like to know. is there any fish I can keep with my turtles? Their 5inch and stay at that length. Is there any large fish I can keep with them or any fish that will do well with them SIDES a pleco? Its going to bea 75g tank soon.
 
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