30gallon tank opinions wanted

mommyandkids

My 30g tank has been cycling, and is now nearly ready for fish (in a few weeks ready) so what I am looking to move into the tank;

5 Gold barbs
5 java or cinnamon (not sure which, Petco strikes again) loaches
2 Dwarf Gourami's (been with me for almost a year, and doing well)

these guys have been living in some cramped quarters (some 10g tanks, now they all have to learn to live together)

Thinking of added 5 Neon Tetra's. Yes or No?

right now the fake plants abound, and have two shipwrecks to swim around...

I want to move to some live plants, but what would you recommend? swords? top floating? Thank you for your opinions!

Backer

I personally would stay clear of the neon tetras. The fish you have in there are all "bigger" fish and your tetras will be the smallest and weakest in the tank. Because you can't keep them in a larger group due to tank size (6 or more is recommended), they won't have the group protection they will need and will likely be picked on and out eaten by the gold barbs and dwarf Gouramis. Also loaches, (any that i know of) usually grow to be quite large, you should possibly look into how large these ones gets and then maybe switch to a smaller sized cory catfish for a bottom feeder?

As far as plants go it depends on the lighting and the substrate and fertilization you plan on using. Myself in my thirty gallon have only ever had luck with a couple species of plants. But my tank has seen some ups and downs over the years too.

Good luck! Getting a new tank is always so fun!

Byron

I take it the only fish you now have in that list are the gourami. So whatever you get should fit well with these. Being slow and sedate fish, you don't want active or boisterous fish as this will unsettle the gourami, keep them stressed, and that means health issues. You also have to be careful that other fish are not likely to fin nip, because the long pectoral fins of a sedate fish are like the proverbial red flag to a bull.

So with that in mind, I would not have Golden Barb. I assume this species is Puntius semifasciolatus [common names are often misleading] and it is in our profiles [you know about our fish profiles?] and you can click the shaded name to see the profile data. There it recommends 8 in a group, and as this fish can reach 3 inches it needs space, at least a 4-foot tank. It is also a very active swimmer. So I would look to more suitable fish.

All barbs (and danio too) are active, so they are not particularly good companions for sedate fish. Rasbora are much better. Have a look at the several rasbora species in our profiles--you can do a search using "rasbora" there and it will list all of them.

The loach may likely be Pangio oblonga, since the Loach site gives cinnamon loach and java loach as two of several common names. If it is, here is some reliable info on this species; provided its rather special needs are met (a sand substrate, small group, etc as herein) it would work.
Pangio oblonga – Black Kuhli Loach — Seriously Fish

That site also suggest rasbora as good tankmates, so that works double.

Byron.