# Helping a friend set up a 30 gallon! :D



## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

I am helping my friend set up a 30 gallon. They want a community tank. The only thing they have to have in the tank is 6 platies, as I am giving them some of my fry.  The water in my area is hard. What else could go in there that would work, is readily available, nice looking and cheap. What are some easy live plants?? The tank owner is a total newbie so the fish cannot have any special requirments.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

A female Betta/ Cories adapt easily. Zebra Danois are easy to care for. If you chose not to get the Betta Dwarf Gourami. Java moss is good.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

i'd say cories too, but the tank has to be all cycled and mature for a few months before adding them


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Otos adapt to hard water do not prefer it. Apple snails and nerite snails love hard water.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

How about a couple honey gourami?


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

That sounds good beware territorial behaves.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

The tank has been set up for 3 months, stupid petsmart sold her 2 baby red-tailed black sharks (Which she is returning). So cories, platies, and what for the middle? I don't know about honey gourami, she is more into schooling fish. Is there any chance of them getting aggressive with the other fish?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Nawh, they are pretty peaceful.
Hatchet fish? Rasbora?


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Olympia said:


> Nawh, they are pretty peaceful.
> Hatchet fish? Rasbora?


Hatchets prefer soft water.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I have the more sensitive hatchet species in my water and they are thriving. The silvers would do fine.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Oh okay not a hatchet expert you have them got it your advice is better sorry and that is not sarcasm.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

For cories bronze cories would be best as they live in a much wider range of water than the others. Most corries come from soft water. 

Harlequin rasbora would work if the water isn't like liquid rock. Flame tetra (_Hyphessobrycon flammeus_) are another good choice. They would school in the middle. X-ray tetra (_Pristella maxillaris_) are another great choice, but the flame tetra will be more colorful. 

I think two schools in the midwater and one school on the substrate would be good for a beginner. Less fish the better in case she misses a water change or something like that. 

Also caution her to only get male livebearers or else their population will grow. Even with other fish in the aquarium, some fry will still survive. 

For plants, most plants will do fine in hard water. Some plants like ludwigia, hornwort, and valisneria thrive in it. Hornwort is a stem plant and great for helping the water stay clean.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Emperor tetra or two works they are one of the few tetras that does not school you can have a pair.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

ChoclateBetta said:


> Emperor tetra or two works they are one of the few tetras that does not school you can have a pair.


Where did you hear that? Like all small tetra these are a shoaling species. Everything I've read about these guys say they need at least 9 as they are a little more nippy than the average tetra. Emperor Tetra (Nematobrycon palmeri) Profile and Seriously Fish - Nematobrycon palmeri (Emperor Tetra)

But they can manage in harder water and would work in a 30 gal tank.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Emperor tetras are not like other Tatars they can live happy indepeditly. I think you are confusing them with penguin tetras everything I read said they are fine on there own.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

I know from experiance with female platies, I got two, and 20 babies survived. I have only found one dead. 0.0 So that's why she is taking a few males from the 12 that haven't been given away yet. So she's looking at"
-5 male platies? 
-5 cories
-10 of either: harlequin rasbora, emporer tetra, flame tetra, hatchetfish, x-ray tetra (I think I got them all)
Do any of those plant need any special lighting?


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Some java fern sounds good but they hate high lighting.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

Would any of these plants work? water wisteria, anubius, amazon sword, anacharis


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Possibly but swords need high iron. Anarchis grows fast. Anuibus rhizomes can not be in soil drift wood or lava rock works well.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

ChoclateBetta said:


> Emperor tetras are not like other Tatars they can live happy indepeditly. I think you are confusing them with penguin tetras everything I read said they are fine on there own.


The only emperor tetra I know if is _Nematobrycon palmeri_, and they are a shoaling species according to numerous sources. Even googled it and nothing else came up. I considered them for my 30 gal tank, but decided against them. I like that dark stripe but not their fins. Penguin tetra are _Thayeria spp_. Different genus. 



MaisyDawgThirteen said:


> Would any of these plants work? water wisteria, anubius, amazon sword, anacharis


No experience with wisteria, but people claim it to be a hardy plant. Anarcharis is fast growing and needs pretty high light; mine isn't doing the greatest right now. Anubias and java fern are great to root to driftwood, and they give a really neat look. Swords are great low-light plants, but get one of the smaller varieties like dwarf chain sword as the ones sold in pet stores get huge (like 22 inches tall huge). If she does go with swords, be sure to tell her to get root tabs as they are heavy root feeders. 

As for the other plants I listed: the hornwort is high light and is best left floating for this reason. Ludwigia (being a stem plant) likes higher light. Vals are a med-high light plant. They can work under med-low lighting, but growth will be best under high lighting. Not really too sure you want that, tho, as those monsters' leaves can get 3 feet long.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

Thank you so much for all of your help guys!  I will post again when the tank is all set up.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Wisteria seems like a 50/50, for some people (including me!) it just melts to nothing, but for others it's fine.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

If she was to get hatchets how many could fish with around 5 same0gender platies, and 6 cories?


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

And another question.  LOL

Can you plant anubias and java fern to the gravel?


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Anubias and java fern can be put in the gravel. But she NEEDS to make sure the rhizome (the stem-like thing that the leaves grow from) is above the gravel. As long as it is just the roots in the gravel, it's perfectly fine. I have my java fern planted in the gravel in my betta tanks. They're doing just fine.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

Thanks.  What kind of water changes whould she be doing on it?
Do you have any idea the difference in life span from platies with back deformities to regular ones?


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

. . . 

I just realized the tank has gravel. >.< Would the cories still be good on it? The LPS only sells the larger ones (bronze, albino, panda, peppered, and julii)


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

For water changes, 40% weekly is a good starting point. Even with live plants it's better to start off large and back it down rather than start small and increase only after you see a problem. 

I wouldn't do cories or any other bottom fish if she just has gravel. Not all gravel is soft enough for them. Plus, platies are pretty all over the place. Also, the ones with the deformed spines will have a shorter life span. Any fish that has been modified from the wild form like goldfish or balloon mollies will have a reduced life span.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

Would three middle schools be OK then? So platies, and two schools of tetra/rasbora/hatchet? :S

The deformed ones weren't modified, I think it was a birth defect.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

Would something like this work: 

-8 Platies
-6 Harlequin Rasbora
-1 Honey Gourami
-6 X-Ray Tetra

And if she gets sand (which I doubt), what kind of sand is good? Is it a lot harder to siphon?

I did some research on the honey gouramis, and they look like a good fish. I was looking at this site: http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Stocking_a_Peaceful_Community_Tank


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Three schools in the middle is going to look rather cramped, even in a 36 inch tank. And six is the minimum for those tetra. Some people even have nipping problems with just six. I like to do schools of 10 or more tetra, so even if I lose a few to disease or stress I will still have more than the minimum number. Plus, schooling fish look so much more impressive when maintained in large numbers. So let your friend choose two of those schooling fish and increase their numbers and then drop the third school. 

You are right that the honey gourami is a good fit for the tank. They are very peaceful and will enjoy the calm company of tetra and rasbora. We also have a profile for them here: Honey Gourami (Trichogaster chuna) TFK Profile


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

So, the school of 8 platies, 10 tetra, and a honey gourami would be good? I am going to deliver the platies right now.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

Could you do more than 10 tetra? And would a betta also be a good option in the centerpiece slot?


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

You can certainly do more than 10 tetra. Less than 20, but any number in between that should be fine. 

If you have the gourami, you shouldn't get the betta. The two are close enough in relation that they will compete for territory and be aggressive. But a single plakat or female betta could also be a centerpiece fish. I don't think a long-finned male would do well in a tank of that size.


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