I have a fishy question for anyone and everyone. CALLING ALL AQUARIUM HoBBYiSTS!!?
So I would like to get some ideas for what to do with my 30 gallon tropical freshwater tank from here. I have a few imitation plants, and I'm not getting any real ones. I have a small-ish castle, a small shipwrecked canoe, a pink-ish coral imitation thing with holes in it, and a bubble curtain. I also have a big rock with a hole in it, and two small plants. The tanks inhabitants are two tinfoil barbs, two black skirt tetras, two blue spot gouramis, and a large browm pleco. What should I do with the tank from here? Please, if you want, add in any landscaping changes I could make. (I want to get more plants.)
The first thing I would do is get rid of those tinfoil barbs. Considering they are exceptionally active, and grow to a foot long, and are tight schooling fish that do and look best in numbers, they are simply inappropriate for a 30 gallon tank and will outgrow it very, very quickly, causing your other fish stress and possible harm.
The second thing I would do is get rid of the pleco, which is problably common and grows twice the size of a tinfoil barb!
The third thing I would do is add a few more black skirts to give these tetras a nice little school - the best and only way to keep schooling fish is in groups.
WIth these adjustments you still have some room to work with. Seeing as you have no bottom dwellers I would start off by adding corydoras, small sized loaches, or something else for the bottom that stays a suitable size for the tank. Since you want more plants and have plants, these types of community fish are perfect for your setup. For algae eaters you'd be further ahead to get a small group of Oto cats.
Remember - the size of a tank is proportionate to the size of the fish. A 30 gallon is a great size for black skirts and corydora's, and it's a tiny prison for large fish like tinfoils and common plecos.
240 Gallon Freshwater Aquarium
