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Hey! In the future, I will probably be getting a 25-30 gal. tank, and may want to start a F/W community tank. Any ideas?

Ally

P.S- I want to keep some platy's and/or swordtails in this tank too... so fish compatible with those kinds would be grateful.

Last edited by ReefLover at 08-Nov-2004 14:57

Last edited by ReefLover at 08-Nov-2004 14:59

Personally, I'd go with 2 male Swordtails, 5 female Platies, and 6 Zebra Danios. With the Danios in there you don't have to worry about the livebearers overpopulating the tank.

But, if you want to have baby fish, go with 2 male Platies(or 1 male Swordtail), 4 female Platies(or 3 female Swordtails), and 8 Cories.

I wouldn't go with swordtails. They get to be five inches long, and are really active swimmers and jumpers.
Platies would be fine, but are you prepared for fry? If not, then get a group of all male or all female platies.

As for other fish, check out your lfs and make a list of the ones that appeal to you. Or, you could just look at some of the profiles here, and see what you think.

That having been said, here's my stocking idea:
4 platies
6 cories
6 barbs (gold barbs would be great)

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Only heleri swords reach 5", and they aren't much livlier than platies. IMO, a pair of rainbow cichids/ firemouths and maybe 5 platies/montezuma swords would work well in a 30 gallon. A nice CA biotope.



Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 08-Nov-2004 21:18

Ive not seen any type of Swordtail yet reach under 4 inches. I didnt know they were different types. Ive seen Pineapple Swords, Red Swords, Green Swords, and others all at over 4 inches.
I would only put 2 maybe 3 max.
Also, I would worry about putting male swords and female platies because of interbreeding. With no male platys and no female swords, they would definetly interbreed.
If you want to breed both, put 1 male sword, 2 females. 1 male platy 2 females, and then stock in the empty spaces with some bottom feeders like Aggassizi, Panda, Trilineatus, Hasbrosus Corys, or Yoyo Loaches etc. Fill in the top with some fish like White Clouds, or Danios. Then see how it looks and go from there.
Swords and Platys will be primarily Middle Swimmers. So you could stock top and bottom with different fish.
Endlers, Guppies are nice for the top as well.


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All of the aforementioned swords are just color variations of the heleri (helleri or brevis--they are synonyms) or naturally occuring green and red morph swords. Alverez, yellow, birchman, montezuma, and pygmy swords are all commonly available sword tailed xephophores that stay under 4".

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 08-Nov-2004 21:32

well if i were you i think i would doooo..... hmm.... well I had some ideas for color scheme based tanks that i was thinking of for a 29 gal... here are some of my ideas if i can remeber them.... oh these are also borderline if not overstocked so good filtration and maintenace would be KEY.

Red, black, and white:
1x RTBS
6x harlequin rasboras
1x marbeled angel
2x red velvet swordtails (male)
3x otos
4x cherry barbs
(this one is more than well stocked so probably either the RTBS or the angel, both might be too much i think)

yellow and black:
Black and yellow theme for 29usg

2x yellow and white angels
2x lyretail black mollies
10x lemon tetras
4x otos (would 6 fit maybe?)

Blue and gold theme for 29usg

2x blue rams (or 1 if 2 is too crowded?)
6x black neons
6x lemon tetras
3x blue fancy guppies (male)
6x pygmy corys

black, white, and blue theme for 29usg

6x black neon tetra
4x yo yo loach
2x lyretail dalmation mollies
3x blue fancy guppies (male)
perhaps an angel

edit: oh by the way, my suggestions ARE overstocked and you would be way better off if you got a bigger tank for these even if you just up it to like 40 gallons, you could probably use the same size filter and stuff (i have a penguin 330 on my 29g, supposedly they can accomidate up to 60g) you will NOT regret choosing the bigger tank

Last edited by devon7 at 08-Nov-2004 22:05

Wow, so many replies to this post! hehe.

I still have no clue what I'm going to do, because I probably wont' be getting the tank for a couple of months.

I'm leaning a bit more towards just getting a tank of platys (probably downgrade the tank size a bit)

as for all the fry, i read that some people leave the fry in the tank and let the fittest survive. If that's the case, I'd take the surviving fry and put them in a different tank until they can join the others. Someone please correct me if what I'm saying is incorrect.

Thanks everybody!!

Ally

P.S.- I'm really digging Devon's idea for this tank

black, white, and blue theme for 29usg

6x black neon tetra
4x yo yo loach
2x lyretail dalmation mollies
3x blue fancy guppies (male)
perhaps an angel

PPS- Thanks so much everybody for the tank ideas, they are all very well put together!

Last edited by ReefLover at 09-Nov-2004 15:26

If you want to go with Devon's idea, then dump the angelfish. It being in there would be more trouble than it is worth.
Otherwise, it sounds like a nice tank. I'm not partial to livebearers, but at least you chose some nice looking ones.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

how about
4 rams
10 cards
6 cories

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''All the clown fish and yellow tangs in the world cant save you now!''

That setup should work out all right. There aren't any compatibility issues, and the fish will fit, size-wise. In addition, cories and tetras produce little waste, so you shouldn't have problems there.

Just remember, if you do choose to go with these fish, space out your acquisitions. Add only three or so fish every two weeks. This will give your bioload a chance to catch up with the newcomers. Just a friendly reminder!

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."