Some questions and desicion making time

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Fishman1995

Superstar Fish
#1
May 11, 2010
1,341
0
0
North Carolina
#1
So this friday il be setting up my 30 gallon tank (SO EXCITED!!!) Daddy is picking up some sand on his way home and il imidietly start it up BUT i cant decorate it unless i know what im putting in it so i can decorate it to fit the fishes needs. I know for sure there will be 6 Cherry Barbs (2 males and 4 females) and 2 Platys( 1 male and 1 female) residing in the tank. Im also wanting 1 Albino Brittlenose Catfish and a Banjo catfish. After that im thinking either a Pair of Kribensis or a Pair of some sort of Ram (please help me choose such a hard descion lol) Do i have any room after i add in all those for maybe a small school of Glass Catfish?

Now as an Option 2 instead of the Pair of Kribs i mite do 1 Krib and a Female betta because i want to rescue the bettas from my LFS they keep them all together and its horific, what do you guys think please everyone give your opnion i need alot of help lol :)
 

brian1973

brian1973

Superstar Fish
#2
Jan 20, 2008
2,001
3
38
Corpus Christi, Texas
#2
I cant get into your stocking to much because most of the fish you are wanting to keep I have not kept in years if at all, but you will have a problem with your current idea with platys. You need atleast 2 to 3 females for each male, male platys attempt to mate constantly and can harass a single female to death, having multiple females helps spread the attention out so one female is not constantly being harassed. Unless you want to breed platys I would stay away from a male all together, even without a male you could end up with fry from an already pregnant female.
 

bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#3
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#3
Do you already have the two male cherry barbs? The reason I ask is because I believe they do better when there's one male with a harem, all males, or all females. Having two males might lead to fighting over the females, which I've experienced in guppies and is not pretty.

As far as whether to do a pair of rams or a pair of kribs, I can't help you there. However, I will say that if you do rams, do a pair of Bolivians, not GBRs. GBRs are VERY sensitive to water parameters and quite often you get bad stock (the first LFS in my area to carry them couldn't keep them alive and I lost all 6 that I bought from them, all at different times, of course...I went to the other LFS and they recently started carrying them, but their stock is 100 times better than the other LFS and they hadn't lost one). Bolivian rams are hardier and a little more tolerant of imperfect parameters. With the tank my GBRs are in, I literally test my water every three days, just to be on the safe side.

I would say forget the glass catfish. With the other stock that you want, you wouldn't have room for a proper school (they need at least 5 in a school).

I wouldn't do a krib with a female betta because of aggression issues. Maybe a ram with a female betta, but from what I've read, kribs get more aggressive than rams. Honestly, I would skip the female betta idea all-together in this tank, but that's just me.
 

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Fishman1995

Superstar Fish
#4
May 11, 2010
1,341
0
0
North Carolina
#4
Ok, i already have the Barbs i mentioned and the Platys so im stuck there unless i leave the female barb in my 5.5 gallon with Felix?

And ok i will leave the female betta out, i just feel so sorry for them because they are never swimming, there always on the bottom of the tank with ripped fins and breathing drastically, its terrible.

So far this is my stocking plan correct? 3 Platys (il add 1 more female) 1 Albino Brittlnose Pleco 1 Banjo Catfish and 2 female Kribensis cichlids.

Now the day that i go to get my first set of these fish il take my Cherry's back since i have noticed slight chasing between the males.

What order should i add these fish in and what do i have room for, could i do a Bumblee bee catfish now that i left the cherrys out?
 

bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#5
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#5
You should be okay with the SA bumblebee cat and the banjo cat. If you were getting the Asian bumblebee cat, I'd say no, since Asian bumblebees are aggressive toward other bottom dwellers.

I'd say with your potential stocking, I'd add the platies and whichever catfish is smaller first. Then add the bigger catfish and the pleco. Then add the kribs. You always want to add your most aggressive/territorial fish last so that all your other fish get to claim territory and the aggressive fish don't see them as a threat to their already established territory.
 

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Fishman1995

Superstar Fish
#6
May 11, 2010
1,341
0
0
North Carolina
#6
Okey Dokey thanx alot bass, now on to another subject. I have a whole bottle of that bacteria stuff, can i pour the recommended amount into the tank and then add in my starting fish ( the platys and Cherry's) and it be instantly cycled?
 

bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#7
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#7
What "bacteria stuff"? The only product that I know of that actually works in cycling a tank more quickly is Tetra SafeStart. All other products are more "snake oil" products than anything else. There is no way to keep the bacteria needed to jump-start a cycle alive without it being refridgerated. Tetra SafeStart works by accelerating the rate at which your beneficial bacteria colonies establish, thereby making it quicker to cycle your tank. If it isn't TSS (Tetra SafeStart), I wouldn't use it in your tank. There is nothing that will "instantly" cycle your tank other than an established filter. You could speed up the process (if you don't have or don't want to go buy TSS) by going to your LFS and asking if they would let you have a chunk of their established filter media or a clean, unused nylon stocking with about a cup of their gravel in it (the beneficial bacteria colonies establish on just about any surface they can, including gravel and decorations).
 

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OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#8
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#8
Seachem's Stability (same manufacturer of Prime dechlorinator) is a good product also. It does not need refrigeration either before or after opening, and has a 4 year shelf-life (check the date on the bottle).
 

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Fishman1995

Superstar Fish
#10
May 11, 2010
1,341
0
0
North Carolina
#10
Mine is TOPFIN Bacteria Supplement. It says its supposed to Help stabalize the enviroment, Introduce new bacteria, reduce amonia spikes, and aid the nitrogen cycle to reduce New tank syndrome it says its meant for you to add the fish after you put this in. What do you guys think? i also will be getting some media from my 5.5 gallon tank .
 

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littletankbigworld

Superstar Fish
#11
Aug 16, 2009
1,318
0
0
SW Pennsylvania
#11
Fishman1995 said:
Ok, i already have the Barbs i mentioned and the Platys so im stuck there unless i leave the female barb in my 5.5 gallon with Felix?

And ok i will leave the female betta out, i just feel so sorry for them because they are never swimming, there always on the bottom of the tank with ripped fins and breathing drastically, its terrible.
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Rescuing bettas from a store that mistreats them is the worst thing anyone could possibly do. You are giving money to the store to mistreat the fish and the store will use your money to buy more bettas, which they will then mistreat. Add the female barb to your 30 gallon with a school of females or return her to the store. Neither the betta or barb will be happy if you leave them in the 5 gallon together.
 

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littletankbigworld

Superstar Fish
#12
Aug 16, 2009
1,318
0
0
SW Pennsylvania
#12
Fishman1995 said:
Mine is TOPFIN Bacteria Supplement. It says its supposed to Help stabalize the enviroment, Introduce new bacteria, reduce amonia spikes, and aid the nitrogen cycle to reduce New tank syndrome it says its meant for you to add the fish after you put this in. What do you guys think? i also will be getting some media from my 5.5 gallon tank .
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I wouldn't trust it. "Reduce ammonia spikes" is a nice way of saying that you will still have ammonia spikes and the bacteria in a bottle cannot really help. You should test your water and change it daily whether you decide to do a fishless or a fish-in cycle. Personally, I prefer fishless cycles. They seem to go much quicker than fishless ones and you don't harm any fish.
 

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