New 30 gallon, stocking questions

[TrueBlack]

Might have been helpful if I said 1 male and 4 female P. Saulosi.

Sutherland- The wife will not see the danios if they die as I will get them out of the tank before she sees them. Trying to explain to her that she can't have fish in the tank immediately is a cardinal sin it seems. (I tried to explain to her that we would have to wait a month and drip some ammonia in the tank, it didn't work) It was almost as bad as me telling her she could not have "those yellow fish" and also have "blue fish" (thankfully that part is solved).

I did not want to use feeder fish to cycle the tank as 1. She does not like the looks of them and 2. I know that most feeders are diseased.

Anyone have any suggestions on what fish is "cheap, looks decent" and can "handle a cycle"? Then how many of them for a 30 gallon? I would like to be able to go from the "cycle" straight into those 5 P. Salousi. Sound reasonable? I was going to add the plants at the end of the cycle.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. Much appreciated.

 

[Otherone]

If you want to have tons of yellow labs 1 m 3 f's..........rule of thumb I use 1 gallon of water per 1 inch of fish for Mbuna's........rift lakes are highly acidic, forged by volcanos these fish are tough as nails and can easily cycle thru a tank, i've cycled several tanks with africans and no problems what so ever. I've read numerous cycle articles stating one of the best fish to use are African Cichlids especially the Cobalt Blue zebra which would be a good fit for your labs proabably won't cross breed cause of the size difference. Labs like alot of veggitation so planting the tank is good. Swords are usually a big plant but will work cause of the amount of babies they spawn. You throw the mother plant out plant the babies when it gets too big. Anibus I would not recommend because the labs will eat it faster than it can grow instead use onion plants. Java ferns and anibus will die if their rhizomes are in soil of any kind so you would need to tie them to lava rock or drift wood. Try Diandra instead pretty colors grows fast and can be topped to reduce. Also you have no garbage disposal,
small pleco such as a rubbernose or clown will reduce organic waste build up.

Bottom line spend the $15 on a water test kit follow the directions given by the kit to cycle it thru. You may have to make several daily water changes in the 1st week or so but using the kit it will go fast.

One more note was the ph w/ africans and plants. Plants usually like a stiff clay substrate and africans like a higher ph you can use agronite or cruched coral/shells to hold a steady 8.0 ph. I'd also recommend using aquarium salt thru the cycle process worked for and I have 11 fish tanks and growing.

 

[Titania]

Might have been helpful if I said 1 male and 4 female P. Saulosi.

Sutherland- The wife will not see the danios if they die as I will get them out of the tank before she sees them. Trying to explain to her that she can't have fish in the tank immediately is a cardinal sin it seems. (I tried to explain to her that we would have to wait a month and drip some ammonia in the tank, it didn't work) It was almost as bad as me telling her she could not have "those yellow fish" and also have "blue fish" (thankfully that part is solved).

I did not want to use feeder fish to cycle the tank as 1. She does not like the looks of them and 2. I know that most feeders are diseased.

Anyone have any suggestions on what fish is "cheap, looks decent" and can "handle a cycle"? Then how many of them for a 30 gallon? I would like to be able to go from the "cycle" straight into those 5 P. Salousi. Sound reasonable? I was going to add the plants at the end of the cycle.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. Much appreciated.

If you already have a cycled tank, why not just pull some media from your current filter and use it to seed the new filter? Your tank will go through a mini cycle, but nothing that the permanent inhabitants couldn't handle.

 

[flamer]

Hello everyone, I have a 30 gallon tank that is 29 and 7/8 inches wide x 12.5 inches deep. My wife wants to have Yellow Labs in it, with a "blue cichlid" of some sort. I was under the impression that we could only have 4-5 yellow labs in that tank and that would be all.

I have tried to convince her to get shell dwellers and all sorts of other "smaller fish" but she is dead set on yellow labs with a blue cichlid of some sort. The tank has a biowheel filter, 100w stealth heater, and 40g air pump. I plan to add a few tough plants: anubias, java fern, amazon sword. (Not sure on the plants) I have never kept plants or cichlids. I was planning to use pool filter sand for the substrate.

Does all of this sound good? Will 4-5 Yellow Labs be ok for that tank? Can I add a blue cichlid of some sort? (She insists on having some color in the tank besides just yellow and really likes the blues) What are some decent stocking suggestions? (She really does not like the shell dwellers she has seen as they lack color) Any suggestions, comments, etc will be appreciated.

I am hoping this is the gateway tank that will open her up to the world of aquaria so that we can get some larger tanks in the house.

This is also not an established tank, so I will need to cycle it as well, would a single yellow lab be enough, or would it be better to just get a few danios?

Thanks everyone. I apologize for the long post.

Did you steal my setup? I have an Emporor 280 Biowheel!

anywayz.. I have a 46g with 2 small yellow labs and 2 small Blue Kenyan Cichlids... and there is a such thing as Electric Blue cichlids, but I don't know how compatible the Electric Blues are with the Electric Yellows.

you do need alot of certain stuff, like the temp. needs to be around 75*F-78*F, the ph around 7.8-8.2, and you need certain food, but you probably know all that.

They need lots of rocks or crevaces for them to hide, and I don't know what Algae eaters can go with them other than snails.

 

[TrueBlack]

Sorry for the broken up post. My new plan, is to use P. Saulosis 1 male and 4 females in the 30 gallon tank. Same setup, biowheel, 100w stealth heater, etc.

I was doing some thinking over this and realized that they only get about 3 inches maximum. That would only be 15 inches of fish for my 30 gallon tank. This seems odd to me, and would seem that the tank might appear "empty". Can I add more fish than just 5 of them in a 30?

Also, would they be able to cycle the tank? Or should I just use like 5 danios? Would 5 danios or whatever fish you might suggest be enough to generate suitable bioload for when I put in the "permanent residents"?

So my plan is set this tank up this Friday, let it sit 24 hours with all components running, then add either "cycling fish" (i need recommendations, how many, type), let the tank complete its cycle "over a month". Then at the end, add some simple plants like anubias, and java fern, since they can both be tied down to the rocks and are low light, and not stuck in the gravel where the fish could move them. Then add whatever fish would be permanent tank residents.

Basically I need to know, what fish to get Saturday so that I can have a tank running with at least 5 P. Saulosis by the time the tank is done cycling. Also, whether I can add more fish than just those 5 P. Salousis.

I have went back through and underlined the questions, since my writing is somewhat disjointed and repeatitive.

Thanks everyone again.

 

[TrueBlack]

Well, sorry for posting right after my post but I just want to have things set up the best possible way and get all errors worked out initially instead of finding out later.

Since the P. Saulosi are so small, and it seems I could only do 1 male and 4 females in my 30 gallon.... I am considering Sutherland's option of 3 Yellow Labs and 3 P. Acei. Does this seem feasible in a standard 30? New tank, not cycled, just trying to make the wife happy. I just am thinking now that the P. Saulosi might make the tank look to empty.

Some guidance here please. I could just be thinking it over a little too much though. Suggestions?

 

[BigTim15]

I would personallly go with Saulosi myself. I have them right now in my 30g. When/if you get saulosi, they will probaly all be yellow if they are babies so you will have a little bit of a harder time with the sex. I have mine with M. Auratus which was a stupid buy, but all the fish get along great. If you go with saulosi, there are many other fish to add so your tank does not look empty. I also have a couple of rusty cichlids in with my saulosi. Syndontis catfish are also a good group to put in your tank. To answer one of your questions, i usually cycle my new tanks with convicts. I get them big for pretty cheap and then just put them in my SA tank and they got the job done pretty well.
Whatever way you go good luck and update us with pics.

 

[TrueBlack]

I would personallly go with Saulosi myself. I have them right now in my 30g. When/if you get saulosi, they will probaly all be yellow if they are babies so you will have a little bit of a harder time with the sex. I have mine with M. Auratus which was a stupid buy, but all the fish get along great. If you go with saulosi, there are many other fish to add so your tank does not look empty. I also have a couple of rusty cichlids in with my saulosi. Syndontis catfish are also a good group to put in your tank. To answer one of your questions, i usually cycle my new tanks with convicts. I get them big for pretty cheap and then just put them in my SA tank and they got the job done pretty well.
Whatever way you go good luck and update us with pics.

Thanks BigTim, I also sent you a PM. Seems I will go with the P. Saulosi and just pass on the Labs. I will either get 6 Danios, or maybe a couple Convicts (nice suggestion). Cycle the tank for a month, then find a place to buy 5 P. Saulosi, take out the Danios, put in those, then slowly add more tank mates. (Which I still really am not sure what else to add) I looked at the Rusty Cichlids and they seem to get too big for a 30 gallon. Am I missing something? They do look very nice. Any other suggestions on tank mates for 5 P. Saulosi in a 30 gallon tank?

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Otherone]

All your questions where answered in previous posts............fyi If you drop 5 more fish even after removing the Danios or anything your ammonias gonna spike again.
don't add more than 2 a week............you don't need cycled water for live plants they eat ammonia nitrate and nitra and will aid in cycling faster

 

[TrueBlack]

All your questions where answered in previous posts............fyi If you drop 5 more fish even after removing the Danios or anything your ammonias gonna spike again.
don't add more than 2 a week............you don't need cycled water for live plants they eat ammonia nitrate and nitra and will aid in cycling faster

No, my questions were not answered in previous posts. I believe the questions that I asked in the last post were:

"...I looked at the Rusty Cichlids and they seem to get too big for a 30 gallon. Am I missing something? They do look very nice. Any other suggestions on tank mates for 5 P. Saulosi in a 30 gallon tank?..."

Now alot of people talked about Yellow Labs, as that was the original genus under consideration, but I changed my mind to P. Salousi. You even yourself were kind enough to suggest some Lab options to me.

...If you drop 5 more fish even after removing the Danios or anything your ammonias gonna spike again.
don't add more than 2 a week............you don't need cycled water for live plants they eat ammonia nitrate and nitra and will aid in cycling faster

This part I don't seem to understand. If I put in 5 Danios, the ammonia rises, bacteria forms, nitrites rise, bacteria forms, nitrate is created. (Over the course of a month) That means at the end of the month there should be close to 0 ammonia as the beneficial bacteria are converting it. So, when I take out the 5 Danios and put in 5 P. Saulosi, the amount of ammonia that will be being added into the water should be about equal as to the 5 Danios in the tank ammonia generation. I am not adding 5 Danios + 5 P. Saulosi. What you are saying does not seems to make sense. Unless you think the ammonia is compounding, because you didn't read what I wrote. ... The reason about waiting until the end of the cycle to add the plants was a new idea of mine, as I realized that adding plants during a cycle usually makes the cycle take longer, as the plants do "too good of a job" (eating up the byproducts of the nitrogen cycle) and don't let the levels rise as high enough and as quickly as they could. However, planting at the end of the cycle would A. Allow the tank to cycle faster and B. Add extra biological filtration C. Make the wife happy.

So, the revised questions are:

A. In the tank I described earlier w/ 5 P. Saulosi, what are suitable tank mates? Quantity?

B. Will a pair of Rusty Cichlids be decent tank mates for them?

C. From what I have read Rusty Cichlids will get too big for this tank, is this true or am I missing something?