Pariah87

Ok hi guys, aside from a couple of goldfish many years ago my fish keeping skill level is 0, however once I have the money (never realised Aquariums were so expensive) I plan on starting a 30 Gallon up. No tank specifics yet as I'm still looking around for things I could afford end of August time but I plan on it being wider not taller.

It will be non planted seeing as it's my first attempt, don't wish to run before I can walk and I hope to stock it with:

At least 1 Male Bristlenose Pleco, possibly a female to go with it if size permits.

A school of 7-8 tetras of some kind probably Black Neon.

A couple of nice looking guppies

Some freshwater shrimp (they look too cool not to)

Would this work, or be overstocked? Could I maybe put some zebra danios in there aswell?

Also, is there an "order" with which fish should be put in, with certain types being better to put in first and so on?

pepetj

Hi Pariah87, welcome to Fishlore.

Glad you joined before starting things up. I was lucky to experience the same so I avoided some mistakes others made (like adding fish without cycling). I believe your stocking plans are doable, well balanced and not exceeding the tank capacity. As for using or not plants from the start, I strongly suggest you go planted, say with low light, hardy, easy to care for plants such as Anubias barteri varieties.

Please read around about the nitrogen cycle and fishless cycle. If you cycle your tank fishless, say with ammonia solution, you would be able to add most of your bio-load at once. It may feel like a chemistry lesson but you'll get familiar with the terms. I had to read that info several times to grasp the concepts behind this biological process that allows our aquariums to be healthy.

Given that some fish are somewhat sensitive to newly set aquarium water parameters variations, I would consider placing the Guppies and the Bristlenose pleco first. If still you are into Black Neons I would wait at least four weeks (two for other hardiest tetras) after testing water parameters so that I feel sure Ammonia and Nitrites remain steadily at zero and pH is stable (stability is by far more important than the actual value, given it is within 6.0 - 8.0 for most fish in the trade).

Freshwater Shrimps are, in my opinion, the most sensitive in your stocking options. Please consider the opinions of those with more experience than me. I don't have (don't intend to) keep Plecos so there might be more accurate information than what I know (I believe they are quite hardy). I do keep Black Neons, Guppies, and FW Shrimps.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

Pariah87

Thanks for the adivce man, I shall look into adding some plants then, and looking for me info on the specifics of the pleco and shrimp.

aquarist48

Welcome to Fish Lore!

bolivianbaby

Welcome to Fishlore!

ladylouroll

i believe my BN to be rather hardy. he also gets on fine with my guppies good luck!

Blub

It's BRILLIANT you're researching before you buy fish! Far to many people buy fish, then research only to learn the worst.

I think that stocking list is great - and there's still space for a bit more - perhaps a small school of 6 schooling fish to add to it, like...

3 male Guppies
1 BN pleco
6-8 Black Neon tetras (or other tetras)
6 Small schooling fish (perhaps harlequin rasboras or cherry barbs?)

Sharkitty

Welcome to Fishlore! We're glad to have you and glad that you are doing your research first. It won't just feel like a chemistry lesson, it IS a chemistry lesson! But more fun.

Pepe and Blub have both given great advice. Let us know if you have any more questions as you poke around the site and the world wide interwebs.

eiginh

Welcome to the world of water!