fishingman001

I just received a 30 gallon long that has been set up for a couple days now and I want to stock it. I have purchased some crabs from petsmart and some cory cats as well. Can anyone else suggest other fish to add? Thanks.

Time

A few days. I wouldn't add fish until 2 weeks. After the tank is finished with the notrogen cycle you could add dwarf gourami or maybe german blue ram cichild. Neon tetras would be great once the tank has matured. Maybe some cory cats. They eat leftovers from the bottom on the substrate.

fishingman001

should i take out the cory cats and crabs that are already in the 30?

Lucy

How did you cycle your tank? Do you know about the nitrogen cycle?
If your tank was just set up, most likely, it's not cycled.
Do you know your readings for ammonia nitrite and nitrate?

What kind of crabs? There's a good possiblity they'll eat your cories.
Maybe you should think about returning the crabs if you want fish.

It would be helpful if you filled in your aquarium info.
It's found at the top left under My Settings.

fishingman001

I set up my fish tank about a week and a half ago. I went to get my water tested every other day to check the levels in the tank. I don't know the readings but the person doing it did. When the guy said it was safe to put in the fish I put in a cory cat. I just purchased the crabs (dont know the species) and they are leaving the cory cat alone.

angelfish220

Well... if you SURE its cycled... first I would add at least 4 more cories, as these are schooling fish and they need to be in groups of at least 5 to be happy. Then I think a dwarf gourami or a blue ram would be really pretty too.

Lucy

Your info says that you know about the nitrogen cycle. Then you know your tank cannot cycle in that short amount of time. It can take up to a month for the bacteria that sustains your tank to develop.
Without an ammonia source for the amount of time your tank has been set up, the beneficial bacteria cannot grow.
In an uncycled tank, ammonia will build up from fish waste and left over food.
Ammonia is toxic to your fish.

It would be a good idea to get a test kit of your own. The liquid tests are more accurate than the strips and less costly in the long run.
When you get an ammonia reading, it it would be a good idea to begin daily water changes until your readings are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite with some nitrates showing.

At this point, I cannot recommend adding any fish because of the cycling issue and with all due respect, crabs eat fish.

Time

Did you add water from your original tank during water changes? That is what I am doing and I am also using some used filter media and substrate from my 10 gal. Did you use tetra safe start? Lucy is right all the way.

fishingman001

I took some gravel from my other tank and put some in the 30. I also used Seachem Stability when starting. I will keep a close eye on the crab to see if it is going to be a problem.

Lucy

Oh cool, that should help seed the tank.
I didn't know you had a second tank. Only one is listed in your aquarium info.

Tony G.

Adding water during water changes from one tank to another wont help cycle. It doesnt carry bacteria so you are basically adding dirty water.


if you are sure your tank is cycled, i would go with something like this:

1 DG
5 Corycats
6-7 cardina tetras
3 male guppies

i really like that stocking list

fishingman001

the other tank isnt listed because i am getting rid of it in a couple days. I had some convicts in it for a couple months and i wanted some peaceful community fish and i don't have room for 2 tanks. I found out that the crabs are called mini crabs.