30 Gallon Overhaul

[FriarThomasIII]

So my 30 gallon tank, with large gravel stones I don't like, is going to be changed a lot. Quite a lot. Currently the tank has 3 Corydoras Paleatus and 3 Corydoras Metea as well as several snails and a few ghost shrimp I never see. I plan on removing the gravel and adding about an inch - inch and a half of sand. I have a whisper filter that I plan on covering with filter floss and pantyhose to protect it from the sand. I'll most likely use pool filter sand, mostly because it looks great and the Cories love it. Plant-wise, I have a massive Water Sprite plant I want to sell somewhere, a couple of apontegen plants I got from bulbs, java moss and 4 sprigs of red wendhI that won't grow. I plan on buying some dwarf sag. Fish wise, I'm getting a breeding pair of honey gouramis and 6 cherries, as well as maybe getting 4-5 pygmy corydoras. Thoughts?

 

[Dycofree]

Sounds like an awesome tank

 

[TexasDomer]

I wouldn't add another species of cory - your current cories aren't in a big enough group, and I don't think you have room for full sized groups of them. I would choose one species, add more, and rehome the other. They do prefer to be in larger groups of their own species. You would need more than 4-5 pygmy cories too, to help them feel less stressed.

Both C. paleatus and C. metae need temps 74 F or under, and the honey gourami 72 F or over. I would try to go with 72 - 73 F for this tank. You don't have a lot of wiggle room with the temp.

What are the dimensions of the tank? You could do something like this:

8-10x C. metae or C. paleatus
10-15x C. pygmaeus (the reason these would work with the other cories is that they spend a lot of their time in the middle of the water column, rather than on the bottom of the tank like other cory species - make sure you have wood, rocks, and/or large leaved plants in the tank, as they like to rest on them)
2x Honey gourami
Shrimp
Snails

 

[FriarThomasIII]

I don't really see to much of a problem of the cories, they school well together. When I added that group in with the peppered cories, they started to be social and wouldn't be shy any more. I also read that the ranges for the cories and honeys were pretty decent, about 72-78. Seems a shame if they won't work. (Could the two groups of cories just be schooling together because they look somewhat alike with the spots and color?)

 

[TexasDomer]

You won't usually see fish stress - it usually manifests as an increased susceptibility to disease and a shortened lifespan. They're not schooling together so much as swimming together to be in a group. It would be better for them to be in larger groups of their own species

That temp range isn't correct for C. metae or C. paleatus. Check Planet Catfish for catfish temps and Seriously Fish and Fishbase for temps for other fish. You shouldn't keep fish outside their range or at the extreme ends of their range, so there's just a bit of overlap with C. metae/C. paleatus and the honey gouramis. The pygmy cories have a few more degrees of overlap with the honeys

 

[FriarThomasIII]

Sadly I can't move my cories, short of flushing them, which I can't stand. I might end up buying 3 more of the peppereds and bandits. What other centerpiece fish could I get that is easy to breed? I mainly wanted the honeys for their easy and interesting breeding behavior. Preferably something extremely peaceful. (I guess I'll use the ten for pygmy cories and honeys.) Are sparklers more in that range?

 

[TexasDomer]

Definitely don't flush them. You can't return them or trade them in at your LFS? Or you could advertise them on Craigslist or with your local Facebook fish group.

A 10 gal is too small for honeys and pygmy cories.

Have you decided not to breed the honeys anymore? I'm not sure if sparkling gouramis are easier than honeys. But sparkling gouramis could be bred in the 10 gal? Just keep a group of them in their alone

 

[FriarThomasIII]

I don't own the honeys yet (or ever maybe, I don't know), we got the bandits from Nashville and I live in Knoxville (about 2 hours away) and I'm 16 with no car to go to my LFS. Pygmies could go great in the 10 gallon, considering they only get about .75 of an inch for males and 1.25 for females. Right now for the 30 I just have the 3 peppered cories and the 3 bandit cories.

 

[TexasDomer]

Actually, they're too active and need to be in bigger groups (should be in larger groups than 6 - 10+ is ideal), and a 10 gal really isn't big enough. We've had some members really notice a positive improvement in bigger tanks, after moving them from a 10 gal. Anders247 noticed this.

You'll have to go to the LFS sometime to get your new fish, right? You could bring one of the cory species in to trade then

 

[FriarThomasIII]

Just about any fish will be happier in a larger tank. Pygmies are often sold as nano fish and happily breed in a 10. Besides, odds are I'll end up with the 10 only having the cories and plants. I might trade for warmer cories or something.

 

[TexasDomer]

Breeding doesn't mean that the space is large enough, but I'm not going to argue with you over it. I wouldn't do it, but we can't force you to do anything. Best of luck!

 

[FriarThomasIII]

Yikes. Still, I might just sell the cories one day and not do them. Any ideas for a fresh start with the 30? Full opinion.

 

[TexasDomer]

You could try to breed the cories, if you're interested in breeding? Get a big group of a single species in the 30 gal and breed them there. You could still breed the honey gouramis too? Use the 10 gal to hatch the cory eggs and grow out the gouramis and cories.

Or you could start over with the 30 gal. What kind of fish do you like? Are you just looking for something to breed? or do you like certain kinds of fish? I'm partial to cories, so if you like them, I think you should still keep a group in there

 

[FriarThomasIII]

I prefer warmer fish, as well as really liking cory catfish. But I got the Peppered Cories from my dad when he got the wrong corydoras from my LFS (he wanted salt and peppers but got peppered on accident for his nano) so I took them in. I was also informed by fish sites that they could be warmer. I keep the tank at 75-76 degrees F. and the heater doesn't fluctuate much. Could I keep the tank at about 74 and get the honeys? (might be hard to keep the temperature, but worth it)

 

[TexasDomer]

I think 73 - 74 F would be fine for the peppered cories and the honeys, if you wanted to go that route. If you wanted to keep warmer water fish, there are warm water cories that would work.

 

[FriarThomasIII]

I might go with that, not get other tetras or anything and get more for the other two cories, 5 per group? And then the Honeys?

 

[TexasDomer]

Personally, I would go with 10 of a single species, but if you won't consider that, 5 of each is better than 3 of each.

 

[FriarThomasIII]

I simply fell in love with those bandit cories when we got them, and I love the peppered cories, so I guess I plan on getting them extended families soon. Are there larger gourami or large centerpiece fish that can be kept singly and cooler temps if I wasn't going to breed?

 

[TexasDomer]

Paradise fish? Or a single cichlid could work, depending on species.

 

[FriarThomasIII]

I've looked up the care of an opaline gourami and it says that they are semI aggressive and can be in 72-82. Might be okay?

 

[TexasDomer]

Opaline gourami are more warm water fish:


I would go with a paradise fish if you want a cool water gourami - they are great for cooler water tanks. In fact, if your room temp is 68 - 74 F or so, I wouldn't bother with a heater in the tank.

 

[FriarThomasIII]

Are they expensive and can I find them in places like petsmart?

 

[TexasDomer]

You may be able to find them at Petsmart or Petco. Petco should be able to order them for you if they don't have them currently in stock.

 

[FriarThomasIII]

Okay, so I've been doing some thinking and some research, and I think I have a good mix for an unheated (my house stays about 70-72 degrees room temp) and I think I'll eventually buy;
2 more Bandit Cories, adding up to 5
2 more Peppered Cories, adding up to 5
1 single Paradise Fish (the orange variety is wonderful) is the female more gentle in aggressiveness?
a school of bloodfin tetra, maybe 6-8
thoughts? and is there a full water only freshwater crab that wouldn't get eaten?
Might also change the bloodfins to rosy red minnows (maybe)

 

[Anders247]

I agree with TD's advice.

There aren't any freshwater crabs that wouldn't be eaten.

As for the rest of the questions, the plan sounds fine, and yes, female paradise fish are less aggressive.

 

[FriarThomasIII]

neat