# Getting back into fishkeeping and have some questions.



## ToddB (Dec 13, 2009)

Hi all.

It has been 15 years or so since I had an aquarium and I am getting the itch again. But I seem to have forgotten everything I knew about tank set up, what fish play nicely together, etc. So I am looking to the experts on the web for help.

I am planning on doing a ~30 gallon freshwater setup. I have always been a fan of tetras so those are a definate once the tank is cycled. I'm also thinking some angels would be nice. Are these ok together? Others I'm thinking are a bala shark or two, some sort of bottom feeder (pleco ?). Any other fish that you could suggest? 

Also, how many fish can I comfortably house in a 30 gallon tank? (The most recent tank that I had was only 10 gallons.) 

I'm sure there are a ton of other questions that I have, but the coffee hasn't kicked in yet. 

Thanks in advance for the advice. If you have any other suggestions or links to more information, please let me know.

Thanks

ToddB


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Morning Todd.

Tetras and Angels will work fine. The bala unfortunately won't due to size. As for plecs...I would suggest a couple of Bristlenose Plecs.


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## ToddB (Dec 13, 2009)

Thanks James. That's what I was hoping. Too bad about the Bala though. And thanks for the suggestion on the Bristlenose. Those things look cool.

Another quetion, given a 30 gallon tank, how many angels and tetras (probably Cardinal tetras as I just love their color) can I comfortably put in the tank?

Anyone else have any suggestions?


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## ToddB (Dec 13, 2009)

Another question, If I decide to plant this aquarium, is it better to plant before or after I cycle the tank? How hard are plants to keep? What kind of substrate do I need to keep plants? How do you fertilize plants?

Thanks guys.


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## Oldman (May 25, 2009)

Cycle first so that you don't need to deal with an algae outbreak. You will be adding a lot of ammonia to the water and ammonia+light=algae. If you plant before cycling, you will need the lights on for them and that will cause terrible algae problems. Plants that are appropriate to the light level in a tank are quite easy. Plants that are not selected based on the available light will not survive. 
Have you found a good article on doing a fishless cycle yet? We no longer stress out our fish to cycle a tank the way we did 15 or 20 years ago. Instead, people use traces of pure ammonia to do their cycle. 
Cardinals may be just barely big enough to survive being housed with angels. Angels are well known to eat neons but many cardinals are slightly bigger fish than neons. Another option that definitely get big enough to live with angels is black neons.


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## spawn (Sep 21, 2009)

in your 30 gallon tank you can tetra sp. along ith cory or clown loach..you may also keep angel fish community...


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## Charlie_Tuna (Aug 26, 2008)

The Cardinal Tetras will look very nice, but don't buy too many at once, yes they are small, but it will still cause your tank to go goofy, all of a sudden fish start dying. So take your time and build slow.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Been out digging out from our little snow storm...boy was that fun.

In a 30g, I would do no more than (2) angels. A nice school of (6) cardinals will do well with them. The kewl thing about this grouping is that they are both blackwater species. Now this is where personal preference comes in.

Get yourself a couple small pieces of fresh malaysian driftwood. Boil it just long enough to cure it. This way most of the tannins will stay in the tank. It will turn the water "tea" color. With the proper lighting, the colors of everything in the tank will pop.


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## spawn (Sep 21, 2009)

along with 6 cardinals you can also keep 6 neon tetras...


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