Stocking a 30 gallon tank

[Macchiato]

Hello, we finished cycling last week and got 5 neon tetras and a shrimp. One tetra got sucked into the filter within an hour of putting into the tank and died, we have turned it down a bit now and have had no mishaps since. But will get 3 more Congo tetras so they can school (will neons school with congos?)

What else would you put in? I like guppies but we have those in another tank so don't really want them in this one. DP likes quirky fish... (he's been laughing at the shrimp ALL week ) and I like colourful fish. Need something bigger as don't want a tank of tiddlers

So what would you recommend?

How big is the tank? Have you worked out how many cms of fish you can put in?

Corys are sweet and entertaining. Angel fish very beautiful but I think you are meant to keep them in a pair at least. I also love tiger barbs but they nip other fish's fins. Cherry and today barbs are pretty and a bit bigger.

I'm feeling quite jealous - we got rid of our 180 litre tank because my husband was working horrendous shifts and I wasn't managing to clean it as often as I should. Now I miss watching the fish but hubby is adamant he doesn't want anymore. Thinking of putting a heater in my daughter's 60 litr tank and adding a few guppies as her goldfish died and now she just has 4 white cloud mountain minnows in there.

No, congos won't shoal with neons- they're not even from the same continent! Also there is a huge size difference so beware of the neons ending up as snacks. My congos got enormous and had very sharp teeth, they even drew blood once when I was doing a water change.

I would increase the shoal size of neons to 6-8, they will be much happier and healthier then.

What are the water params? If it's especially hard or soft then that will rule out some species.

Bloody hell rouge, really? Will avoid congos then I will get more neons, they are my absolute fav anyway, so pretty. DP wants a plec... I'm not convinced yet. I like German blue rams though, but heard they are hard to keep

We have fairly hard water.

They are so relaxing to watch arnt they flippity, guppies are so graceful.

Blue rams can be a bit fussy, bolivian rams are a bit tougher so may be worth a look. Careful with plecs, some can grow to 2 feet long. There are some that stop at around 5 or 6 inches so if you choose carefully you should be OK.

Tetras and piranhas are from the same family, check out the <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=congo+tetra+teeth&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1680&bih=850&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=5Y1IP9wJjsb-fM:&imgrefurl=www.rainbowfish.info/forum/viewtopic.php%3Ff%3D2%26t%3D161&docid=B4LGdoUG662uXM&imgurl=www.petshop-zoomania.com/Tetras,Rainbows,Killi/Tetra%252520Congo%252520teeth%252520close%252520up.jpg&w=800&h=600&ei=dWYWUPyGN6Si0QWLy4HYBw&zoom=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">teeth on a congo. They are not aggressive in the slightest, they just mistook me for food but most fish will try to eat whatever they can.

We got a bristlenose plec, he's teeny tiny at the mo but was told he will grow to 5inches. He's suckering his way round the tank at the moment!

So, with the fish I have at the mo rouge, what would you recommend adding? Something biggish and colourful please

Bloody hell at those congos teeth! Fuck that haha. Saw them in the shop yesterday and they have big eyes as well don't they?

Lost a tetra today, he wasn't quiet right when we got him but because he had no obvious signs of illness, we left him. He was still eating but wasn't swimming with the others all the time etc and was slowest to the food.

Bloody hell, I hope we don't lose anymore. I feel awful when they die!

We used to have a pair of blue rams, they were beautiful, especially when the male was showing off his colours and raising his fins, but they didn't live very long.

We also had an albino bristle nose, he grew to about 4 inches and was fascinating to watch.

I miss them so much but know I have enough on my plate and could only have a tank again if my husband was interested and would help with cleaning them but he doesn't want anymore.

If you want something else to shoal with your neons, I've had good success with cardinals (tetras with the red stripe all along their side) and they're a bit "flightier" in my experience.

If you don't want to duplicate with straightforward guppies, what about endler's livebearers? They are harder to get hold of, but very pretty!

We used to have cardinal tetras and rummy nose tetras together and they were beautiful together.

Hello hello :) we lost all but one tetra, we think there was something wrong with them when we got them. All others seem absolutley fine.

So... We added 2 opaline gouramis today, they've been in the tank about 3 hours and one keeps chasing and nipping the other. What shall I do? DP thinks we should wait and see if they settle down, but I don't want to leave them doing that really, it makes me saaaaaaad. Should I take one back to the shop??

I wanted to get 2 because I don't like buying just one fish, I like it to have companionship of its own breed. So if I did take one back, would the one I keep be lonely? :0.

Did you get two males? Wonder if that might be the problem ... I had a pair of gouramis but they were male and female and they got on well together, however we lost the female quite quickly, she didn't seem ill and wasn't picked on, just died.

If they carry on and they are both males you could take one back and swap it for a female?

I'm not sure what they are, how do you tell?

They are from pets at home, I know they have such a shitty name but there are no aquatic places near me, so it was them or order online.

I rang them not long after I posted this and they said they will fight for dominance of the tank and to leave it tonight and see what they're like tomorrow. He's still nipping the other one though. I think I'm going to take the bully one back in the morning.

I just can't have another fish die on me, makes me feel insanely guilty, like it was my fault :0.

But will the one I keep get lonely?

I think the female will be smaller and less bright than the male.

Not sure if gouramis get lonely on their own to be honest. There's a very good forum where they give good advice, think it's called fishforums.net?