OK, I read somewhere that most tropical fish are lower maintenance than goldies.....is this true?

I have had my goldies for 6 years, and I have a 30 gal tank that is empty right now. I was contemplating on setting it up as a tropical tank, but I don't want to have as much maintenance as I do with my goldies. Of coures, there will be some maintenance with any living creature, I'm just looking for some low maintenance fishies. What type(s) of tropicals, if any, and how many of each, would you fine folks recomend for such a tank?

I have both a tropical and a goldie tank and the tropical is definatly lower maintence. Like a goldie tank it needs to be cycled and maintained, but the tropicals produce much less waste and are more hearty in general. I have mine planted which cuts down on water maintence even more!

Chrissy

Tropicals tend to have lower maintenance in the area of required water changes because they produce less waste.

Before suggesting any fish, have you thought of if you want a community tank or semi aggressive?

Lots of small fish or fewer medium sized fish?

Schooling or non schooling?

Top, middle, or bottom dwellers? Or a mixture?

Gravel or barebottomed tank?

Thanks to both of you for the replies!!! I'm starting to get excited about this idea!!!


Before suggesting any fish, have you thought of if you want a community tank or semi aggressive?
-definately a community tank, no aggression!

Lots of small fish or fewer medium sized fish?
I'm not really sure on this one yet...i think either would be nice...I was actually wondering how many medium fish would be comfortable in a 29 gal tank? (same question about the small ones)

Schooling or non schooling?
i was thinking maybe one type of schooling, and maybe a few non-schooling?

Top, middle, or bottom dwellers? Or a mixture?
well, I did want to get a pleco of some type (if that is OK)...so i'm thinking a mixture

Gravel or barebottomed tank?
this is another question i had...which is best? I was thinking bare bottomed would be easier (less vacs required), but...i want plants....

I honestly really know nothing about tropical fish, and I want to get as much advice from those who have kept them and know the ropes, so all of your help is much appreciated!!!

-what kind of filtration is required for a tropical tank? I have a ton of suplies, and I really want to use them...I have a bio wheel 170...would that due, or should i get something bigger? I also have a great supply of air pumps and bubble walls....i assume these would be ok for the tropicals too?

Tropical tanks are fun to set up! Well, you'll need a heater. I usually still do the 100gph per 10 gallons rule with filtration but it is usually fine to do less with tropicals. As for stocking, all kinds of tetras make nice, low maintenence schooling fish. A common pleco will outgrow the thirty gallon but a rubbernose plec or an otocinclus will clean the algae for you. A small group of cories would also do well. Also, one gourami, (or perhaps a pair if they get along), would make a nice centerpiece for a tank like that because they are generally not aggressive towards the schools or tetras or bottomfeeders. However I wouldn't recommend a gourami if you want neon tetras or one of the other very tiny species. Generally with fluorescent lights and fine grained gravel you can grow most of the hardier low light plants from pet stores.

Just a suggestion, I am sure you know this but never listen to pet store people! I have had a petstore salesperson sell me a common pleco (that can get up to 1 or 2 feet long) and tell me that I could keep him in a 5 gallon for life, with a goldfish, with no additional food besides the algae on the side of the glass! (Of course the only thing I would put in a 5 gallon is a betta) So if you see a fish in the store that you don't know anything about but are interested in, go home and research it first just in case. Just my 2 cents. Good luck !

Oh and I think that a bubble wand would usually be fine for a tropical tank but I don't think it would be necessary.

A 30g could easily be low maintenance.

You could easily get a school of 6-8 smallish tetras/danios/rasboras/barbs (ie not fish over 2 inches)

A couple of centerpiece, such as gouramis, dwarf cichlids, theres heaps to choose from, 2 fish 6 inches or under, If its a tall tank you could get an angel fish, needs to be 18 inches tall though. My personal reccomendation would be a paradise gourami, they use the entire tank no matter the height and ahve a huge amoubnt of personality.

and a bottom feeder, since you like plecos, probably a bristlenose, or some of the other suggestions, definitely no longer then 6 inches though.

Tropical tanks are fun--I have 4! The main problem has been trying to get fish communities that all get along with each other. All my fish are supposedly not aggressive but some of them have been troublemakers.

Here's my suggestions based on my own personal experience--

If you want tetras go for a tetra only tank. It seems to be ok to mix types of tetras if they are of comparable size but make sure each type has at least 4-6 of their own kind to school with. I say this because many tetras are nippy--not only to each other but to other species of fish as well and will many times shred their fins. I had this happen--my blue tetra shred my golden barbs tails and my lampeye, serpae and I think x-ray tetras have attacked my cories.

Swordtails are suppsed to be ok for a community tank but the males are territorial and will spar with each other from time to time and I had one go for an all out fight with one of my platy males.

I would say no mollies unless it's an all molly tank because mine would chase other fish and peck at them. Also mollies like more brackish water.


In my humble opinion from the fish I've had here is my ideal and most peaceful community tank--

Hatchet fish for the top of the tank--they are actually a type of tetra but mine have never, ever bothered anyone else. They are a schooling fish and don't like being alone.

Platies for the middle of the tank--they come in many different colors and several different fin types and are very cute. Are very docile--My one male that fought with the swordtail was only defending himself. They are not a schooling fish so just one would be ok.

Gold barbs for middle of tank--Most barbs are nippy but gold barbs are different. They kind of look like goldfish with black spots and they like to school. Mine are very peaceful and will look out at you more often than other tropicals.

Cory catfish for the bottom--come in a lot of different varieties and like to be in groups. They simply do not hurt any other fish.

most definitely! i have a common pleco right now in my own 29 gal tank that i brought to arizona from texas. the pleco which we got when we first set up our tank back in 2000 is now about 8 inches maybe more (from i think maybe 2 1/2 to 3?) and has outlived everything in that tank! i originally had him with my goldfish when he was smaller until he decided to start sucking the slime coat off of them. :-( so now my goldies are in my new 72 gal. tank and shark bait (my pleco) is in his own 29 gal tank. i thought about turning it tropical, but i'm afraid he'll just eat all the smaller fish. his mouth is about the size of a dime!

why you ask did i get a common pleco? because the pet store person said i "NEEDED" one for my tank to keep the algae away. now look at where i am!

Thanks to all of you for the advice! I am definately never listening to pet store people.....6 years ago, they told me i could have 2 goldies in a 2.5 gallon tank....well, long story short, 6 years, 1 lost fish, and 5 tanks later, here I am with my 55 gallon goldie tank...which is actually why I have the empty 29 gal....but anyways...I thank all of you for helping me. I am trying not to go into this blind as I did with my goldies.

I don't want a common plec, I really want a bristlenose (they are so cute), but they are so hard to find here.
And I do have a heater as well, so that's no problem.

Here are a few more questions:

With the community sizes suggested above (in approximation, of course), how often would I need to do a vaccum, assuming I have gravel?
Also, how often to you need to do water changes on tropical tanks, and how much water?

Could I keep snails with them, or do they require any salt level?

What do they like to eat?

On 3 of my my trop tanks I vacuum once a week. My bucket is 2.5 gallon so I take one bucket full out of each tank every time I vac--sometimes I take a little more if I can't get all the poop out the first time around! I do this with my 10, 16 and 20 gal. The 5 gal I just vacuum water directly into the sink until it looks like I got everything.

Hi Grain! Oh the excitement of setting up a new tank! It sounds like you already have alot of the equipment for it...that's good. Tropicals like to be kept at about 78* so that heater will come in handy. It is still important to do your gravel vacs and water changes weekly, to keep the ammonia and nitrates down and get rid of all the poo. I have a 20gallon that I do a minimum of 25% change every week. Then once a month I scrub the (silk) plants and do a thorough vacuum under the slate and driftwood. That's when I do about a 50% water change as I vac the gravel. Trop tanks are easy to maintain, if you cycle the tank properly before starting to stock it, and do regular maintenance. (water schanges, etc) It's also a really good idea to have a quarantine tank ready for new fish. I do this before I add them to the main tank. It makes it easier to observe and treat them, without having to treat the main tank and possibly disrupt your cycle. Just MO.

What type of snails are you wanting to keep in the trop tank? Apples? That would depend on the fish you choose. Snails do not tolerate salt, so if you were to choose brackish water fish, like mollies, it probly wouldn't be a good idea. I would just observe them closely to make sure the snail's tennacles (sp?) don't get nipped at. The other thing is making sure they get their fair share of food. IME most tropical fish I have kept over the years are very quick to gobble up the food. Of course, you could always take him out to feed him.

I have a huge basket of foods to feed, depending on the fish. Some, like mollies, are herbivores and require mainly plant-based foods in their diets. In an average week, I probly feed standard flakes 2-3 times, tubifex worms once, spirulina once, and an occasional frozen food for a treat. They love both frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp! They also like to peck at the plecos fresh veggies I give him too.

Bristlenose plecs are so cute! Ask someone at your lfs if they can special order one for you. Lots of places will do that.

Guess that was more than my worth huh! lol I hope I have been of some help. And please, keep us posted on your plans! I will look forward to seeing pics.

i would buy some rosey reds they are small and there are only 12 cents each as there are sold as feeders

Thank you so much for all of your input, it is reallly helpful!
About the snails, apple would be what I would have since they are readily available here. (but I have a small handfull of some type of snails that I picked off of the plants that I just bought....they are too small still to tell what they are, but I was thinking I could put at least 2 of them in the tropical tank, if I do go through with it)
But, I was aiming for fresh water, not brackish, so it wouldn't be a problem. I just know that sometimes for medicinal purposes, goldies need salt, I didn't know if it was the same for tropi's.
Sounds like tropi's eat alot of the same stuff as goldies, so that's good...lord knows I have alot of food!
Would a 5 gal be OK as a QT for tropicals? (that's all I have left)

This whole plan depends on how and if my new TV gets mounted on my wall, which will free up the dresser that my current TV is on...then I could probably fit the tank on that. Of course, my boyfriend and my parents are going to FREAK when I tell them that I am going to set up another tank.....haha.....I am also kind of worried about the extra weight in my bedroom.....BUT...since my new TV will be anchored into the wall...and my current TV will be outta here, that should basically even out......and hopefully my whole room won't end up 2 floors down in my basement!!!
But providing all works out, I will definately post pics!!!

Thank you!!
How many would you suggest of each?
Also, avalon suggested a paradise gourami....would one of those be ok with the ones you have mentioned? And, how much would you say these fish cost?

You're welcome!

http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/labyr...rami/100156.asp

I don't know about gourami's but here's a link that looked interesting. About the other fish it's generally reccomended to have 4-6 of each schooling fish. I do have 6 hatchets together but only 2-3 of the others--got them before I knew about how many I should have. Now I don't have room for more fish.

None of the fish I have cost over $3.00-$4.00--most are less.

I did have some rosy reds in with my trops for awhile and they got along great with everyone. The cost is only 12 cents at Petsmart but I don't think they're very healthy a lot of times. Cute fish, though.

Uhoh...those little snails sound like pest snails. Whatever you do, I would NOT put them in your tropical tank. I have them in mine now, and they are very hard to get rid of! Trust me on this one...those little buggers multiply like crazy.

Some tropical fish can handle salt, for treatments of disease and such.

Good luck with that tv! I hope everything works out.

if i remember correctly, clown loaches LOVE to eat the small pest snails. just FYI.

oh no..pest snails? that doesn't sound good. Do they hurt anything, or do they just get to be too many? Right now I just have them in an old tank with no filter or anything......I can't bear to kill anything, so that's why I saved them.

If you want some neat loaches koohlie loaches are small, fun, and a bit brighter colored than some of the other loaches. They come with the added banifit of also clearing up any small pest snails in the tank.

The gravel or no gravel I would decide after you pick what types of fish you want. Some need gravel or would be more comfortable with it. Some like angelfish at least need the bottom of the tank painted a dark color if there is no gravel in it. Others are perfectly happy with no gravel.

If you decide to go no gravel and still want plants you can plant them in babyfood jars with gravel just in the jars for their roots.

Bristlenose plecos can be hard to find. Like goldyfan said, ask your lfs if they can special order one for you. They are well worth it. Bristlenoses are non agressive except the males will fight other bn's for territory. Mine are very peacefull to all the other inhabitants or their respective tanks.

Pest snails just multiply vary fast and add a ton of waste to the tank. Snails can rival goldfish in waste producing.

If you are considering platties, keep in mind they are livebearers and will continue to populate the tank with little ones if you have any females. The good thing is, if you only want one sex they are easy to tell apart in the store before you get them.

Hey Kristi,

I was just looking at the tropicals at petsmart today, and I couldn't remember the ones you suggested from this list...but turns out, the ones that I liked are exactly the ones you suggested! Especially the hatched fish...they are so neat looking!

Now, here's yet another question...would I have room in a 29 gal tank for say 4-6 of each type of those you mentioned? Also, is it OK to have a bristlenose pleco (or a rubberlip pleco, as that may be all that i can get) with the cory catfish?

and what's the deal with bleeding heart tetra's? i thought they were neat too.
And I also saw some cool little mollies that i liked.....but i don't really want any nipping amongst the fishies...so that's probably a no go

hmm.....i did like the angelfish that i saw.......wow, it's really going to be hard to decide what types of fish that i should get!!

haha hence the fact that many of us have multiple tanks. we want them all!!

I know exactly what you mean!! If I had my own house, I think every room would have a tank in it!!!

Hey Kristi,

I was just looking at the tropicals at petsmart today, and I couldn't remember the ones you suggested from this list...but turns out, the ones that I liked are exactly the ones you suggested! Especially the hatched fish...they are so neat looking!

Now, here's yet another question...would I have room in a 29 gal tank for say 4-6 of each type of those you mentioned? Also, is it OK to have a bristlenose pleco (or a rubberlip pleco, as that may be all that i can get) with the cory catfish?

and what's the deal with bleeding heart tetra's? i thought they were neat too.
And I also saw some cool little mollies that i liked.....but i don't really want any nipping amongst the fishies...so that's probably a no go
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Cool!! I'm glad you liked my idea.

I think they could all fit especially if you only got 4 of each type. I've never had a plec but I got scared of them reading some other peoples horror stories--about how everything was fine in their tank for ages then all of a sudden their plec attacked in the night and killed some of the other fish. I don't know which kind it was but I just stay away from them to be safe. I guess they get territorial as they get bigger?? I'm sure someone else can help you more on the plec issue!

As for bleeding hearts, I agree they look really neat but I'm going to avoid all tetras in the future (unless I switch to an all tetra tank) because so many of them seem to be unpredictable. Of course it might help if they were in a larger school than what I have--then they would stay busy chasing each other instead of bothering the other fish--that's the theory, anyway.

The plecos that do this are common plecos. Bristlenose and rubberlip plecos are much more docile and stay smaller too. Bristlenose males reach about 5-8 inches full grown. Only the males are territorial to other male plecos. One should be no problem.

If you want any type of pleco you should plan on adding driftwood to the tank. They do better with being able to eat it to aid their digestive system. If you want a pleco and cory cats I would say go for it, just give more than one hidey hole in the tank so everyone can find a spot. The corys will tend to hide all together. The pleco may or may not be willing to share a spot with others.

I have bristlenoses in tanks with loaches, shrimp, and fry and they never bother any of them.

Mollies can be a bit bossy. It seems to depend on the individual fish. I have never had a molly actually take a chunk out of another fish but I had one that was determined that every scrap of food in the tank belonged to her. It was rather funny watching her try to guard four different chunks of algae wafer from all the other fish at the same time. Everyone else would just hover and wait for her to turn around and then eat.

hehehe...that is really funny!!

Very true! I lost my clown awhile back and I don't have the heart to replace him. They are cute little guys. But thanks for the info!

So grain, how is the planning going on the tank? Can't wait to see pics.

Well, it's still just a "maybe" for now....I REALLY want to do it, I just am not sure if it is possible yet. I have to wait and see if I will have enough room after I get my TV on my wall (which we are doing tonight!!!) And then I have to figure out if my room will hold the extra weight since there is so much in there now as it is......and if I can afford it!
I'm sure I can afford it, I HOPE my room can hold the weigt....I don't know if I will have the space for it though, that's really my biggest obsticle right now.

-well, that, and getting everyone else in my house not to freak out on me for having more creatures!!! But I think if I have the room, I'm just going to come home one day with some fish...

well, looks like my plans for a tropical tank are on hold....for a long long time.
Unfortunately, I could not mount my TV on the wall as planned, so it is on the dresser that I planned on having the tropical tank on.