Looking for suitable addditions to my tank

[keansor]

After a seemingly endless fishless cycle (5 weeks, which I know isn't actually that long), we have added three red Platies (one male and two females) and three red flame Dwarf Gouramies (one male and two females) to our 30G tank (over the past four weeks). The fish seem to be getting along SWIMMINGLY , our water parameters ARE GOOD (0 AMMONIA, 0 NITRITES, 10 NITRATES, PLANTED TANK). Earlier on in our cycle we had a fairly bad bloom of cyanobacteria, but all algae is now gone.We have a pretty bad infestation of pond snails that have started to eat our plants; the dwarf gouramis might be eating the snail eggs, but I don't think they are eating the snails. We are looking for one more species of "larger fish" (3 inches, approx.)to add as a pair or threesome to the tank and a small school of dither fish (maybe cardinal tetras or some kind of rasboras?). Does anyone have any suggestions? We are looking for something that is another bright colour (NOT RED, bright white or silver would be fine; blue, green or yellow would be lovely), and something that may help take care of our snail problem.

We love the dalmatian mollies...can they thrive without salt? (The girl at PetSmart said they could, but my reading disagrees).

Thanks all for your help!

[keansor]

Addition with three D's means I REALLY want to add fish...not that I had had four drinks when I posted the message...

[beowulf]

The mollies will be fine though they do prefer some salt in their water.  Pencil fish might be an option for a dither fish but with the size of tank and with the type of fish you already have be careful of not overpopulating the tank.

[babblefish1960]

Yes the mollies can thrive without salt, or with it, and everything in between, they are a true estuary fish that has an unusually high tolerance for both extremes.

If the dwarf gouramis are eating the snail eggs, they will eventually eliminate the problem, just be patient.

[Quatro]

I'd say throw some salt in anyways (1 tablespoon per 10gal).  Helps with disease control.  Not to encourage overpopulation but...I like white cloud mountain minnows as a dither fish.  If you want a larger fish with the yellow/green/blue look I would check out a Bosemani Rainbow (heres a pic of PFG's fish http://ovas.ca/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=1323)

[keansor]

Can the Platies and Gouramies withstand salt in the aquarium?

[keansor]

Also we try to keep the tank at around 26 degrees C, we have had some fairly large temperature variations in the past couple of days with the AC going on and off, and the heater going on and off, up to 4 degrees a day...the Platies and Gouramies seem to be tolerating it OK, but I'm getting a bit worried about it...

[Laura]

I saw in your favourite fish post that you liked clowns - how about 5 zebra loaches http://www.loaches.com/species-index/botia-striata

They'll fit in your tank IMO (they get 4"), be active, eat your snails, fulfill your desire for loaches and if you add a bristlenose pleco when your algae shows up (speak to busdriver on the forum for one), I would say you have a full tank.

I wouldn't worry much about a 4 degree temperature swing - fish get daily changes in nature.  Do you think your heater is strong enough?

[keansor]

Thanks so much for the Zebra Loach suggestion...I'll look into it...

In fact I believe that my heater is too strong for my tank...if we keep it set at 24 degrees, the temp of the tank quickly exceeds the 26 degree mark we are aiming for...so we are currently keeping it set at 22 degrees...I'm thinking once the heat comes on (consistently) in our apartment and the temp is more consistent, all will be well. With the weather we are having now, the heat comes on at night and the AC comes on during the day...hard for the heater to keep up with, I'm sure!

[keansor]

Also, the Bosemani Rainbow suggested look lovely...are they readily available? My BF is in CUPE so is currently on strike, and unfortunately our QT is in his office. We will definitely NOT be adding any more Gouramis to the tank; my understanding is that they are notorious disease spreaders. Are there any fish in particular that we should watch out for for disease? It's possible we can get into his office on the weekend if we buy fish that definitely need to be quarantined, but obviously, we would like to avoid it. I suppose we can also wait until the strike is over to add more fish, BUT we are both enjoying the tank so much, we would love to add more fish.

[renadia]

I'd say throw some salt in anyways (1 tablespoon per 10gal).  Helps with disease control.  Not to encourage overpopulation but...I like white cloud mountain minnows as a dither fish.  If you want a larger fish with the yellow/green/blue look I would check out a Bosemani Rainbow (heres a pic of PFG's fish http://ovas.ca/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=1323)

Wow that's a really nice looking fish, how big does it get?

[dan2x38]

Thanks so much for the Zebra Loach suggestion...I'll look into it...

Try bribing Beowulf he's heading to Montreal... try pizza slices... LOL Zebras are likely cheaper there for sure...

[KLKelly]

Those rainbows like to shoal and get to 5 or 6"... they like a long tank two swim.  I think a 30 gallon standard may be too short for them. Maybe pfg can input.  I know there are smaller rainbow species???

[succinctfish]

If you're pondering rainbowfish for your tank, this rainbow site is a great resource to give you an idea of the variety available.  I agree that your tank is rather small for boesemani rainbows, they move quickly and look best in a longer tank, but there are lots of colourful others from which to choose.

[keansor]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their help. We added 3 Zebra Loaches to our tank on Monday. They are fun to watch (so much faster than our other fish!), they seem not to be bothering anyone else in the tank, and have quickly taken care of our snail problem. They even somehow managed to take care of our biggest pond snail, who was about 2.5 cm long! I wish they had have done it while I could watch it; I would love to know how they did it!

Another quick question (sorry!). Our new Zebra loaches range in size from just over 1 inch to 2.5 inches long. My understanding is that these fish our generally wild caught. Is the size difference likely because they are of different ages, or because of genes? Also, how quickly do Zebra loaches grow to reach full size?

Many thanks!

[beowulf]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their help. We added 3 Zebra Loaches to our tank on Monday. They are fun to watch (so much faster than our other fish!), they seem not to be bothering anyone else in the tank, and have quickly taken care of our snail problem. They even somehow managed to take care of our biggest pond snail, who was about 2.5 cm long! I wish they had have done it while I could watch it; I would love to know how they did it!

Another quick question (sorry!). Our new Zebra loaches range in size from just over 1 inch to 2.5 inches long. My understanding is that these fish our generally wild caught. Is the size difference likely because they are of different ages, or because of genes? Also, how quickly do Zebra loaches grow to reach full size?

Many thanks!

The size difference is likely due to a small age difference. My experience with this species, as with most botine loaches, is that they tend to grow pretty fast when young and then slow down after a year or so.