My 30 Gallon Tank Again

Brian, It's not just about the size of the filters, it's about whether the tank is big enough to allow a fish to behave naturally, and with tank mates that won't cause problems.

Angelfish need a tall tank, with at least 18 inches, preferably more, water depth. Most 30 gall tanks can't provide this, though there are some that are tall and thin rather than short and wide. Can your tank provide that depth?

Blue gourami - are you talking about the blue coloured 3 spot gourami? The problem with keeping gouramis with aggressive fish is that they usually get their long fins bitten off.

Pictus catfish need a 48 inch long tank - and I've never heard of a 30 gall tank that long.

The shark also needs a 4 ft tank.

Featherfin catfish also need 4 ft tanks.


You mentioned using aq advisor. That site is very unreliable and mention of its name has been banned on another forum I'm a member of for this reason. I would not go by anything that site says.

Hi Brian, as around half of the forums you are a member of (I think you said 10 on the original thread?) say that an Angelfish would be ok in your tank, this suggests that your fellow fish keepers are at best borderline as to whether it is large enough and that should at least give pause for thought. Given your reasonable tank depth it would perhaps be do-able if the Angelfish was going to be king/queen of the tank with nothing else of a comparable size, but the fish you're proposing would put a number of relatively large fish together so this wouldn't really be the case.

You mentioned about ultimately getting a 55gal tank - perhaps it would be better to get this sooner rather than later in order to achieve your fish keeping aspirations?

Just to add, Sue wasn't suggesting that the Gourami itself was going to be problematic, rather that putting other aggressive fish with it could lead to its long fins being bitten off.

yeah i think what i am really looking for is just something different.. so forgot everything i have said before i am going to do it like this, i am going to have tetras and some really peaceful cichlids right now i can only think of a few because i lost my freshwater fish book . when it comes to fish i know as many as a  knows and im only 13

OK.... so things are starting to fall in to place here. You say you're 13, yet in an earlier post you said you had 12 years fish-keeping experience.

Firstly, please tell us how old you are and how long you, not your parents, have been responsible for the upkeep of a tank full of fish. 'Fish-keeping' is different to 'having fish in the house'.

Secondly, I'm afraid being able to name a lot of fish does not mean that you know anything at all about how to look after them - and your posts seem to back this up. You're bringing living creatures into your home and it is your responsibility to give them the best possible home to live in. If you can't have a big tank then don't get fish that need a big tank to live in.

You need to do proper research on the water conditions that a fish needs. That's the Water Hardness, the pH and the temperature range, and make sure all your fish will thrive in the water you have.

You need to research the water conditions. For example, pictus catfish need a good flow rate of water, while angel fish and gourami need a very slow water flow. They should not be in the same tank.

You need to research the size tank they need. Fish that need a 4ft tank (like pictus) will suffer in a smaller tank and they will take this out on other fish. Pictus catfish have a large mouth and will eat any fish that will fit in it.

I can keep my cat in a cardboard box and she will live. However; that would be cruel and I know it.

If you knowingly put unsuitable fish together in an unsuitable environment that is cruel - and you should know better. We are prepared to spend time helping you, but only if you listen and take on board what we are saying.

EDIT: Sue has just posted about Seriously Fish. I totally agree - it's a great site to research your fishes needs. However, of all the fish forums I've looked at then this one gives the best advice. What you seem to be doing is searching all the forums until someone, somewhere agrees with what you say..... and then using that to justify your decisions. That's not research.

i heard that this set up would  work at petsmart but sounded a little fishy, so i wanted to come here and see if it was true and judging by the posts he was just after my money

That is most likely what happened. We don't have petsmart in the UK but the other forum I'm a member of has a lot of Americans and they don't say anything good about that pet chain store. There are so many stores that say what the customer wants to hear. They have been trained in how to make a sale but not in anything about fish.

have 2 freshwater fish handbooks

Unfortunately, a lot of books are written by people who don't actually know much about fishkeeping; or they might be old and out of date.

i would like it if this thread was closed

Do you want me to close this thread?