Looking for unique, friendly options for a 30 gallon tank

[gigandetsgirl]

Hi everybody,

I just lost my beloved goldfish, who was the sole occupant of my 30-gallon tank. I hate having an empty tank in my room but I am not ready to have another goldy yet, so I am trying to brainstorm other options. I really love unique, personable fish/other aquatic creatures that I truly feel like I have a bond with. I'd be happy with there just being one fish in the tank, or two at the most.

I have long wanted a blue crayfish, but I read they are notorious escape artists and I fear that my flooring (concrete) combined with my three cats would make quick work of an escapee, and I can't stand the thought of that.

I also love the thought of an African dwarf frog tank, but I am not sure of the requirements this would tank. Besides those two, I am really just trying to get some ideas. I love oscars but I do not want to have to upgrade the tank to a bigger size. In addition to this tank, I also have four small betta tanks, a 55-gallon tropical tank, a koi bond, two hermit crab tanks, and a very spoiled leopard gecko in her own tank - so I definitely don't need anything more or anything bigger!

Any suggestions would be much appreciated Thanks!

- Whitney

[hXcChic22]

How about Dojo Loaches? They are such awesome fish. They have great personalities and will nibble on your hands once they get used to you. They respond to changes in barometric pressure and "dance" in the tank, which gives them the nickname "Weather Loach". A group of three would be awesome in a tank like that, along with some small schooling fish if you wanted some more movement in the mid/top range.

http://www.loaches.com/species-index...pg/image_small

[Angelclown]

For small fish I would go with neon tetras, they are really cool. I love the neon tetras.

[Betta man]

I would go with the betta unimculata family. That or betta simplex. In your 30 gal, you could keep a pair of unimacs and could probably keep 4-6 simplex in your tank. They are both cool fish. I would ask someone with experience with simplex, but I would think you could keep them with neons and some corys. IDK if you like them, but german blue rams are pretty. My dream community tank is a 55 gal with discus, blue rams, tetras, corys, and rasboras, but in a 30 gal, I think you could keep rams, neons, and corys. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

[emc7]

A single cichlid kept alone will often become a "wet pet" and pay a lot of attention to the person who feed it, to the point of learning tricks or letting itself be petted. While having 2 or more in that tank would limit you to dwarf cichlids, you can keep a mid-size fish alone. One angel, a rainbow cichlid, a convict or blue acara would do. It shouldn't be hard to find someone giving away a convict that lost its mate or has outgrown the 10 gallon it was sold with.

[Obsidian]

If you like the idea of only 1 or 2 in the tank I would personally go with a pair of Rams. They are beautiful fish, personable, and would probably breed. You could give/ sell fry to a LFS if you didn't want to keep them, but you could have fun watching them grow to size.