Stocking 29 Gal

Oh, right! I forgot about food! I have Essentials Algae Grazers for the otos, though the corys eat them as well. And Essentials Shrimp Pellets for the corys. They seem to prefer those over the grazers.

CrystalStars said:

@Byron First of all, I would like to say that I'm sorry you had to surrender your fish. And I hope you are doing well despite your diagnosis.

Thank you for the advice on the otos. I'll continue giving them the best I can. I feel bad that my lack of research has made things difficult for them. I hope I will continue to improve from here and provide a good quality of life for the fish I own in the future. When they pass away I would still like something to eat the algae. Perhaps by then the tank will be established enough for me to get more otos (I love these little guys). Or I'll get a bristlenose pleco or Siamese algae eater.

Wow, that's a lot of fishies for your 20 gal! Must've been super colourful! Well, I've been looking and I'm very partial to mostly tetras. I know neon tetras are common, but they're so pleasing to look at. I have also had my eye on emperor tetras. Someone mentioned red phantoms. Those are super pretty! I'm also realizing how much I enjoy lots of catfish species. I had my eyes on red lizard whiptails(Rineloricaria sp). But I might have to wait until much later to get some. Don't want to overstock this tank.

And thank you both for the input on the betta. I really love them because of my late Buddy. But if they are an issue to have in a tank, then I will wait until I can get a nice 5-10 gal for just a betta further down the road.

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Do your species research well before deciding on any species. Siamese Algae Eaters for example is another shoaling species, it needs five or six minimum, at 5-6 inches it needs a large tank, and it is not effective at some algae plus it can have behaviour issues. A BN is OK, and there are other interesting (to me anyway) fish that eat some algae (common Whiptails, or Farlowella vitatta) that can be individuals. Red lizard whiptails is beleived to be related to the smaller common Whiptail Rineloricaria parva; I had two reds in with my common, they never squabbled so far as I could tell (see photos below) but the reds did not last as long. The common was well past normal life expectancy when he kicked off.

No so-called "algae" eating fish will touch any species of problem algae, with one or two exceptions. In my tanks I liked to have a "substrate" fish, either a group of cories or a group of loaches (depending upon tank size and other fish) and then one of these oddities because I really like these fish as fish. Snails and shrimp are usually good for algae. But in a balanced tank there is not going to be any algae issues to begin with. Otos or the fish I just mentioned are good for the common green that naturally lives on surfaces, but it is usually not even possible to see this algae, and such fish will keep it under control.

My tank was a 29g, not 20g, just to be clear. Emperor Tetras I would not put in anything under 3 feet/90 cm length, this fish can get feisty in insufficient numbers or insufficient swimming space. Neons are in the genus Paracheirodon, and there are four commonly available species, neons, cardinals, and green neons or false neons. The latter were my favourite because of their colour and pattern, slightly smaller size, and peacefulness. A group of 15-20 in a planted 29g is easy. If cardinals, 9-12. Both of these like warmer water, the true neon does not so temperature is important.

The two "phantoms" are suited, the black or the red. These need groups of 10-12. They remain in the lower half, and like lots of thick plants; they are not active swimmers (none of the "neons" are either). Your soft water opens up a host of possible species that those without such water could never manage in good health. Hatchetfishes in the genus Carnegiella (the others are too large), some but not all of the pencilfishes in Nannostomus, and some of the dwarf rasboras in Boraras.

Thank you for the kind words. Ironically perhaps, it is the reactions to the immunotherapy drug that are so debilitating as we are keeping the cancer reducing. But when I could not adequately care for my fish, I realized it was time to rehome them before it was too late.

Apologies for the bump, but I might have an idea on what I want to stock my tank with. I would like some feedback first.

First of all, thank you again Byron for the information. I did look into Siamese algae eaters. I guess my sources were misleading on housing them. Your whiptails are so cute, making me want some so bad. The only thing is, my pet store does not sell them. So I would have to order them. And most places I have looked have a very high shipping price due to shipping live animals. Not sure if that's the same in the States. But most places in Canada have that huge price tag. It would be fine if I get multiple fish to justify the shipping price. But I don't want to house too many fish in my quarantine tank, and I don't want to crash my cycle by adding too many fish at the same time. I may skip out on getting more "algae eating fish" once the otos pass away.

I've been trying to do my research. And I think I want to house 12 Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi (Black Neon Tetras). I read they stick to the top of the tank. I'm going to add some floating plants for them. For the middle I'm thinking either 12 Paracheirodon innesi (Neon Tetras) or 12 Paracheirodon axelrodi (Cardinal tetras) or 12 Hyphessobrycon amandae (Ember tetras). I haven't decided on those three species. I just know I love tetras while doing my research.

And for the bottom will be 12 Corydoras trilineatus. I just love their little spots.

With the parameters I provided and my Aquaclear 50 filter, would this be too many fish? Or are they incompatible? I do plan on doing 30% water changes every week.

There is no problem with numbers of the named species for your 29g. And all are peaceful species (unless stressed of course, which can cause aggression).

Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi is an upper water level species but not at the surface, so you might want to think of a true surface fish. Given your water and tank size, any of the hatchetfish in the genus Carnegiella would work, or the pencilfish Nannostomus eques which is seen under various common names including rocket, diptail, oblique, all referring to their oblique swimming posture.

Paracheirodon axelrodi and P. innesi both tend to remain in the lower half of the water column. Hyphessobrycon amandae tends to remain in the upper half.

I don't know where in Canada you are, and I am not familiar with mail order places in Canada. @GaryE has I think mentioned some of these in older threads, he may be able to help. All I will say is avoid the chain pet stores like Petsmart and Petland. I am certain it is no coincidence that my few dying/diseased ridden fish over the past 12 years have all been from these sources. Once I figured this out, I avoided them. I have not had such problems with fish from independent stores, of which there are now three in Vancouver. Again, I've no idea if they ship fish.

Groups of 10-12 of any of these are good. Cories too of course.

I might go with the Nannostomus eques (Brown Pencilfish) for my surface dweller.

So, 12 of those. 12 Paracheirodon innesi (Neon Tetras). And 12 Corydoras trilineatus.

Yeah, I'm skeptical about Petsmart, too. Plus I prefer to support small businesses than a chain pet store. There is a family owned pet store in my city... but the animals are not in good condition, and I don't want to support that. I did some digging, and actually found a good fish store in my province that has a decent shipping price. They have really good reviews and the animals seem to be in good condition. So, they might get business from me. They also sell whiptails, so I might add 2 or 3 to this tank after all. They're just so cool!

(Edit: Never mind, after entering my address information the store I found still has a shipping price of $65.)

Small pet stores are often just as bad as petsmart/co, in my experience. Sometimes much worse. The trouble is that they still order from the same big, wholesale suppliers, so they have many of the same quality and health issues as the big chains. Some of them do take better care of the fish once they receive them, but many family owned businesses don't have the space and financial headroom to quarantine properly. The exception is small breeders, of course, but most of us have limited if any access to them.

Anyway. Whiptails are among my favorite fish. They do get quite big (around 6-7"), but they aren't active so should do fine in a 29g. They aren't social, so it's probably OK to get just one. Mine show a marked preference for parts of the tank with a strong current.

Whiptails. @WhistlingBadger is referring to the "large" species, which are way too big for this tank. Many of these will carry the "Royal" common name, but not all. The small species in the genus Rineloricaria, attaining 4-5 inches max, are what you want. The photo below is my R. parva with the two "red" Whiptails. There are three different species regularly offered as "Whiptail" Catfish--Rineloricaria fallax, R. lanceolata and R. parva--that have slight variations in pattern and the placement of the ventral scutes. It is also possible that some available fish may be hybrids between these three and other species. All have identical requirements in the aquarium, and remain under five inches. The average lifespan is 5-8 years. The one in the photo was in its twelfth year when he died.

Do not trust the stores to properly identify these fish.

Sorry for constantly bumping and updating. I just want to make sure I'm getting the perfect species for this tank before buying them. I still have a lot of waiting to do, but I'm the kind of person who likes to plan ahead of time.

I figured even family run businesses get their animals from the same places as chain petstores. I just feel I can trust people that specialize with fish over a chain petstore. I have tried looking into actual breeders, and there's nothing popping up in my area. I finally found a place that is actually close to my town with amazing reviews and not a hefty shipping price.

I do have some concerns after doing research into neon and pencilfish. Firstly, most neon species, except Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi(Black neon), prefer a PH lower than 7. I have researched that you can lower PH by adding peat moss and leaves into the tank. Honestly, the black water is not the asthetic I'm going for. So, I may switch those out for 12 Trigonostigma heteromorpha (harlequin rasbora). And the pencilfish I have read they don't like fast moving water, and I'm afraid even at low setting my aquaclear 50 will be too much for them.

CrystalStars said:

Sorry for constantly bumping and updating. I just want to make sure I'm getting the perfect species for this tank before buying them. I still have a lot of waiting to do, but I'm the kind of person who likes to plan ahead of time.

I figured even family run businesses get their animals from the same places as chain petstores. I just feel I can trust people that specialize with fish over a chain petstore. I have tried looking into actual breeders, and there's nothing popping up in my area. I finally found a place that is actually close to my town with amazing reviews and not a hefty shipping price.

I do have some concerns after doing research into neon and pencilfish. Firstly, most neon species, except Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi(Black neon), prefer a PH lower than 7. I have researched that you can lower PH by adding peat moss and leaves into the tank. Honestly, the black water is not the asthetic I'm going for. So, I may switch those out for 12 Trigonostigma heteromorpha (harlequin rasbora). And the pencilfish I have read they don't like fast moving water, and I'm afraid even at low setting my aquaclear 50 will be too much for them.

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Water current is important, that's up to you. As for the neons and blackwater, many small characins are found in blackwater, and some in both blackwater and clear water. The GH and pH however are the real issues. I had a "blackwater" species tank 29g but the water was clear. It was zero GH and the pH was in the 6's and those were the more important factors.

As for the leaves and peat lowing pH--maybe. It all depends upon the GH, KH and pH of the source water. The GH and especially KH will buffer or affect the pH, as these three parameters are connected. The higher the GH and KH, the less likely the pH will lower from organics. In my zero GH/KH water, dried leaves had a lovely effect to lower pH and stain the water, which was ideal for my spawning pygmy cories.

Provided the GH is soft or very soft, the pH can be in the 7's if it is stable. Many acidic water species will be fine, some will not. All characins from SA are found in zero GH water, and most is acidic inpH, some extremely so. The Rio Negro has a pH in the 4 range and lower.