29 gallon tank, what to put in it?

[snowrat2004]

hi! i have a 29 gallon that has been set up for about 1 and a half years. I have had guppies in it, but now i want something that doesnt breed as much . (something that doesnt have 20+ fry every month, out of every female ) My tank is well planted, plastic as well as live, thats why the fry have a high survival rate. anyway i was wondering what you guys think would be best to put in this tank. i have 3 corys that i will be keeping in there, but the rest (guppies, i will be moving out in about a week. trading them in to the LFS.)

any ideas are welcom!

Jenny

 

[Alien Anna]

I have guppies too, but I've taken the precaution of only having males

For a 29 gal tank I'd first of all complete the school of corys and get another 3 or 4 (as schooling fish they don't like being in groups less than 6-8). Then I'd add a splash of colour in the form of a school of cardinal tetras and provided it's a deep tank without a lot of current from the filter, I'd have a couple of angelfish. I'd have to check on compatibility, but for upper water it would be nice to have a few Marbled hatchet fish, I think. If they're a bit tricky (they like live and frozen food only), some danios or minnows would be nice.

Alternatively, if the angelfish are out, have a pair of pearl gouramis instead and a different school of tetras (False rummy-noses are nice) or pencilfish for the mid-water.

If there's room, you've just got to have a dwarf plec in there - ancistrus is my favourite (bristle-nosed plec). They're fine on their own and the females are quite small (3").

I'm assuming you're a relatively experienced fish keeper so haven't stuck to beginner fish. What fun designing a fantasy tank!

 

[GURLY]

if you do want a colorful touch you should get neons they are quite small but are beatiful and very rarely do they breed. also i'm not positive on the name of them but they look like mini cat fish they often stay at the bottom of a tank and eat of the bottom so it keeps a clean tank. Stay away from platys they breed just as easy as guppies oh andyou should also think about orandas they are very easy to care for and arnt toooo messy. tell me what you decide i'll be waiting.

 

[snowrat2004]

thanx , i thing i am going to get 2 different kinds of tetra's (cardnals/neons and diamond tetra/black diamond) i will pick out what ones when i get there. i want to get 2-3 dwarf gouramis. and get a few more corys also.

now my questions , how many of each tetra should i get? does it matter if the corys arnt the same kind? would there be room for either hatchets or danios if i got 10 of each tetra? and last but most important, what kind of algea eater would be best (breferably on that doesnt cost very much.

thanx again

 

[GURLY]

neons is the only one i'm positive about but you should get about 7 thats a good # i think you could mix them up and it wont matter good luck

 

[Alien Anna]

i want to get 2-3 dwarf gouramis. and get a few more corys also.

now my questions , how many of each tetra should i get? does it matter if the corys arnt the same kind? would there be room for either hatchets or danios if i got 10 of each tetra? and last but most important, what kind of algea eater would be best (breferably on that doesnt cost very much.

I wouldn't get more than a pair of dwarf gouramis in a tank that size - not enough territory and they'll try to kill each other (believe me - I know from experience). Get either a single dwarf gourami or a mated pair.

With schooling fish it's generally considered that 6-8 is your bare minimum. With neons in that size tank, I'd go for at least 10. With the bigger tetras, 6 would be fine but more would look better. Using the old "1 inch of fish per gal" (which is the formula I use most often because it's a lot easier than working out the surface area etc. and works well for little fish). I don't know what species "black diamond tetras" are but check their adult size - I'll assume it's about 2" as that's a common size for tetras.

In which case, that's about 20" of fish if you have 10 neons and 6 diamond tetras. It's going to be pushing it to get some corys in there and the dwarf gouramis, and some hatchet fish and an algae-eater of some kind. That may have to be for the next 29 gal tank! Besides, hatchet fish aren't good at sharing the water with gouramis (or rather, vice versa) since they are all upper level fish and gouramis are territorial.

As for an algae eater, of course corys do eat some algae and SAEs are IMHO, far too large for your tank. Otos could be an idea, since they are very small, but I wouldn't have otos and corys because you haven't got room. I'd suggest either a small school of otos, a school of dwarf corys or a dwarf plec of some kind (bristle-nosed plecs being the easiest IMHO).

Here's a recipe I'd suggest:

Pair of dwarf gouramis - 4"
8x neons - 6"
6x diamond tetras - 12"
3x small or dwarf corys - 5"
Bristle-nosed plec - 3 or 4" (depending on M or F)

Total = 30"

If you wanted extra space, perhaps for more corys to make up the school, get smaller tetras (black neon, glowlight tetras and dwarf characins are all 1-1.5"), get a female bristle-nose and dwarf corys. I'd strongly encourage you not to over-stock if you possibly can avoid it.

Do check with Dick Mills stocking formula to double-check my estimates.