My Ideas On Stocking And Advice.

[Byron]

I do like the Honey Gourami.  Do they have the same disease issues the Dwarf Gourami have?

 
The Dwarf Gourami was the species highly infected with iridovirus some years back, and it is still appearing in some fish of this species.  One has to know the actual breeder.  According to most sources, the Honey is not the risk that the Dwarf species poses.  And many who caution never acquiring the Dwarf will recommend the Honey.
 
Discerning male/female is easy with the Honey, so one can get a male and two females, or two males and 3-4 females.
 
Byron.

 

[Vethian]

if they spawn, they lay eggs?  do they tend the fry or would they need to be moved?

 

[Byron]

if they spawn, they lay eggs?  do they tend the fry or would they need to be moved?

 
Yes, they are egg layers, but the male builds a bubblenest at the surface among floating vegetation.  The pair embrace (literally) under the nest, and the male retrieves the eggs and spits them into the bubblenest.  The male guards the nest until the eggs hatch, and the fry are then on their own.  With sufficient surface vegetation several usually survive (I'm assuming they are left with other fish in the tank).  Or if you want to ensure survival, you can spawn the fish in their own tank and remove the female after spawning (the male will drive her away anyway) and the male after the eggs hatch.
 
I have fish of many species spawning all the time in my tanks, but rarely do I make an effort to save them.  In most species the eggs are on their own from the start, and most spawnings end with the other fish eating the eggs often as they are falling from the female.  A few fry sometimes escape predation, and will find sufficient infusoria and microscopic food.  I consider this letting nature dol its thing without my intervention.  It is when you want survival of fry that you almost always have to intervene somehow.

 

[squidsagirl420]

there are advisors online that can help with space limits/ fish type information
you can select what fish you have, or which you dream and it will tell you what you need to know.
it helps A TON with info about your specific fish choices and how they react to each other and the space given. Everyone probably already knows of this. but if not, it has been helpful for me!

 

[Vethian]

so, the adviser also tells me my filtration will be at 97%.  Would a sponge filter and air pump be enough?  My canister supports a bio-wheel attachment, but that would be wall cutting.  

 I wouldn't mind, but my wife may.

 

[Byron]

so, the adviser also tells me my filtration will be at 97%.  Would a sponge filter and air pump be enough?  My canister supports a bio-wheel attachment, but that would be wall cutting.  

 I wouldn't mind, but my wife may.

 
This data doesn't tell us what filtration you entered to result in 97%, so can't comment on that.  But as for the sponge filter, it would be sufficient but not with the selected fish species here.
 
First, I have among my several tanks a 29g with the same dimensions, the "basic" 29g in NA.  It is filtered by live plants and a dual Elite sponge filter connected obviously to an air pump.  This tank in its present form was set up last summer; photo attached is what it looks like today.  I had initially not intended lower plants, but put in a couple of pygmy chain swords just to add some green to get the cycle/biological system started, and then I had the larger sword in the big tank that I wanted to remove and it was in decent shape so I didn't want to just toss it onto the compost, and I stuck it in this tank.  Fish include 14 Nannostomus trifasciatus (3-line pencilfish) added last August and just last week a pair of Dicrossus filamentosus (lyretail checkerboard cichlid).  The sponge filter is quite adequate with these sedate fish.  I had been considering other fish including some catfish, perhaps a cory species, but when the D. filamentosus appeared in a local shop my plans changed; I had this species back in 1985 but haven't seen them available locally since, so I wasn't about to let this opportunity pass me by.  I intend spawning the species, and catfish being nocturnal are notorious for eating cichlid eggs/fry when the parents are not able to defend them.
 
To your situation.  With your proposed species, I would want considerably more current from the filter than what a sponge will provide.  Corydoras panda occurs in mountain streams in the Andes, and thus requires water that has some current.  They also do best at cooler temperatures than some tropicals; mine are in the 115g which is around 76/77F which is the warmest they should be.  And that tank has a canister filter that provides a considerable flow at one end (deliberate for my group of Centromochlus perugiae (Driftwood Catfish) and the panda corys "play" right in the fairly strong current from the filter return much of the time.  I have roughly 12 species of cory in this tank, and the pandas are the only ones who do this.
 
If you are set on the pandas, I would consider a small external canister filter, or an internal power filter.
 
Byron.

 

[Vethian]

I have a Marineland H.O.T. Magnum 250.  It filters 250 GPH and has creates a nice current.  

 

[Byron]

I have a Marineland H.O.T. Magnum 250.  It filters 250 GPH and has creates a nice current.  

 
OK, now we come to another issue.  I have one of these too, it is my "spare" in case one of my Eheim or Rena canisters should suddenly fail.  But I did have it connected when I first got it, on my 33g, and it was way too much current for most fish and plants.  Gourami are not going to thrive with this much movement, and the cherry barb and rummynose will have some difficulty too.  The pandas would probably love it, at least for some of the time.  But all fish need to be able to get out of strong currents (unless they occur in such water) to rest; remember that they are forced to endure what we give them 24/7 with no respite.  And while I said the pandas occur in flowing streams, these streams have very quiet banks and this is where the corys can congregate to rest, under chunks of wood and overhanging vegetation.
 
The nice thing about large tanks is that one has the opportunity to experiment and observe the reaction of fish (and plants) to things like water flow.  In my 5-foot 115g I mentioned previously, with the pandas, by the time the water flow from the filter strikes the end wall and then dissipates down the tank, it is very subdued.  The plant leaves do not move in the current unless a larger fish swims by.  And my rummynose in this tank spend most of their time in the right half, at the quieter end, rather than in the left half where the filter return is positioned.  Even the pandas like to get out of the current from time to time.
 
Byron.

 

[Vethian]

 

I have a Marineland H.O.T. Magnum 250.  It filters 250 GPH and has creates a nice current.  

 
OK, now we come to another issue.  I have one of these too, it is my "spare" in case one of my Eheim or Rena canisters should suddenly fail.  But I did have it connected when I first got it, on my 33g, and it was way too much current for most fish and plants.  Gourami are not going to thrive with this much movement, and the cherry barb and rummynose will have some difficulty too.  The pandas would probably love it, at least for some of the time.  But all fish need to be able to get out of strong currents (unless they occur in such water) to rest; remember that they are forced to endure what we give them 24/7 with no respite.  And while I said the pandas occur in flowing streams, these streams have very quiet banks and this is where the corys can congregate to rest, under chunks of wood and overhanging vegetation.
 
The nice thing about large tanks is that one has the opportunity to experiment and observe the reaction of fish (and plants) to things like water flow.  In my 5-foot 115g I mentioned previously, with the pandas, by the time the water flow from the filter strikes the end wall and then dissipates down the tank, it is very subdued.  The plant leaves do not move in the current unless a larger fish swims by.  And my rummynose in this tank spend most of their time in the right half, at the quieter end, rather than in the left half where the filter return is positioned.  Even the pandas like to get out of the current from time to time.
 
Byron.
 

 
 
Well, I directed the flow to the back of the tank and I have plants at the far end that break up the flow.  My cherry barbs actually will swim into the stream and attempt to swim up it.  Almost like they are playing.    Should I feed it into a biowheel?
 

 

[Vethian]

I could attach a rain bar to diffuse the water flow.  

 

[Byron]

Well, I directed the flow to the back of the tank and I have plants at the far end that break up the flow.  My cherry barbs actually will swim into the stream and attempt to swim up it.  Almost like they are playing.
 

 
Most fish realize that food will most likely come downstream in the flow, so there is logic behind the playing.  Also, they have no choice; they cannot swim backwards against the current, so they must head into it.  A lot of fish seem to "play" like this, but the important thing is that they can escape the current when they decide to.  Swimming into the current requires a lot more energy, and this wears down the fish if it is non-stop, causing a weakening of the immune system, and all sorts of issues.
 

I could attach a rain bar to diffuse the water flow.

 
 
Something like this can help.  I'm assuming you are referring to a spray bar, a piece of tubing with holes that attaches to the filter return spigot.

 

[Vethian]

 

Well, I directed the flow to the back of the tank and I have plants at the far end that break up the flow.  My cherry barbs actually will swim into the stream and attempt to swim up it.  Almost like they are playing.
 

 
Most fish realize that food will most likely come downstream in the flow, so there is logic behind the playing.  Also, they have no choice; they cannot swim backwards against the current, so they must head into it.  A lot of fish seem to "play" like this, but the important thing is that they can escape the current when they decide to.  Swimming into the current requires a lot more energy, and this wears down the fish if it is non-stop, causing a weakening of the immune system, and all sorts of issues.
 
I could attach a rain bar to diffuse the water flow.

 
 
Something like this can help.  I'm assuming you are referring to a spray bar, a piece of tubing with holes that attaches to the filter return spigot.
 


 
 
They can and do escape.  Yes, a spray bar.  I played with my tank tonight.  I turned the outtake towards the back wall.  the opposite corner the water hits my Pothos roots and then larger fake plants.  The result is a very subtle current in the tank now.  Food is settling much better as I feed.  I think if I plant some more on that end, the flow will be good.


I also must add, the fish seem more calm now that the flow is diffused.