New 29g Low Tech Planted Tank

[Gootz]

I'm pretty new to planted tanks. This is my second planted tank, but only the first one where I did a lot of research, preplanned the layout and really put in a lot of effort.

So far I think it turned out pretty well and I'm on my third day of cycling. The only thing I noticed which I don't like is that one of the pieces of drift wood turned white with the fungus that grows on drift wood sometimes. The other piece looks fine. Below is a pic of the tank. As you can see, the piece on the left is fine and the one on the right has a white tinge. It was not like this the first day I put it in, yesterday was at it's worst and today it already looks like it's starting to die off and diminish.

Here's a list of what I've got in/on this tank:

17W Flora Sun bulb
200W heater (temp set at 78*, but I think it needs to be replaced because the temp is currently reading 84)
Penguin 200 Bio Wheel Filter
Eco Complete substrate
Tap water with added dechlorinating water conditioner
Java Fern (in the front)
Anubias (in the back right)
Banana plant (attached to the left drift wood)
Morimo Moss (not sure if that's correct - attached to the white colored drift wood on the right)
I can't remember the name of the last plant attached to the coconut husk behind the zebra rock - anyone know what plant that is?

Can't wait until I can start cycling the tank with a few fish and also adding some more plants.

Any critiques on the tank? Definitely want to add some plant height behind the drift wood on the left as well as some ground covering all throughout. Open to suggestions to help make it look better.

Thanks in advance and Happy New Year!

 

[SombreroBanana]

Both anubias and java fern don't grow well in gravel. You should attach them to the driftwood and put the banana plant in the gravel.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Don't worry about the fungus... ;-)

 

[Gootz]

Both anubias and java fern don't grow well in gravel. You should attach them to the driftwood and put the banana plant in the gravel.

I have java in my other tank in the gravel and it grows like a weed!  So far the anubias has already grown 2 new leaves, so I'll keep an eye on them.
 

>>>>Don't worry about the fungus... ;-)

It's already gone!

 
The tank is finally ready for some more live stock!  I have had a betta and oto in there for about 2.5 weeks and all of the levels look good and stable.  So I just put in 3 Cardinal Tetras and 1 Assassin Snail (didn't clean one of the driftwood pieces well enough and have a small infestation of snails).
 
After doing a lot of research I'm going with the following, but do have a question about my "centerpiece fish".  See below.
 
School #1:
11 total
Cardinal Tetras

School #2:
11 total
Rummy Nose Tetras
(I'm also very much into cars, so I especially dig them because their tails look like checkered flags)
 
School #3:
5 total
Silver Hatchetfish
 
Centerpiece fish:
3-5 total
Undecided, but considering:
-Praecox Rainbow - http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+886+1059&pcatid=1059
-Boesemani Rainbow - http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+2855+1053&pcatid=1053
-Really wanted some kind of discus, but don't think they would do well since they prefer a tank without many other fish and it needs to be very acidic (low PH)
 
Any other suggestions for my centerpiece fish??

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Are all these fish what you are wishing for in the future..? Or do you mean one of the school 1/2/3...?
 
Terry.

 

[thereverendturtle]

Your tank is too small for discus and bosemani rainbows. The praecox will be fine, but should be in a school of at least 6 fish.

 

[Gootz]

Are all these fish what you are wishing for in the future..? Or do you mean one of the school 1/2/3...?
 
Terry.

I will be putting all 3 schools in (over time).  The numbers under each school are the quantity I plan on putting in for each respective school.  The centerpiece "school" is what I'm having trouble deciding on.
 

Your tank is too small for discus and bosemani rainbows. The praecox will be fine, but should be in a school of at least 6 fish.

Discus are already off the table, so not even worried about that.  I though boesemani only get to a max of 3-4"?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Its not always just about the size of the fish, but their behavior.  Rainbows are very active swimmers, so they need a long tank.  Zebra danios only grow to about 2 inches, but to keep them in anything smaller than a 4 foot, preferably a 6 foot tank really isn't right.
 
 
If you are serious about all three schools in the one tank, that's way too many fish for a 29G tank.  Just ONE of those schools plus the centerpiece would be pushing the limits...  You could go 6 cardinals, 6 rummynose and a single large centerpiece, like a pearl gourami or keyhole cichlid. (Not with the betta still in the tank though!)  Another option would be 6 cardinals OR 6 rummynose and 6 praecox rainbowfish.  You could even bump the numbers of each shoal a bit to 9, but that's starting to push it a bit.

 

[Gootz]

Its not always just about the size of the fish, but their behavior.  Rainbows are very active swimmers, so they need a long tank.  Zebra danios only grow to about 2 inches, but to keep them in anything smaller than a 4 foot, preferably a 6 foot tank really isn't right.
 
 
If you are serious about all three schools in the one tank, that's way too many fish for a 29G tank.  Just ONE of those schools plus the centerpiece would be pushing the limits...  You could go 6 cardinals, 6 rummynose and a single large centerpiece, like a pearl gourami or keyhole cichlid. (Not with the betta still in the tank though!)  Another option would be 6 cardinals OR 6 rummynose and 6 praecox rainbowfish.  You could even bump the numbers of each shoal a bit to 9, but that's starting to push it a bit.

Thanks for the heads up. Before, if I liked a fish and it wasn't "aggressive" I would just put it in my other tank.  I'm trying to learn and plan ahead, so this tank is better suited for a thriving, happy community.
 
I'm doing some more research and putting some additional thought into this since I can only add a few fish at a time.  It'll be a few weeks before I pull the trigger on the rest of the tank species.  Right now I only have 3 cardinals, an oto and the betta.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

I had 11 Cardinal Tetra in my 110L tank last year...fascinating to watch! I also had half a dozen Otto, but they mysteriously died over the course of 18 months.
What i would do, personally, is up your number of Cardinal Tetra...over time and reasonably slowly though, of course. Continue to test water daily after you add ANY fish, which at this time and possible stage you are at in the Nitrogen cycle i wouldn't think of adding anymore than 3 at one time. Get ready for instant, thorough water changes as well.
 
Terry.

 

[Gootz]

I had 11 Cardinal Tetra in my 110L tank last year...fascinating to watch! I also had half a dozen Otto, but they mysteriously died over the course of 18 months.
What i would do, personally, is up your number of Cardinal Tetra...over time and reasonably slowly though, of course. Continue to test water daily after you add ANY fish, which at this time and possible stage you are at in the Nitrogen cycle i wouldn't think of adding anymore than 3 at one time. Get ready for instant, thorough water changes as well.
 
Terry.

Do you have any pics of your tank(s) and/or fish?
 
I am going to continue to test periodically.  I definitely won't be adding more than 3-4 at a time.  I will be doing another water change tomorrow, testing after and then another stock of 3-4 CTs on Thurs or Fri.
 
I'll start posting pics of the progression.

 

[Gootz]

Help please!! I have a sick tank!  http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/413673-help-mysterious-disease-killing-my-fish/

 

[The Taffy Apple]

1/ Invest in a good, liquid based test kit (API are widely recommended)...test strips are next to useless.
2/ Listen to what results are needed and get your EXACT ammonia and NitrIte test results.
 
I tend to agree that it looks like Ammonia and/or NitrIte poisoning..your tank (or more, your filter) isn't ready for fish yet. Have a nose at the signature in my link for the reasoning behind this.
 
Terry.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

One additional thing to say about the ammonia/nitrite poisoning... it doesn't have to kill the fish itself.  Fish that are suffering from excessive ammonia or nitrite are MUCH more susceptible to secondary illnesses, like white spot ("ich"), etc.

 

[Gootz]

1/ Invest in a good, liquid based test kit (API are widely recommended)...test strips are next to useless.
2/ Listen to what results are needed and get your EXACT ammonia and NitrIte test results.
 
I tend to agree that it looks like Ammonia and/or NitrIte poisoning..your tank (or more, your filter) isn't ready for fish yet. Have a nose at the signature in my link for the reasoning behind this.
 
Terry.

Terry, going to purchase a liquid kit tomorrow.  I have tested the water 4 times in the last week and all of them came back negative for ammonia and nitrite.  I am pretty sure it was a fungus carried by the CTs.  The other CTs at the LFS died too, not just the ones in my tank.
 

One additional thing to say about the ammonia/nitrite poisoning... it doesn't have to kill the fish itself.  Fish that are suffering from excessive ammonia or nitrite are MUCH more susceptible to secondary illnesses, like white spot ("ich"), etc.

I will get the test kit asap and test periodically just to be sure.  Thanks for the advice.