New 29g Low Tech Planted Tank

[Gootz]

Quick update:  Unfortunately my betta and the last CT died, so all that's left is the oto.  Another sad thing is I can't find the assassin snail in the tank anywhere.  I looked under all of the plants and decor so he must've dug into the substrate. 

The good news is my master (liquid) test kit came today.  I tested the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate.  Ammonia and Nitrite were both at zero and the Nitrate was reading around 25-30.  So all is good there!  Just running the filter with the carbon in now for another week to help clear out anything else that shouldn't be in there (leftover fungus spores, etc.).

Then it's time to start restocking (slowly).

 

[Gootz]

Here are my latest thoughts on stocking.  Please provide me with your thoughts.
 
Centerpiece(s)
1 x Betta
or
2 x Blue Ram
 
Top Shoal:
5 x Hatchet Fish
 
Middle Shoal
8-12 (depending on which fish)
Celestial Pearl Danio
or
Rummy Nose Tetra
 
Bottom Shoal
6 x Julii Cory
 
Cleanup Crew
1 x Oto
2 x Nerite Snail

 

[RCA]

I read your other post http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/413673-help-mysterious-disease-killing-my-fish/page-2 and was sorry to hear you lost your Betta etc.
 
Re: the above I would not recommend Danios with Bettas, they can nip (in my experience) and are a bit fast around the Betta.  I had one that hated them with a vengeance whereas another took no notice of them.  Personally though I would avoid the Danios.
 
I got a school of 11 Rasbora Espei which are a lovely alternative to Tetras - more info on these fish in my post here
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/413557-would-like-help-on-deciding-on-a-big-tank-for-these-fish/?hl=%2Brasbora+%2Bespei#entry3485372
 
Also, be aware that Otos need a very mature aquarium at least 3 months plus, and many die in the first few weeks of arrival at the LFS as they are not known to be good travellers.  I always wait a month from when they arrive to purchasing any, and even ask one of the store members if the Otos are settled i.e. no longer dying.  In fairness they often take fish off sale if they are loosing many anyway.
 
I think you may have too many Cory's for your aqaurium, have you seen the Pgmy Cory's these are smaller and have the added benefit of swimming in the mid-water as well as at the bottom.  I do not have any personal experience of these but may try them out one day soon.
 
Can you advise the dimensions of your aquarium, the Litres/Gallons, and what filter you are running?  Sorry if you have already posted this but have had a look and cannot see this info.
 
Temp of 84 is indeed too high so that needs checking.
 
Personally I LOVE Bettas and they all have their own personalities, but the Rams are a good looking fish too.  My preference would be a good Betta anytime.  Also in terms of Betta's avoid Veiltails if you can, the Crowntails seem a lot more active in my experience and less prone to fin rot.  Even better is a lovely looking Plakat, I have a Lavendar Big Ears, so his front fins are large and white, and he is a butterfly, so has white edges to his whole fins.  Of all my Bettas he is the most active.  The one in my profile picture is a Half Moon Dragon aka "Albert".
 
I am not sure where you are located so unsure of your availability re: the above options?

 

[RCA]

Here is the Lavendar boy ala the above post

View attachment 68718

 

[Gootz]

Thanks! I am leaning towards the rummy nose tetras, but I have to make sure the LFS can stock those for me soon as I'd like to start with them first.  The REs are much nicer looking than regular Rasboras, but I still like the RNTs best.  We'll see how it all plays out based on availability though.  I'll definitely be considering compatibility whichever direction I go. 
 
My oto has been in there since week 2 of the cycling with no signs of issues.  He swims and eats and looks happy as can be.  I will only be stocking at 3 fish per week with periodic water changes to help keep any ammonia or Nitrite spikes.  It helps having a python, makes water changes much easier and less of a hassle.
 
For the number of actual livestock, I used the http/aqadvisor.com/ calculator.  Looks like I should be within limits based on the above plan.  I will obviously be testing and keeping an eye on everything in case there are any signs of overstocking.  My tank is a 29G, says it in the thread title
 
The tank is steady at 78.5* and has been for about 2 weeks. 
 
I love bettas too.  And the pic above is a gorgeous example of why I love them.  My LFS has a pretty nice selection, so we shall see.  The centerpiece will likely be the last fish I stock.
 
Thanks again!

 

[RCA]

Thanks for the link to the stocking calculator not come across that before and could be useful
 
RNT's are nice fish in a school, I recently saw a very simply stocked aquarium at my LFS with mainly just a school of RNT's and it looked amazing.
 
Opps re: how big is your tank, it was starring me in the face so much I missed it

.
 
There is an interesting post here that might be useful in chossing your centre piece, not sure if you have come across it, but personally I have not seen a fish do this (yet ) http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/413039-severe-betta-illness-medication-not-helping/

 

[Gootz]

Right on!  Someone shared it with me and I thought it was extremely useful (and cool), so I wanted to pay it forward. 
 
Thanks, definitely dig em a lot.  The icing on the cake for me is because I'm a car buff and their tails look like checkered flags.

 
No worries on the tank size.  I'm the one in here coming to you guys for help.
 
Thanks for sharing that thread.  Really funny, actually, thinking he had a fungus and it turns out only to be the fish's natural change to it's marbling color.  I've gotta return a couple things today, so I'll check out the stock.
 
I won't be getting my centerpiece for a little while though.  After letting the tank cycle for nearly another 2 weeks, checking my water levels again and seeing they were good I decided to pick up the first of the Julii Cories on Thursday.  Petco just received their order and hadn't yet taken the fish out of the shipment bags, so rather than letting them acclimate to Petco's water and then reacclimating them to mine shortly after (further stressing them out) I picked up a trio.  Well, all was good until this morning.  I found one of the poor little guys dead.  The other 2 look fine, so let's just hope that it was survival of the fittest here.  I will obviously report back if I encounter any additional problems, but for now I'm just going to return the deceased guy and some plant fert I don't need anymore. 
 
Here's a quick pick of the Juliis (photobucket sucks, I resized it and it didn't pull the reduced size):
 

 

[Gootz]

I picked up the rest of the shoal of Juliis, so now I've got a total of 6 along with the oto and 1 assassin snail. I'll let the tank adjust for another week or so before adding anything else.

After adding new fish, how long should I wait until I do my next water change? I did one 3 days ago and added the fish last night.

 

[RCA]

Basically I would recommend you test your water at least daily when setting up a new aquarium and be guided by this.  Little and often is the key, even just taking out a few jugs full and replacing them can help until the bacteria has built up enough to handle the extra load.  Slow and steady with stocking (as you are planning) wins every time.
 
TIP: I keep a diary of all events in the aquariums, this way I know if anything starts causing an issue what may have been the cause.  I can also log if a fish has been behaving oddly and then keep a track of it, plus any action taken for reference.  Then, should I need assistance in dealing with a problem, I have a full record of events leading up to it.  I also have a spreadsheet I designed for all the aquariums with the test readings.  I have it printed out and just add the next date and readings into the relevant columns.  It helps keeping this all together at the back of the diary.

 

[Gootz]

Very thorough!!  I wish I had the time to do all of this, but I'm sure it would help.  It seems like the tank is very stable now as I had the Juliis in for a couple weeks with no casualties aside from the unhealthy one I picked up from the LFS in the first batch.  I have been testing the water every 3 days and everything is perfect.  I also have been doing weekly 25% WCs. 
 
I went to pick up some rummynose tetras a few days ago. They've been at the LFS for a couple weeks, so they are acclimated, looks healthy and were swimming well in the tank, but when the storekeep put them in the plastic holding container they started to either play dead or something.  It was strange as they would just float head first or stop swimming and just look unhealthy.  So the owner said to not buy them and wait another week.  But when he put them back in they started swimming fine again.  Is this something they're known for?
 
I ended up going to another FS who I knew had a dozen or so silver hatchetfish.  They looked healthy and had been there for over a week, so I picked up 5 of them.  I decided to pull the trigger on the hatchets now instead of waiting until after I got my largest (middle dwelling) school because I am now unsure if I want to even get the RNTs or if I should try the CTs again.  With the Hatchets and the Juliis being mostly silver/grey I feel like the RMTs won't give enough contrast in color.  The RMTs and CTs seem to be equally sensitive, but the CTs will bring out a nicer color range IMO. 

 

[Gootz]

Quick update, tank is running really smoothly with no further setbacks. It's currently stocked with the 5 silver hatchets (no casualties!), 6 juliis, 1 oto and 1 assassin snail. The tank needs some more plants which I'll be picking up this week. Between the juliis and the hatchets there isn't a whole lot of color, so I've decided to try my luck with CTs instead of the RMTs. Pics to follow...

 

[RCA]

Excellent news, hope it continues to go well for you.  Look forward to the pics.

 

[Lunar Jetman]

Not sure if it's too late now to suggest anything but I noticed you originally wanted some Rainbowfish but were advised against it due to their size and requirements. Have you considered Dwarf Rainbowfish? They don't get much bigger than 2 inches so you can have a few more in the shoal too.
 

 

[Gootz]

Excellent news, hope it continues to go well for you.  Look forward to the pics.

Thanks!  Yes, very happy I was able to stabilize everything.  The fish all look happy and have acclimated well.
 
I'll snap some pics in the coming few days.
 

Not sure if it's too late now to suggest anything but I noticed you originally wanted some Rainbowfish but were advised against it due to their size and requirements. Have you considered Dwarf Rainbowfish? They don't get much bigger than 2 inches so you can have a few more in the shoal too.
 

Yes, I have considered some rainbow options, but can't find any LFS that stock any that I like.  They have a couple varieties that aren't very colorful, so I'd rather just keep looking until I find something that I know I'll like.  For now I'm thinking just a nice looking betta will do the trick, but am still open minded.  Once I get the CTs acclimated and happy I'll focus on the center piece(s).  Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Lunar Jetman]

They have a couple varieties that aren't very colorful, so I'd rather just keep looking until I find something that I know I'll like.

It's worth noting that they sometimes are a little duller in your LFS due to, amongst other things, stress and youth so they may get deeper in colour as they age. Although it's worth waiting until you find the right one for your!