Stocking Questions

[looksrshady]

Hey everyone i need help stocking my 29 gallon tropical tank.
I currently have 2 platys inside and i want to add some more fish, not all at once of course.
I want to add a dwarf frog,dwarf gourami,discus,pleco,otto and a yoyo loach.Maybe ghost shrimp and angel fish but not sure.Can i get some advice on which breeds to get and if they all will go ok together in a community tank.

Also how many of each fish can i keep i dont want to overstock,but i know some like to be kept in shoals. Really appreciate any advice givin to me since im new to fish keeping and im reading up on it as much as i can.Btw i dont have any live plants but i would love to get some if it would be ok to mix with fake ones and maybe get some tips on keeping them and which are great for beginners with my size tank and community.

Tnx for reading

 

[Miss Wiggle]

hiya, to start off with there's a general guideline to follow for the total number of fish you shoul have in your tank, 1" per us gallon of water.

so for a 30 gallon tank you can have 30" of fish, you need to work it out on they're adult size not the size you buy them at as they'll often be juveniles.

of your list only two scream out as unsuitable, discus and angelfish. they need a bigger tank and a very tall one. they're also not beginner fish really, angels are less sensitive than discus but still not for new tanks really.

i'll run through the other fish you like with some comments

dwarf frog - can be picky eaters, you may need to target feed them live foods as they often get outcompeted for food in a community tank, aside from that though they make nice additions to a community.
dwarf gourami - unfortunately DG's have been very inbred over the years making them weak and susceptible to diseases here's a pinned topic with some further ino. they are lovely fish but you should be very careful to make sure you buy healthy ones
pleco - depends which one, there's 100's of different plecs ranging from 4" to 2', as I'm sure you can tell you can't have a 2' fish in your tank so be careful which one you buy. here's a list of smaller plecs you can choose from, they're dietry requirements vary so make sure you do your research and provide the correct food.
otto - little bit sensitive, wait until your tank is 6 months old before adding them but other than that fine
yoyo loach - i'm not a loach expert really but i believe these would be fine
Maybe ghost shrimp - these should also be fine

hth

 

[dwarfgourami]

Miss Wiggle has pretty well covered it already, I just thought I'd add some possible substitutions to the problem fish she mentioned:

dwarf gourami- very problematic, but if you can find a thick-lipped gourami (colisa labiosa) they are still supposed to be hardier

plecos- don't go for the common or sailfin plec, in fact avoid anything the shop simply refers to as "a plec". A good alternative is the bristlenose (ancistrus) which is hardy and fairly outgoing once it's got used to the tank. Some of the very pretty small plecs listed are wildcaught and can be a bit more sensitive. But a bristlie will almost certainly be tank bred, maybe even locally, and they are quite adaptable. They eat algae, which not all plecs do.

I don't think I would keep dwarf frogs with any plec, I'd be worried about it being outcompeted and imtimidated.

 

[loachman]

Yoyos will do better in groups (just about all common loaches appreciate their own kind). I've had mine solo for awhile as his partners passed. They become a bit more reclusive and less active during the day without company, but can do okay.

You may have varying success with a loach and shrimp. I've not done it, but heard both it works and it probably won't. It probably depends more on the relative size of the two than anything else.