I am getting ready to set up my tank for cycling and am thinking ahead to what species to get. I am doing a fresh water community tank of mainly small schooling fish with a few lone fish thrown in after cycling is complete. Can anyone recommend some good species and what numbers of them i should get for a 29 US gallon tank? Thanks.
What Species/How Many?
- Thread starter Fishstix
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modernhamlet
Just this guy...
That's one of those questions with a million answers. 
That said... I've got a 29g US peaceful community. I'm still stocking/restocking at the moment. 29 gallons is less space than you think, so the key is to take advantage of the height as much as you can. Basically, you're looking for bottom level schoolers, mid/top level schoolers, and a centerpiece fish.
What I would suggest is to pick your centerpiece fish first, then make the rest of your stocking decisions around that. What did you have in mind for a loner (or pair)?
Some possibilities for consideration:
2 Pearl Gourami (right size, right temperment compared to other gourami, though many of the smaller gourami would work)
or
1 Angel (eh. on second thought, don't. they really should be paired and have more space.)
or
2 rams or apistogrammas ("peaceful" dwarf cichlids. everyone that has them seems to love them)
or
a few livebearers
That's just a few of the possibilities. What do you really want to keep?
That said... I've got a 29g US peaceful community. I'm still stocking/restocking at the moment. 29 gallons is less space than you think, so the key is to take advantage of the height as much as you can. Basically, you're looking for bottom level schoolers, mid/top level schoolers, and a centerpiece fish.
What I would suggest is to pick your centerpiece fish first, then make the rest of your stocking decisions around that. What did you have in mind for a loner (or pair)?
Some possibilities for consideration:
2 Pearl Gourami (right size, right temperment compared to other gourami, though many of the smaller gourami would work)
or
1 Angel (eh. on second thought, don't. they really should be paired and have more space.)
or
2 rams or apistogrammas ("peaceful" dwarf cichlids. everyone that has them seems to love them)
or
a few livebearers
That's just a few of the possibilities. What do you really want to keep?
Thanks for your response modernhamlet. I am looking for colorful fish that school mostly,i.e.- Tetras,Rasboras,Neons. I too wanted a couple of Pearl Gouramis as my larger centerpiece fish. I'll probably get 3-4 Cories as well. I always liked Platys and Mollies as well. My question is how many schooling type fish should i get? Would a school of Tetras and a school of Neons be good with about 6 fish in each one or would that be too much for my size of tank?
modernhamlet
Just this guy...
I think you could quite successfully have two shoals in your tank with a couple of gourami and a group of corys. Neither should be too big, however. You don't want to push the limits too far.
Neons are a type of tetra. If you intend to get them, wait until you've introduced all the other fish and things have been stable for some time. My understanding is that they've become a little delicate due to the heavy inbreeding cause by their mass production for the aquarium. You might consider cardinals as an alternative. There's actually several big threads in the Cyprinids and Characins forum the argue both sides. Check them out.
Anyway, I think as long as you have adequate filtration, 2 schools of 6 - 8 relatively small (i.e. not Rainbowfish or Congo Tetras) should work fine. Consider getting fish that aren't TOO active though, as the Pearl Gourami won't appreciate constant darting. If you plan to get livebearers, I'd say they should count as one of the "schools". You're probably better off with 2 other schools though. With gourami, you never know...
HTH!
Neons are a type of tetra. If you intend to get them, wait until you've introduced all the other fish and things have been stable for some time. My understanding is that they've become a little delicate due to the heavy inbreeding cause by their mass production for the aquarium. You might consider cardinals as an alternative. There's actually several big threads in the Cyprinids and Characins forum the argue both sides. Check them out.
Anyway, I think as long as you have adequate filtration, 2 schools of 6 - 8 relatively small (i.e. not Rainbowfish or Congo Tetras) should work fine. Consider getting fish that aren't TOO active though, as the Pearl Gourami won't appreciate constant darting. If you plan to get livebearers, I'd say they should count as one of the "schools". You're probably better off with 2 other schools though. With gourami, you never know...
HTH!
tstenback
Hopelessly Addicted
For small shoaling fish i like zebras for the top, harlequins for top/middle and cories for the bottom. Actually my favorites are cardinals but not in a new tank. You have lots of good ideas to help you and hopefully you will get many more. which may just end up confusing you Just pick what you like the most and select everything from there. This is the best part of the hobby...selecting the residents of your new tank...gotta love it
Just pick what you like the most and select everything from there. This is the best part of the hobby...selecting the residents of your new tank...gotta love it How well would a couple of Cherry Barbs do with Rasboras and Danios? I'm really starting to like Rams as well after reading all the positives about them. Would a pair of Rams do best as my standout centerpiece fish? Would they be compatible with Danios and Rasboras? Of course i would wait till my tank was established before adding them. I'm just excited about the possiblities. Thanks.
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