29 Gal. Stocking Ideas

[JaminBen]

Hi there, I'm new to the forum and this is my first post so here goes...
I currently have a 5 gal fluval spec tank I purchased on sale at my LFS and was told I would have no problems with some neon tetra's. They're doing fine for now but I'm thinking of upgrading them to something larger and repurposing my 5 gal for shrimp.

I have my eye on this setup, the components have high reviews on amazon and I can snag it at my LFS for a decent price.
Premium Aquarium Kit with LED - 29 Wide | 15217 | Aquariums &Â*Furniture | Fluval

So here's my basic plan
~10 neon tetras
1 pearl gourami
6 bronze cory
3 african dwarf frogs (my gf wants them, im not so sure, might keep them in the 5gal)
1 bristlenose pleco

Probably do some java fern/moss/amazon sword as well, I like the natural look and it sounds a lot easier than i thought it would be.

What do you think?

Ben

 

[Mebbid]

I can't confirm whether Its true or not as I've never kept a frog. But from what I've heard is that plecos will sometimes kill them.

Also, along with tetras I would skip the pearl gourami and get a dwarf gourami instead. They dont get as big so there's less chance of them turning a tetra I to a snack.

 

[Jun]

I disagree with the idea of a pearl turning a tetra into a snack. I've kept this species and of the gouramis, it is one of the more docile, and they have a relatively small mouth for the size of their bodies. I kept them with glow-light tetras (same relative size and shape as neons) for years and never had any issues.

I'm not sure on the frog/pleco issue, either. Plecos can be temperamental sometimes. You could try otocinclus or nerite snails instead of a pleco to avoid the issue all together.

 

[bettaowner]

I think the pleco shouldn't attack the frogs but it may resort to aggression if they get too close to the area that the pleco claims as its territory.

 

[Mebbid]

I disagree with the idea of a pearl turning a tetra into a snack. I've kept this species and of the gouramis, it is one of the more docile, and they have a relatively small mouth for the size of their bodies. I kept them with glow-light tetras (same relative size and shape as neons) for years and never had any issues.

I'm not sure on the frog/pleco issue, either. Plecos can be temperamental sometimes. You could try otocinclus or nerite snails instead of a pleco to avoid the issue all together.

How docile a fish is isnt important, if a fish can fit in another fishes mouth it will usually end up as a snack.

 

[rockyofhockey]

How docile a fish is isnt important, if a fish can fit in another fishes mouth it will usually end up as a snack.

I think the pleco shouldn't attack the frogs but it may resort to aggression if they get too close to the area that the pleco claims as its territory.

Plecos will not attack frogs unless they come to close to there territory. If they do cole close the pleco grabs the frog with his mouth and plops him away.


40 gallon
1x leopard ctenopoma
1x albino bichir
1x leopard pleco
With live plants in the tank

75 gallon native tank
5 pumpkin seed sunfish
1 red crayfish
1 spotted bass

 

[JaminBen]

Yeah I think the frogs are gonna go in my 5gal, the pleco's gotta stay I had one as a kid and nostalgia wins every time...
What would you recommend instead of the gourami? Would a ram work here? Looking for something bigger as a bit of a centrepiece

Ben


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[rockyofhockey]

Yeah I think the frogs are gonna go in my 5gal, the pleco's gotta stay I had one as a kid and nostalgia wins every time...
What would you recommend instead of the gourami? Would a ram work here? Looking for something bigger as a bit of a centrepiece

Ben


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Rams would work


40 gallon
1x leopard ctenopoma
1x albino bichir
1x tiger pleco
With live plants in the tank

75 gallon native tank
5 pumpkin seed sunfish
1 red crayfish
1 spotted bass

 

[JaminBen]

Ok so with all that in mind I've come up with something like this..

Kinda got a South American thing going on...

Any other South American plants other than amazon sword? Id rather not get into C02.

 

[Jun]

How docile a fish is isnt important, if a fish can fit in another fishes mouth it will usually end up as a snack.

This is also why I mentioned the size of a pearl gourami's mouth (small for their size versus, say, a blue gourami), and that I personally kept fish that are the same size as neons with pearls for years with no issues.

That said if you want a different centerpiece, I second the idea of rams. Bolivian rams are the bigger and more hardy of the two.

 

[Coursair]

Rams are very territorial with each other. Three would not work in a 29g.

If you want GBRs you would need to adjust your stock to fish that would live in higher temperatures as they prefer the water to be around 82f.

Research ?


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[PNWaquarist]

You could do one Bolivian in that tank, but I would not do the pleco AND corys as well. Pick one species to go with the ram.

29 gallons are 18" tall, so if you're not going to do a gourami, get something else that will occupy the top half of the tank.


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[JaminBen]

Rams are very territorial with each other. Three would not work in a 29g.

If you want GBRs you would need to adjust your stock to fish that would live in higher temperatures as they prefer the water to be around 82f.

Research ?


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Is there a "best" website to do research? Google only goes so far. I get a lot of conflicting answers on different sites, some of which look like they're from the late 90's.


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[Mebbid]

For tank sizes and water parameters live aquaria is pretty much the king. As for compatability and more specific care, there are profiles written up on many aquarium fish. You just have to dig for it.

 

[azmodan]

I'd also agree that a pearl gourami is not the best fit. They can get surprisingly large, and after temporarily holding a fully grown male in my 29g it became very apparent it needed more space. Most noticeably though was that it just messed with the scale of everything.

A pair of apistos (cacatuoides or borellii are easy starters), rams, kribs, or checkerboard cichlids would work. In my 29 I keep a single ram and checkerboard together (along with a bunch of beckford pencils). They bicker a bit but get along fine for the most part.