29G - Need Stocking Advice

[txlewis4]

We have a friend who has 10 Dalmation Molly fry who are about 4 weeks old. I am not sure if we want all 10 but I would like to add a healthy number to our tank.

Currently, we have 6 guppies and 2 ghost shrimp. All of which were adopted by the 2 and 3 year old a few days ago. A big concern of mine is over stocking the tank but I am not opposed to more often PWC. The tank sits between two windows so I am thinking a Pleco is a bit of a necessity. The boys also love watching the Dwarf Gourami at the store. "He's beautiful!"

Our ultimate goal is to have a kid friendly and active community tank. I am very open to suggestions and look forward to any help.

 

[shadyfish]

I Really like the glowfish tetras but you would need to get a actinic or blacklight bulb for the tank

 

[mandy2936]

A suggestion on Plecos: You should look into the Bristlenose, they stay small enough (4-5" max) and are pretty good algae eaters.

Another option, possibly in addition to, are Zebra Nerite Snails. They have a very attractive shell and are excellent algae eaters. The best part is they won't overrun your tank with "millions" of little babies, they won't breed in freshwater. I have two in one of my tanks and I must say their cleaning is impressive.

A Dwarf Gourami would be very nice... just keep two things in mind. Some can be aggressive, so it's really a hit or a miss with them. When buying one, try to look for the one in the tank that's not bugging the others. Not necessarily ill looking and shoved in the corner, just a more docile and calm one. I did this for my 20g and it worked out perfectly fine. Another downside to these otherwise gorgerous fish is the fact that Dwarf Gouramis often are bred with and carry lots of diseases. Not necessarily ones transferable to the other fish, but ones that could easily cause an early/ abrupt death.

When stocking a tank, a good website is AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor
It's not 100% accurate, but very helpful. For example, if it tells you your tank is 110% stocked that does not necessarily mean it's bad. With some good maintenance you should be fine. My tank is 93% stocked bioload wise according to that site, but I don't plan to add anymore fish. You simply must use your judgment, as in I wouldn't add more fish to my tank because of it's shape and I don't want to cramp their swimming space.

Hope this helps!

 

[txlewis4]

Thank you so much for the help.

Shadyfish, I am not sure how I feel about the GloFish. I just think there are so many naturally beautiful fish.

Mandy, that site is great. I am actually excited by the idea of the snails.

Mostly, I am just trying to decide how many of those Mollies would be a good. I think 10 is WAY too many. Especially since we would like to add other fish. Is there a "happy" number of Molly fish?

 

[BigJim]

Are they balloon, short fin, or sailfin mollies? Balloons stay small while sailfins can hit 6". I'd go with 5-6 balloons or 2-4 short fin or sailfins.

 

[Chunkanese]

Considering they are from the same batch I would only get 2 or 3. That way your more diverse and you may get bored looking at the same fish in a small tank.