stocking 29 gallon

[littlebitlarisa]

Well I have decided to go to more of a community style tank. I have a cycled 29 gallon tank waiting empty.

Things that have caught my eye are

Powder blue gourami or the dwarf gourami
bolovian rams

and some small schooling fish such as tetras

Not even sure what is compatible

Any ideas or recommendations? I am open to any advice.

 

[librarygirl]

Hi! HOw did you cycle the tank? If you just let it run unfortunately it isn't cycled. You'll need to add an ammonia source to properly cycle it. There's a link in my signature: new empty tank that'll help. If it has been properly cycled either fishless with ammonia or raw shrimp or if it had fish in it and it's empty now you'll want to add ammonia or at least some fish food to keep the bacteria alive until you get fish in there again.

I'm not a stocking expert by any means but you definitely could do a school of something like tetra or rasbora and a dwarf gourami as a centerpiece, and some corys (panda or julii) for the bottom. Maybe someone else will offer more advice.

 

[littlebitlarisa]

Its been being cycled with pure ammonia

Its my first time doing a fishless cycle but my amonia is disapearing. I have just started testing nitrates and nitrites today, picked up a API master kit as my test strips were crud.

Im really only about halfway there in my cycle as the nitrates and nitrites have not gotten high yet. I will not be getting fish until the tank is fully cycled. Just trying to prepare so I do not inpulse buy when I am finally fully cycled. I do not want to get something incompatible to my tank.

I wanted to do some corys but my gravel is large and I have read they like fine gravel or sand. Mine is more like smooth river rock.

Thank you for the help!

 

[siva]

Awesome! You really have quite a few options open to you for a 29 gal. what kind of filter are you running?

How large is the river rock? It sounds like it's most likely OK for cories. You can do most any species of cory you'd like in a 29. Go for a group of 6.

I've never combined dwarf cichlids with gouramis. It's one of those things that some do successfully, and some advise against. If you decide to try it, just know there is atleast some potential for problems between the fish. I would add the ram before the gourami, and let it get esbalished and grow larger than the gourami will be at the time you add it, because the rams I have had have been more mellow and less territorial than the gouramis I've had.

I think 6 of a mellow smallish tetra like neons, glowlights, or rummynose tetras would be nice. Along with that you could do 6 of something that schools more at the top of the tank, like pork chop rasboras or marble hatchets. Once the tank is more established you could add and algae eater like a bristlenose pleco or a trio of pitbull plecos. Or if you wait until the tank has been running about 6 months, you could add 4 oto cats.

 

[littlebitlarisa]

Thank you guys so much!

I will get the Bolivians first. I want them more than the gourami. If the gourami get to territorial they can just go back. I am just trying to get some blue in the tank.

Here are what the rocks look like

I have read that the corys like sand to burrow. I do not think they could burrow in this.

Thanks!

 

[siva]

Kuhli loaches like to burrow, but I've never seen a cory burrow, and I keep several species. That substrate looks great for them. However, if you are planning to keep a pair of bolivians, avoid the cories to be on the safe side. Rams can get aggressive when protecting their eggs. If you are going to keep either one or two of the same sex, than the cories will be fine.

If you are going for a dwarf gourami I would recommend just one. Though some have had success with keeping two or more together, I don't think your tank is heavily planted enough for it, and I haven't been able to have success with it even in a more heavily planted tank. If you were to find a pair of gourami that may work, but female dwarfs are really hard to find, especially if you are making your purchases in shops.

 

[littlebitlarisa]

My plan is now...

A pair of bolovian rams
and some type of schooling fish maybe black skirt tetra
and maybe some male guppies for extra color

eventually a bushy nose plecto

How does that sound?

 

[thegundog]

End of last week I completed my fishless cycle on my 29 gallon....

I added 7 Rummy nose and 6 Lampchop Rasobora's - they are really exciting and fit the tank well.

 

[siva]

Pretty good. I'm not going to say don't keep black skirts with rams, but I will say I wouldn't keep black skirts with rams. They are very nippy and are aggresive eaters. I think they may make feeding the much more mellow rams difficult. They also hang out low in the tank, like the rams, so I'm guessing they will really irritate the rams when they are in breeding mode.

 

[littlebitlarisa]

No to them then.

What about dalmation mollys? I want something black and white to go in.
What about platty?

Sorry im pretty much a total newbie with fish. But I want my tank to be stocked correctly.

Thanks!

 

[siva]

Oh no, don't be sorry, great questions. Mollies are platties would be a good fit. I've had some issue with aggression from male mollies, but each fish is different. You may want to purchase them from a store that has a return policy just in case they were to get aggresive. In my experience you can tell with mollies pretty much right away if the paticular specimen you've chosen is going to be trouble. Mollies and platties are both livebearers, so if you stock males and females, you will have babies. Babies can overpopulate a tank if you don't have plans for where they will go, so it's up to you as far as what will work best for you. To completely avoid babies, you'll want to choose all males, since females can hold sperm for several months. To sex all livebearers, you check the anal fin. Here are some pics:

See the female actually has a real triangular shaped fin there.

The male doesn't have an actual fin, instead has a long thin gonopodium which is held in close to the body(this is what he uses to deposit his sperm).

 

[siva]

Oh and one more thing about mollies..balloon mollies may catch your eye...I used to love them before I knew more about them. They are selectively bred to have a curved spine and are actually deformed, which causes them swimming issues and shortened lifespan. Many of us, including myself, are against this practice, so I'd have to recommend you avoid those.

 

[littlebitlarisa]

Thank you! I do not want deformed fish. The dalmatians are fine though right? I really like the spots

I will try my best to sex the molly when I get them. The guppies are already separated at my lfs and I will be getting only males.

12 hours after bumping the ammonia up to 4 my tank is back to 0 amonia, 0 nitrites, and 5.0.

 

[siva]

Awesome! Is this your first tank? I can't imagine how great it would be to actually know about cycling when setting up your first tank.

The dalmations are fine. You'll know the balloon mollies when you see them because of their short fat shape.

If you do end up with unwanted babies from your livebearers (most will usually be eaten anyway) you can sometimes trade them in for credit at your lfs, or worst case scenario, donate them for adoption to a place like Petco.

 

[littlebitlarisa]

Pretty much my first real tank. I had a beta as a teen in a 5 gallon. My mom had a semi agressive tank for a few years but I do not remember a thing about them.

I am the type of person that likes to know what I am doing before I do it. I have found jumping into a living animal can be a disaster if the fit is not right aka my first horse LOL

I actually think the balloon mollies are ugly. Much like the parrot cichlids. We had one of those in the semi aggressive tank when I was a teen. She was pretty cool though.

Thanks again!

 

[siva]

That's awesome. OK OK so they are ugly..but I used to find them cute..lol No problem.

 

[littlebitlarisa]

True, I loved the parrot cichlid I had. She was super cool and I thought she was the prettiest thing. It wasn't till here recently I found out she was a hybrid and deformed. I decided against getting another.

So when I do introduce these fish what order will I go in.

Right now my idea is

a few bolovian rams let them pair off and keep one pair. (how many should I start with?)
6 dalmatian mollys
5-6 male guppies

and a eventual pictus catfish(hubby just HAS to have one) If he outgrows we will get a larger tank.

Thank you!

 

[siva]

Ok..several things...but first of all...what filter are you running?

 

[littlebitlarisa]

A Marineland penguin 350. Is that ok for this tank? Should I get a different one?

 

[siva]

Ok I've never used that one, but the specs on it look pretty good.

About the pictus..you really shouldn't keep just one. That's a general rule for catfish. Almost all of them prefer to be in groups. With the pictus, I would get atleast two (some would say more but since they really aren't great for a 29, if you must get them, I would stick with 2). But they will definitely need something like a 55 gal soon. They are pretty large active catfish. I think a pair of rams will definitely be annoyed with them, but because of their size, they should be able to hold their own, so to speak. (I wish I could give you the one that was just donated to me! Don't know where I'm gonna put this guy.) Also, don't net your pictus cats. Transfer them with a cup and/or do some research about handling them. They are easily damaged by a net.

I've never went that route with rams, so I'm not sure how many. I used to have a pair of blue rams, but I just got one male and one female. Besides that, I've kept them in singles.

The rams are more sensitive than the livebearers, so if you add them first, add your livebearers very slowly. Mollies have the larger bio-load, by far, so especially take care to add those slowly.