Stocking - Will this community work?

[ScorpioMoon]

For the 29g I was thinking the following. Please criticize and let me know if adjustments or omissions should be made.

Dwarf Gourami x 2
Fancy Guppies x 6
Peppered Cory Cat x 4
ADF x 3
Mystery Snail x 3

Thank you!!

 

[SherLar]

I don't think you'll be over-stocked. In fact, I would probably add a couple corys to the group, as they prefer to be in a bit larger groups than 4.
I'm not sure about the ADF for 2 reasons: if you hope to breed guppies, the ADF will likely eat the fry; also, your ADF will need to reach the surface to breath, and your tank may be a bit too tall for them to easily do that. But, I've only had full-size clawed frogs, so I can't say for sure about ADF. Hopefully, someone with more experience and knowledge will weigh in.

 

[coralbandit]

^^ +1 ^^

 

[ScorpioMoon]

I don't think you'll be over-stocked. In fact, I would probably add a couple corys to the group, as they prefer to be in a bit larger groups than 4.
I'm not sure about the ADF for 2 reasons: if you hope to breed guppies, the ADF will likely eat the fry; also, your ADF will need to reach the surface to breath, and your tank may be a bit too tall for them to easily do that. But, I've only had full-size clawed frogs, so I can't say for sure about ADF. Hopefully, someone with more experience and knowledge will weigh in.

Good point... I had ADF before, but had them in a 20 and they did fine. I also called to make sure the LFS still had the 29gal that I wanted and they don't, but they do have a 30gal. I believe the 30's are longer vs taller, so hopefully it will work. I'll have to take that into consideration. Thank you!

 

[ScorpioMoon]

^^ +1 ^^

I've never looked into them before honestly.... Looked them up on LiveAquaria.com and I LOVE the look of the electric blue rams. Would you say two of them?

 

[ScorpioMoon]

Also, in regards to the cory cats...do they all have to be the same type? I read that they prefer to be in groups of 6. Does this mean I could get 3 different types, or should they be the same?

2 x Peppered
2 x Elegans
2 x False Julii

 

[Barliman]

I've never looked into them before honestly.... Looked them up on LiveAquaria.com and I LOVE the look of the electric blue rams. Would you say two of them?

Rams typically like water above 80 degrees. I think the gourami would be fine, but I'm not sure about the catfish. You'd need to check a reference for that species.

 

[coralbandit]

I've never looked into them before honestly.... Looked them up on LiveAquaria.com and I LOVE the look of the electric blue rams. Would you say two of them?

Rams are not 'beginner' fish IMO..
They need a stable tank and IMO they should be #1 above all in the tank..
Many 'good keepers' have a hard time with them ?
I wouldn't buy from LA but maybe because many articles are written that rams should be purchased from a reputable breeder if possible....
I breed and sell those along with regular 'German Blue Rams' GBR..

 

[SherLar]

I agree with coralbandit. Rams can be difficult fish. A friend at a LFS told me once that 2 of 3 rams they sell are returned dead. I think that's due in a large part because our midwestern water tends to be hard and alkaline, and rams do best in neutral or slightly acidic PH water that is fairly soft. But in my experience, rams are just tough fish to raise.
As far as your cory question, I have several types of corys, and they don't seem to school together. I have bronze and albino corys together in one tank, and they always school separately, even though they're the same species. You can try it; maybe you'll have a different experience than I, but typically, they only school with their species, for me at least.

 

[UntimelyLord]

I would go with only one dwarf gourami, as two males will fight, and a male and female will likely pair up and defend "their" tank from other inhabitants, possibly to the death. They are not shoaling fish so will be okay as a single.

 

[SherLar]

UntimelyLord is right: male gouramis will fight. If you go with 2 gouramis, try to get 2 females. They have as much color as males, and are much less aggressive. They're actually easy to sex. Females have a rounded anal fin; males have a more pointed anal fin.

 

[Skywalker28]

I've never looked into them before honestly.... Looked them up on LiveAquaria.com and I LOVE the look of the electric blue rams. Would you say two of them?

The electric blue rams are amazing. I have 1 pair in my 54L tank with 9 x-ray tetras.

 

[ThatPlantedGuy]

UntimelyLord is right: male gouramis will fight. If you go with 2 gouramis, try to get 2 females. They have as much color as males, and are much less aggressive. They're actually easy to sex. Females have a rounded anal fin; males have a more pointed anal fin.

Yeah he's right. Dwarf gouramis scrap with each other A LOT. If you really like your gouramis you could go with a pair of croaking gouramis or honey gouramis, if you went with honey gouramis you could bump up your gourami population by 1 and when it's 'breeding season' the males get a beautiful black colouration from the anal fin.

 

[ScorpioMoon]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I've done some more research and reconsidered on the rams. I'm also going to stick with one powder blue dwarf gourami.

Also, I went to buy the 29g tank I scoped out at one of the LFS I visited and they had sold it, so I ended up with a 30g. I'm actually happy it worked out that way. It was only about $7 more and I like that it's a longer tank.

Discovered a few tetra that I liked as well, so I'm changing it up a little:

Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami x 1
Guppies x 6
Ember Tetra x 6
Silver Tip Tetra x 6
Neon Tetra x 6
Peppered Cory Cat x 5
Mystery Snail x 3