Fishless Cycle Complete - Stocking Question

[Colt17]

Hey now! I'm pretty excited as my tank is now cycled after 8+ weeks and a bad surfactant episode we will never speak of again. I will be monitoring my PH for the next week, but after that it's fish time.

I have a 29 gallon FW with pfs as the substrate. I would like to add the following fish:
1 angel
1 pearl gourami
5 cory cats

My question is about stocking, I figured to add the cory's first, but how long should I wait to add the angel and gourami? And do add them at the same time or have another waiting period?

Also, let me know if you think this community is OK or if I could add any other fish. I will be doing weekly pwc of 15% due to low KH.

Thanks,
Colt

 

[mgamer20o0]

you prob can get away with adding them all at once. after the 5 cories in a week or two make sure the water is stable add the angel wait a week or two add the gourami.

 

[Colt17]

Awesome, thanks MG2K!

 

[Nippy Fish]

Sorry to rain on the parade, but a 29 gallon is too small for an angelfish. They get very large...

 

[mgamer20o0]

i dont agree with you. a 29 gallon is 30 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 18 3/4. i think it gives adequate room for one even a pair.

 

[Nippy Fish]

It's probably personal opinion. I have a 29 gallon tank, and I have an angelfish (in a 55g), and I can't imagine a 6"x10" fish in a 29 gallon tank. But, as I said, personal opinion.

 

[Colt17]

Don't worry about raining on my parade. I have had reservations about the angel due to the size of the tank, but have also heard many success stories of angels in a 29. I'll take your input into consideration.

Any thoughts on an alternate choice?

 

[meegosh]

I have a 6" angel in my 30g long he is doing perfectly fine. The area he can swim in is at least double the height of him. I will probably upgrade to a 55g when I get a new place but it wouldn't be because of the angel. FWIW

Make sure you get some algae wafers or shrimp pellets if you go with the cories. In a new tank there won't be much for them to pick at on the bottom of the tank. Adding some sort of algae wafer or sinking pellet is a must! I might even go as far as to disagree with the others, add the other fish first and then add the cories at the end. This will let the tank 'establish' itself more.

Also you could add some more fish, maybe a small school of neons? I have some neons in my 30g with my angel with no problems. There are tons of options actually! Good luck!

 

[kaiofcanada]

Don't worry about raining on my parade. I have had reservations about the angel due to the size of the tank, but have also heard many success stories of angels in a 29. I'll take your input into consideration.

Any thoughts on an alternate choice?

Regarding angels....you can get them at many sizes and it isn't like they grow to 6' in a month. I have small angels, about a quarter in size, who will grow up of course. I have them now in a 20 gallon, which is fine for them. Eventually in a year, when I am in bigger space, I plan to upgrade to a 55 gallon or larger. If an upgrade might be in your future I would not worry too much about getting smaller angels now. Angelfish have long lives,... plan for this as well. My fish may live as long as my dog . I find this to be a great thing, and a challenge to me to be sure I plan for this. My friend has a Koi Angelfish named Pikkachu that just turned 6 years old afterall. He also started off in a 29 gallon and upgraded to a custom 75 gallon.

Just like angelfish, there are many fish that will/can grow very large and live for years. Just plan accordingly and I think you can keep you fish happy.

 

[kaiofcanada]

I have a 6" angel in my 30g long he is doing perfectly fine. The area he can swim in is at least double the height of him. I will probably upgrade to a 55g when I get a new place but it wouldn't be because of the angel. FWIW

Make sure you get some algae wafers or shrimp pellets if you go with the cories. In a new tank there won't be much for them to pick at on the bottom of the tank. Adding some sort of algae wafer or sinking pellet is a must! I might even go as far as to disagree with the others, add the other fish first and then add the cories at the end. This will let the tank 'establish' itself more.

Also you could add some more fish, maybe a small school of neons? I have some neons in my 30g with my angel with no problems. There are tons of options actually! Good luck!

I am just dying to see pictures of your 6" angel. Where can I look. Mine are tiny at the moment. I can't wait to see them at 6 inches

 

[meegosh]

I am just dying to see pictures of your 6" angel. Where can I look. Mine are tiny at the moment. I can't wait to see them at 6 inches

Ask and you receive! Not the greatest pictures...

The day I got him from a buddy at work (thats a 2.5" clown loach below him in the bag, for size comparison):

Kinda blurry:

Thats him in my 10g, had to use my 10g for a QT, wouldn't fit in my 5g hex.... lol. He had about an inch of clearance below him whenever he was at the top of the tank like in the picture above.

 

[kaiofcanada]

Ask and you receive! Not the greatest pictures...

The day I got him from a buddy at work (thats a 2.5" clown loach below him in the bag, for size comparison):

Kinda blurry:

Thats him in my 10g, had to use my 10g for a QT, wouldn't fit in my 5g hex.... lol. He had about an inch of clearance below him whenever he was at the top of the tank like in the picture above.

Gorgeous! His tail is amazing. Almost completely just black and white split in half eh? That is a very impressive fish. Do you know how old it is at this point?

 

[mgamer20o0]

I might even go as far as to disagree with the others, add the other fish first and then add the cories at the end. This will let the tank 'establish' itself more.

this is how i normal stock tanks from the top down. though in this case since i try not to bump the bio load more then 50% at a time i might not want to add the cories all together at once. i know stores can get them in and not have them for a while. its my reasoning for going down up this time.

 

[meegosh]

Good point mg.

Not sure how old the angel is. I would guess close to two years. I can ask my buddy when he got him and roughly how big he was then. His stomach must be the size of his body because that fish can eat! LOL

 

[Nippy Fish]

For the centerpiece in my 29 gallon tank I have 3 Bolivian Rams. Talk about entertainment...they keep me entertained for as long as I'll stare at the tank. They are each only about 3" long full grown. I call them Larry, Mo, and Curly because they are constantly picking at each other and doing the silliest things. I could definitely recommend them. Small, hardy, colorful, funny, and very entertaining. You can also put many different kinds of fish with them. They only pick at each other. I also have blue tetras and badis with them. I don't even need cory because the rams keep the bottom clean of any excess food. I think they may be the perfect fish... I wouldn't get any less than 3 though.

 

[angelinafay]

just remeber they say 1 gallon of water per inch of fish

 

[mgamer20o0]

just remeber they say 1 gallon of water per inch of fish

not anyone who is reasonable. that whole 1 inch a gallon is more wrong then right.

 

[Colt17]

Nippy ---- Bolivian Rams were definately on my wish list. The only concern I had was if I had cory's and the rams laid eggs, would they bother the cory's? Also, I have not found any at my lfs's, suppose I could order some though.

 

[Nippy Fish]

not anyone who is reasonable. that whole 1 inch a gallon is more wrong then right.

There is no perfect way to determine the appropriate number of fish for a tank, and the 1" per gallon is a guideline, not a rule, and it is the best guideline we have at the moment. I think it is a good starting point, particularly for beginners who have no idea how many fish are appropriate for a given tank. Certainly there are other factors to consider such as a given fish's bioload, activity level, aggression, mating habits, territoriality, etc., but that knowledge comes with experience.

As far as the cory interfering with the ram's eggs, I got all male rams so that I wouldn't have the mating behavior to have to consider, or all the fry to worry about. Also, you don't need cory with rams. Rams will clean the bottom spotless of any leftover food.

 

[mgamer20o0]

There is no perfect way to determine the appropriate number of fish for a tank, and the 1" per gallon is a guideline, not a rule, and it is the best guideline we have at the moment. I think it is a good starting point, particularly for beginners who have no idea how many fish are appropriate for a given tank. Certainly there are other factors to consider such as a given fish's bioload, activity level, aggression, mating habits, territoriality, etc., but that knowledge comes with experience.

experience is what it takes to determine appropriate stocking levels. thats why asking for help is the best way. what ever you want to call it rule guideline i call it myth its in my eyes the wrong way to teach about stocking. in most cases the whole inch per gallon would be wrong then it is right. giving them a good foundation to start with to start with then saying inch per gallon now go stock up is the key. i think HN had a thread on this which better explains it all.