Help stocking a 29 gallon

[bettalife]

And also the swordtails seem kind of nippy but the danios give it back to them I am just worried about the dwarf gourami because he hasn't eaten anything that I have seen but he just swims away when the swordtails start messing with him. He isn't hiding but he hasn't eaten do you think I need to worry?

 

[emilygupps]

I have a 29g this is what I have:
5 long fin danios
3ghost shrimp
3 nerite snails
2 male guppies

My clean up crew does a great job. They don't leave much for me to clean except for white eggs on my drift wood. The shrimp are very fun to watch once they get comfortable they'll hang out and chase the fish away from a good bit if food. And the snails are diligent. Not a speck of algea left by morning. So I'm conclusion I think snails would be a great addition.

 

[Animag771]

I wouldn't get any fish as a "cleanup crew"... All fish make waste, whatever they eat they can only break down so much. In the end no matter what you get it will add to the bioload. Don't get any fish for the sole purpose of cleaning, get them because you actually like them.

With that said, cories are GREAT fish, very active and fun to watch. Mine swim up and down the glass riding the bubbles on the way up all the time. I would definitely recommend them over the pleco. 4-5 of those will probably still have less bioload than a single pleco.

 

[emilygupps]

I vacuum my tank and do the water changes faithfully but I like that there are creatures that can make use of the allege that grows because of the co2, and others to catch the food that falls out of the danios sight.

 

[Animag771]

I have 5 Julii Cories and I can say they do a great job of collecting uneaten food that falls to the bottom of the tank, but I cannot say how well they do for algae as I have not had any yet. My tank has only been up for a little is less than 3 months now and it currently has low light and no CO2.

Cories are great and I would highly recommend them.

 

[bettalife]

Ok so I am having trouble with my swords and gourami. They won't leave him alone they just keep nipping. So I was wondering if I could keep him with my betta in a 10 gallon. My betta killed a baby bn pleco once so which would be better. I put him with my betta for now and my betta kind of seems intimidated by him but hasn't flared or botherd him just stares do you think they will be ok or not.

 

[bettalife]

I ended up just taking my gourami back. Are there any good centerpiece fish that can handle the swords and a pretty good current from my bubbler. My betta can't go in there because his fins are to long and he can't swim to well in strong currents but I wouldn't worry about the swords with him because he could hold his own. So that makes me think that I should get a king betta. Do you think he will do well in strong currents?

 

[Animag771]

I would have kept the gourami and gotten rid of the swordtails or dropped their numbers down to 2 as suggested earlier.

 

[bettalife]

Well I have them now and I thought it would be better for one fish to go then four fish to go back. I am probably just going to add one male swordtail and a king betta also the 4 Cory's I will only be 1 gallon overstocked. Does everyone think that this is ok or not?

 

[bettalife]

Ok I don't know much about goldfish. But common goldfish and comets look really cool. I know that they get pretty big but I don't know how big. I also don't know if they are aggressive. But I really want one. So my 29 has 10 danios and 4 female swords. Could I add a Goldie or will he eat my fish?

 

[azmodan]

Goldfish are cold water fish that need a different temp than tropical fish. They also get extremely large -- commons can exceed a foot long and are generally suited for ponds. Even fancy goldfish need decent sized tanks ideally (40-50 gal) when they become adults.

 

[Animag771]

Your tank is too small for even a single goldfish, they get huge. I can't believe people keep them in those tiny bowls

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[emilygupps]

You already have 14 fish in that 29 gal. That's kind of a lot and danios like to swim.

 

[trennamw]

Would love to hear what you ended up doing.

My 29 has the following. Aqua Advisor says it's fine and after a month my water parameters are still perfect.

- 10 harlequin rasboras
- 6 glowlight neons
- 6 danios (kyathit, sort of an orange variation of the zebra)
- 4 each Otocinclus and Pygmy striped loach
- 2 mystery, 1 nerite, and a handful each of pond and Malaysian trumpet snails
- 6 ghost shrimp

I guess tiny fish have small bioloads. The dirtiest are the mystery snails. I think the inverts are an important part of why the tank is so clean and stable, since they help sift the poo and break it down. Feeding New Life Spectrum also keeps the tank floor cleaner.

A 29 is plenty of room for danios and it will hold more than 14 fish if they're small clean ones. Use the aqua advisor website.

 

[emilygupps]

I did use aqadvisor and I have a 29 tall heavily planted with

6 long fin danios
6 harlequin rasboras
1 blue rasbora
2 dwarf guarmami
5 nerite snails
2 ghost shrimp
2 fancy male guppies


The reason I was cautioning is that since I added the two dwarf gourami and the rasboras my danios started acting... Annoying chasing every one else around and swimming in circles. I think they need more room to swim. According aqadvisor I'm like 92% stocked and my filtration is fine. So yes, technically my tank is fine, but I don't think my danios are very happy in the tank with so many other fish. They're constantly barreling into the others and when the rasboras school up it's like bowling for rasboras in my tank. It's funny to watch, but I'm sure it's no fun for them. My water is the same as it has been for the last month since I've had them so it's not water quality. I'm going to move the danios to the practically empty 180g tonight to live with my khuli loach school and have plenty of room to run.

I hope this helps. I know I'm no expert. I'm just getting started myself, but I thought my experience with my school of danios might be helpful when making your decision for which fish to add. The danios are my favorite by far, don't get me wrong.

 

[bettalife]

I love the danios way cooler then the swords I think. But one of my swords died my water is fine and all of the other fish were fine but he just wasn't feeling good. He was the king of the tank because he was the biggest fish in there. But now my danios are almost surpassing my swords. They like to nibble on my finger when I do water changes. I am starting to have algea grow on my rocks. So I have a total of 13 fish. 3 swords and 10 zebra danios. I am going to add a bn pleco and I need one more cool fish that can handle all of the fast danios and swords. Any recommendations. I was thinking about a red tailed black shark or a ruby shark but I don't know if they are aggressive like bala sharks are. Thanks

 

[Animag771]

Red tailed sharks grow to be about 6" and it is recommended for them to be kept in tanks 55g or larger.

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[bud29]

I love the danios way cooler then the swords I think. But one of my swords died my water is fine and all of the other fish were fine but he just wasn't feeling good. He was the king of the tank because he was the biggest fish in there. But now my danios are almost surpassing my swords. They like to nibble on my finger when I do water changes. I am starting to have algea grow on my rocks. So I have a total of 13 fish. 3 swords and 10 zebra danios. I am going to add a bn pleco and I need one more cool fish that can handle all of the fast danios and swords. Any recommendations. I was thinking about a red tailed black shark or a ruby shark but I don't know if they are aggressive like bala sharks are. Thanks

Red tail sharks aren't suited for 29g tanks. Honestly, I think 3 swordtails is a bit much for a 29g, they get quite a bit bigger than many people think - plus they are pretty messy.

 

[bettalife]

Well any other suggestions?

 

[trennamw]

I think the danio issue isn't so much that they get unhappy, I think it's that when they are happy they get annoying to their tank mates. Lol. Mine can sometimes be like a pack of teenagers on skateboards! They calmed down as the tank got more full. Not sure if it matters the harlequin rasboras so outnumber them.