Stocking ideas for a 29 gallon tank

[Bucky Katt]

Since this is going to be my first tank and I am putting it together for my 2 year old son, I need something that will be entertaining. A mix of some golorful fish with good personalities would be ideal.

And some advice on what live plants I can stock with low lighting conditions would also be helpful.

Thanks

 

[joannde]

Hi Bucky ! I have a 29 gallon that I just love. I don't have plants yet but that should change within the next 10 days or so - I'll also be doing low light.

I happen to really enjoy livebearers - platies and guppies inparticular. They're colorful and active and they tend to hang out in groups so there's alot of interaction between them.

I'd also recommend panda cories - I have 5 and I'd probably have a whole tankful if I could ! LOL. They are the most entertaining and adorable little guys.

Of course, if you look at my signature you'll see I've recommended EXACTLY the setup I have, but I guess that goes to show how much I like it LOL

Are there any fish that you already know you'd like to keep ? If you go to this website http://fishprofiles.com/profiles/default.aspx?pnl=fresh you can get an idea of some of the different types of fish out there.

What I did which was very helpful was to come to this forum with a proposed stocking list for others with more experience to give me advice on. The folks here are extremely friendly and exceptionally helpful.

As for plants go to this website http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=1&filter_by=2 where you can find plants that do well in low light.

And most importantly, don't forget to cycle your tank before you put fish in. Its a bit of a test of patience but it saves a ton of work (and water changes), doesn't put any fish under undo stress, and allows you to stock rapidly rather than doing the 1 or 2 fish every two weeks thing. Of course that choice is yours, and with the plants you'll probably cycle faster and with less toxic effect to the fish, but I'll leave it to others who know more about that to pipe in.

Have fun !!!

 

[JustOneMore20]

I'm more of a tetra person. I like the schools and colors of them. I have a 29g with neons and glowlight tetras, an opaline gourami, 6 panda cories, and 3 ottos.

I recommend lemon tetras, glowlights, neons, flame (von rios), diamonds, rummynose, pristella, and black neons.
I also like Harlequin rasboras (cute little red rasboras...very pretty).

For a general community tank you could have:

2 schools of fish (6-8 in each school, depending on the sizes)
1 centerpiece (smaller gourami, rams, betta)
6-8 small bottom fish (i like cories)
maybe 3 ottos or 1 small pleco

or if you like livebearers, you could go with

4-5 platies
4-5 guppies
6-8 small bottom fish
maybe a centerpiece gourami
few ottos

I'm not good with numbers on the livebearers...I don't like them much, so I only know the sizes.

Oh and for lowlight plants...it really depends on your wattage. If you have 1 watt per gallon or less (meaning you have a 30 watt bulb or lower), you will have to stick with java fern, anubias, some types of crypts, wisteria, and java moss.

 

[Elle2]

Welcome to AA! With a nice mid-size aquarium like that you have quite a bit of flexibility. The key will be to decide which few fish you like most and then see what goes with that, and as joannde mentioned, if you post your list you will get lots of suggestions. If the fish you most like are aggressive or semi-aggressive you will need to get other fish that can hold thier own.

In my (very) humble opinion, if you are looking to find fish to interest small children you will want a wide variety so that they can see many fish acting in a variety of ways. The way to do this is to build an interesting ecosystem so that different fish fill different niches. With some rocks/caves, plants and maybe a little driftwood you can do this easily and then have an environment that makes many fish happy. I am very new and still building my stock and its very interesting because I can add 5-6 fish and barley know they are there because of the different roles they play. I just added 4 rummy nose tetras and two kuhli loaches but because the tetras school and the kuhlis are bottom dwellers that love caves they barely take up any space.

Ack.... sorry for the long email... my point is that this would probably be very interesting for a little one because they could see some bright fish swimming around, some schooling fish darting about, and other fishies cleaning up and hiding in caves.

Of course everyone's preferences are different. I love my panda cories, otos and Kuhli loaches- they have amazingly unique personalities.

goodluck!
p.s. I really recommend the fishless cycle joannde mentioned.. it is alot less work and will allow you to add more fish a little more quickly, and reduce the likelihood of fish deaths in the beginning.

 

[Bucky Katt]

Thanks a lot, this really helps.

As for the fish I would like, My wife and I really like Chiclids. However, financially we are only able to go with a 29 gallon tank right now and with the research I have done, chiclid tanks need to be at least 55gallon.

I really like the Mbuna Chiclids especially Pseudotrophus Demasoni and Bumblee Chiclids
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/p_demasoni.php
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=845

But I want to make sure I have enough room and enough experience before I get them

 

[joannde]

Hi Bucky. On cichlid-forum.com they have some suggested setups for each type of tank - they are called "cookie cutters" and they are in the articles section I believe (its' been awhile since I've been there). I too originally wanted cichlids and spent alot of time on cichlid forum. In the end I decided against them because (a) I was extremely limited in the types of fish which could go into a 29 gallon and (b) I didn't want to deal with aggressive behavior.

This is what it said on cichlid-forum on the demasoni: "This is a dwarf Mbuna, but don't be fooled into thinking you can keep more than one of these guys in less than 50 gallons. They are territorial, aggressive and, if cramped, will tear each other apart until only one lonely victor remains. They are tough and can hold their own! "

The bumblebees get to be 8 inches - so that's probably not a good choice for the 29 gallon. If its like mine then its 12 inches wide, imagine the fish trying to turn around to go the other way.

Most of the cichlids you'll be able to get are shelldwellers, which are nice in their own respect.

Check out those cookie-cutters. And AA has a board specifically for cichlids if that's the way you want to go - they'll probably be able to help you with an appropriate stock list.

I ended up with the peaceful community until I can set aside some funds for a 90+ gallon tank and (like you) learn a bit more and gather a bit of experience with fish keeping before taking the cichlid challenge LOL

Cheers

 

[Bucky Katt]

Joannde,

That is why I am waiting on them. I know that a 29 gallon is too small and I am waiting to go to at least a 55 gallon. I do not want to cramp these fish.

A few things I have read is that overstocking the tank can cut down the aggressive behavior if you have all aggressive fish. The terriories will be small so there is less fighting.

I will wait a few years before I try it.

 

[joannde]

Bucky - I'll be waiting right with you ! In the meantime, what types of fish would you like for now ? You'll get lots of good suggestions here.

 

[JustOneMore20]

If you like cichlids, there are a few that can go into a community tank.

Bolivian and German rams, both South American, are peaceful cichlids that are very colorful. You could incorporate a pair of either into your setup.

Kribs are another type. If you get a pair, they are sometimes aggressive when they breed, so I'd be careful with them. But one would work, and they are also very colorful.

If you want to go with an all cichlid setup, how about shell dwellers? They are small little cichlids that live in shells. They need a sand or crushed coral bottom and a high pH.

Here is a website that tells all about them: http://www.shelldwellers.com. Check out the articles. They have one on the basics.

 

[Bucky Katt]

Bucky - I'll be waiting right with you ! In the meantime, what types of fish would you like for now ? You'll get lots of good suggestions here.

I looking at maybe the following setup.

6-7 Neon Tetras
4-5 pand cories
2 german blue rams or 2 dwarf Gouramis (would like all four if my tank can handle it)


I am thinking this is probably the limit to my tank

 

[joannde]

I like it ! sounds really nice. The only concern I have is with the neon's - they're really sensitive and alot of people don't have good luck with them. Other tetras are a bit more hardy. I'm just concerned with your 2 yr old saying "Daddy, where have all the fish gone".

 

[Bucky Katt]

My wife and I like the Neons because they are colorful. She does not like guppies so I would like a schooling fish that is pretty hardy that will go well with this. Any suggestions?

 

[joannde]

Oh I love neons too - I had 9 - they're just so sensitive - I read somewhere on this forum that its best to wait until a tank is up and running for 6 months before they are added.

There are lots of other tetras, or even barbs that school. What you'll notice tho is that they won't form tight schools unless they feel threatened (either by another fish or by an arm reaching into the tank). You can look through this site to give you some ideas on what's available:
http://www.petsolutions.com/Freshwater+Fish-C-79-C-.aspx
on the left is each "type" of freshwater fish category. Take a look at the tetras and the barbs. If you'd consider livebearers platies are actually very nice - take a look at that category in petsolutions to give you an idea of the multitude of colors they are available in.

Dwarf neon rainbowfish are also very nice - they're colorful and larger than neons. They get to be about 2 inches, so you could 5 of them - here's a photo and a little about them.
http://fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/334.htm

 

[RoK]

Black phantom, lemon, rosy, and pristilla are some hardy tetras. The lemon tetra's yellow coloration really comes out when they settle into your tank.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I've never kept lemons, but they are on my "fish to eventually get" list...in my head. I have been told they are very entertaining with their little hierarchy ways (seeing who is the boss) and what not. They are pretty little fish and I'm sure they look great in a school.

Neons are kinda hit or miss. Sometimes you get a good batch and sometimes you don't. I had mine in a 10g for a few months with a betta, but they were very timid and hid in the plants all the time. I eventually developed a mini-cycle (started showing ammonia and nitrites) so I took that opportunity to upgrade the tank. I moved them to a new 29g (added them first) with plants and seeded material and they have done fine. I had one that had some sort of disease...seemed like Neon Tetra Disease at the time...but only lost the one. I guess I'm one of the lucky neon keepers, since I haven't had massive die-offs like some have.

Since the tank is for your son, I'd go with something other than the neons...just so that if you do get a bad batch, your son won't have to see dead fish in the tank all the time.

Dwarf neon rainbowfish are very nice looking. They are very interesting looking also. They are also on my "to keep" list. They can be hard to find though...and sometimes pretty expensive.

Harlequin Rasboras are another good option. They are red with little sideways triangles on their sides...very colorful (well, red). They are great schoolers who stay small (maybe 1.5in max). They are also very peaceful and hardy.

You could do a school of the lemon tetras (if you like them) and a school of Harlies, panda cories (i suggest 6 or more), a pair of rams, and 1 dwarf gourami.

Dwarf gouramis are best by themselves. Males are usually what is sold in LFS and they are pretty aggressive towards each other. I'd stick with just one. I had two fight in a 10g until one died from injuries.

 

[lovemybarbs]

get some shrimp and apple snails and go from there. Apple snails are cool.