Finally done cycling: Have some stocking questions

[firteen888]

Hi all,

my fishless cycle is finally complete and I'm ready for fish! I just have some questions about my stocking list:

29 Gallon freshwater tank
2 filters (aquaclear 50 & aquean 30)

Two sets (6 each) of schooling fish
· (6) Glofish Danios for top of tank
· (6) Glowlight or neon tetras for bottom of tank
(5) Catfish for bottom of tank
(1) Dwarf Gourami
(1) Bushy nose (Bristlenose) Pleco

- Will all these fish get along?
- Can I fit any other fish in this tank or would you say this would fully stock it?
- What kind of catfish can I get for a 29 gallon tank?

And the main question I have......Which of these fish should I stock first? I'm thinking of starting with the 6 glofish and the gourami, but I don't know if that would be good.

Any recommendations would be great!

Thanks!

[rich311k]

Assuming you want to get some type of cory, I see no issues with your stocking plans.

[Aqua315]

The glofish, tetras, and cories are usually pretty hardy and good to start a tank with. I would pick two out of those three groups and start with that.

[jetajockey]

Originally Posted by firteen888

Hi all,

my fishless cycle is finally complete and I'm ready for fish! I just have some questions about my stocking list:

29 Gallon freshwater tank
2 filters (aquaclear 50 & aquean 30)

Two sets (6 each) of schooling fish
· (6) Glofish Danios for top of tank
· (6) Glowlight or neon tetras for bottom of tank
(5) Catfish for bottom of tank
(1) Dwarf Gourami
(1) Bushy nose (Bristlenose) Pleco

- Will all these fish get along?
- Can I fit any other fish in this tank or would you say this would fully stock it?
- What kind of catfish can I get for a 29 gallon tank?

And the main question I have......Which of these fish should I stock first? I'm thinking of starting with the 6 glofish and the gourami, but I don't know if that would be good.

Any recommendations would be great!

Thanks!

I think that the glofish and neons are going to be both in the same basic areas, but that's not really a problem.

For cories I'd go with smaller ones, pandas are cool, or maybe bandits or melini.


I'd add them all at once, that's what fishless cycling is intended to prepare for.

You do have room for something else, but just because you have room doesn't mean you have to use it right away. Later on you might want to get a mate for your BN.

[eco23]

Looks great to me! You're right that the Danios are top swimmers, lots of Tetras stay mid-level (not mine for some reason), and Corys are awesome little fish that will keep the bottom of the tank active. A Dwarf Gourami or type of Ram will serve as a wonderful centerpiece fish. I personally prefer Otos to Plecos, but you can't lose either way.

Since I'm familiar with your cycle...personally I'd stock all of your Danios, Tetras and Corys at first, wait a week or two and add your centerpiece fish. It's a good idea to wait and stock algae eaters once your tank has been running for a while and there's algae sources for them. Diatoms will soon show up and you'll be ready to throw your tank out the window again for a month or two

Shrimp are also a nice touch. They have virtually no bio-load, so you can add pretty much as many as you want, and they add a very unique touch to your aquarium.

Congrats! Enjoy your fish!

[firteen888]

Do I have to feed the pleco and the catfish anything other than regular fish food? Should I get wafers?

[allaboutfish]

julii corys are good too and a single bolivian ram might work

[allaboutfish]

you need algae wafers

[jetajockey]

I keep and have kept lots of danios including zebras both shortfin and longfin and I wouldn't consider them topdwellers any more than tetras. If you want something that actually spends most of its time on the top, go with hatchetfish or some sort of topminnow (name kinda gives it away doesn't it? )or similar killifish.

And plecos/catfish are fine with pellets, you don't necessarily have to get algae wafers, which tend to be gimmicky anyhow.

[firteen888]

Is it better to feed fish flakes or pellets? Which is the best brand to get and should I feed once a day? Thanks, you guys are awesome!

[allaboutfish]

hickari or nls

[bruinsbro1997]

Stocking sounds solid! You should feed them shrimp pellets, my catfish (cories) devour them like crazy. If you were gonna get catfish, try cories, I like them and they're super cool!

[allaboutfish]

my corys also love shrimp pellets

[firteen888]

What brand shrimp pellets do you feed them? Do they just sink to the bottom where the catfish and pleco's eat them?

[allaboutfish]

they sink and i use mardley

[eco23]

My Danios are all over the tank, but spend probably 75% of their time at the surface. They absolutely adore the floating Water Sprite.

[librarygirl]

Congrats again! Make sure you post pics please when you start stocking!

[jetajockey]

Originally Posted by firteen888

Is it better to feed fish flakes or pellets? Which is the best brand to get and should I feed once a day? Thanks, you guys are awesome!

There are several high quality foods available, I like NLS and omega one. There are also some less known brands, xtreme for example, and a handful of others that have quality ingredients as well. Just do some research. I like keeping both flakes and pellets, because certain fish, like cories, don't get the flakes unless they settle at the bottom, and some fish have a hard time with pellets.

[firteen888]

OK cool, I'll pick up both flakes and sinking pellets and avoid the algea wafers.

Are these the right pellets? Which one's would I get for cory's and plecos? I see they come in all different sizes!!

http://www.petco.com/shop/searchresu...+life+spectrum