my FINAL layout of the tank...what do ya think?

[Guest]

ok..I'm PRETTY sure this is the FINAL list I am going to make. I've asked around and people seem to be fine with it but I am going to put up my WHOLE list..plants, fish, etc. and see what people think.
MY 29 GALLON TANK

For my fish I will put:

~1 female betta(hopefully a green colored one)
~5 platies(3 females 2 males)
~5 guppies(2 males 3 females)
~2 otos

For my plants:

I hope to put in some Amazon swords, java moss, and whatever I can find really. My fish stores don't have very many plants.

For my decor I have:

green and blue rocks(they are dull not bright!)
~a rock about a foot or so high with holes to swim through.
~a bubbler
~a coral thingy with a SMALL bubbler in it.
~a little sign thingy
~and a tunnel thing.

I wanted to put a lot of hiding space in since I will have a betta in there.

For my lighting and filter:

~my light is a bulb is 24" long( there was only one watt size in that size and I THINK it's 20 watts.). Also it is made for both plants and fish.
~my filter is a Top Fin 40 gallon filter.

EDIT: I forgot to say that I will cycle my tank with 2 male guppies. I will cycle it for a few weeks.

 

[frenchpea2002]

with those guppies and platies, you do realize you will have a neverending supply of babies, even if left alone in the tank, and soon you will be over run? Do you have a plan of what you will do with the fry?

also, some bottomfeeders would even out your tank, like a few loaches or cory cats

 

[Guest]

I thought otos WERE bottomfeeders. I plan to let the fry fend for themselves. I will not try to save them, although if a few make it then that will be ok.

 

[rich311k]

Ottos are more algae eaters. 3-4 corries would look nice on the bottom. They eat uneaten food etc, and they are a lot of fun to watch.

I think your stock plan is fine. I would add the corries or maybe kulie loaches.

 

[Guest]

I'll add 2 corys to that list...if I have the cories will I need the otos?

 

[CGGorman]

You don't have to worry about the fry making it. They WILL. I bought 8 assorted platties and mollies to cycle my 70, because they were the cheapest fish I could find. Within a WEEK (even in a cycling tank) I had DOUBLED my population. I haven't lost a single fry that I know about. I don't care if they make it either. The filter (300gph, Rena XP3) is running full-tilt and I feed them all the same food. The little fry, being live-born, start out on solids.

Put together an evacuation plan. You'll need it.

 

[CGGorman]

The corys and the otos play different roles. The cory will take care of uneaten food that makes it to the bottom (though you may want to supplement lightly with a sinking pellet) and the oto will take care of algae on the plants and glass.

Snails and shrimp would take care of anything that the corys and otos miss.

 

[Guest]

I had male and female platies and mollies for over a year and not one fish had fry!!!!! I was like...ok....but maybe it will be different this time. I don't mind if a FEW make it but maybe I'll take the rest out and kill them. That wouldn't be bad would it?

 

[sherry]

why not get a couple of fish that will eat them? rummy nose tetras are great schooling fish and eat fry.

 

[rippin17]

yeah oto's are algae eaters, and if u add some cory's that will take care of the left over food.

but yeah you will have babies in the tank. although not all the fry will make it there still might be a good amount. they most likely will hang out in hiding spots. but i personally dont think ud be overrun. and if so... get rid of some fish easy as that

 

[Guest]

I will try 2 otos and 2 corys and feed them algae thingys. Will that be overstocking the tank though?

 

[talloulou]

I'd only get one male platy and one male guppy.....leave the rest female. That will help the females not be over harrassed.

 

[Guest]

ok. although the female guppies are not as pretty ..but I do want some. I hope there is enough room left in the tank for a FEW babies..because people tell me that i will have some!!

WILL I HAVE ANOUGH ROOM FOR A FEW MORE FRY AS THEY GROW OLDER?

 

[Guest]

At less than 1 wpg live plants are going to be tricky...

 

[mr funktastic]

thats not true.i have a 20 gallon tank with only the stock 18" 25 watt bulb and my plants are doing very well. but it all depends on what u get. i just purchased some amazon sword to see how they do but i also have giant hygro and some other plant that i really need to find the name of and they are growing very well without fertilizers or co2. i will find a pic of my tank now to show u what less than 1 watt per gallon can look like lol

 

[Guest]

my last tank I had several amazon swords and grasses. I had the same wattage. They did quite well. They went through phases where they would get brown, but then they'd get green again. I didn't have any algea eaters or fertilizers.

 

[mr funktastic]

i found a few pics of what mine looks like now. i just added a peice of driftwood and attached plants to it as well as planted around it. i am going to add a few clay pots to get some colour in the tank and create more hiding spots. hope u like it. and sorry for the quality of the pics i only have a 2 mp camera and have a problem with the sharpness of the photo.

 

[Guest]

those are some nice pics!! I probably won't have that many plants in there yet(they aren't cheap!!). How do you anchor the plants? I didn't last time and some fell apart. I need help in that area. Maybe I'll post it in the plants part.

 

[mr funktastic]

i drilled holes in the driftwood with like a 1/4" bit and then slid the plants through the whole. this was enough to hold them there by themselves with string or anything. after a few days the roots will start to wrapp into the wood and i wont need to worry about them staying there because they will lol most people will use fishing line to tie the plants temporarily to the log then cut the string off a few weeks later after they have anchored themselves to the wood. how much are the plants in your local fish store? i got 1 big amazon sword which i split into 3 seperate plants as you can see in my full tank shot i have 2 on the right and the one with the runner on the left. the one big one only cost me 10 dollars. the giant hygro in my tank i bought for 6.99 and i got 5 stems of it. and the other plant that i have in ther i have no idea of what it is but it grows like mad. 2 new leafs every other day.and u can just cut the stalk in half and replant it and it will start growin up again. i really need to find out the name so i can buy more. if u look on ebay for amazon sword there is a guy that sells plants out of the uk that has some real cheap plants. it would have cost me 13 dollars for 4 amazon swords after shipping and everything and it was like 3 day delivery or something. it might be cheaper for u live in the states

 

[Guest]

I used to get mine for anywhere from $3.50-$5.00. NOw that I moved there are just LFS(not petsmart where I used to get my fish and plants). They don't raise plants(there are maybe a few plants in the store) so I will get as many as I can right now. I will add more later. I do not want to order plants from the computer.