29 Gallon Planted Community Tank Proposed Stock List

[Cayleevee]

Hello! I'm new to this forum (and forums in general ), and I haven't kept fish since I was a kid and receiving lots of help and instruction from my dad. I'm currently cycling a 29 gallon planted tank and enthusiastically researching species for its upcoming community. I've compiled the following list, but I want to make sure it's not overstocked, as well as get any suggestions for any additions.

• fancy guppies (all male) - 8 to 10
• sterbai corys - 5 or 6
• otos - 4 to 6
• nerite snails - 2 or 3
• cherry shrimp (love the color!) or amano shrimp (size better suited for community tank?)

I looked into the possibility of adf, but it seems that the general consensus is that 29 gal tanks are too tall for them. Is this true? I've also considered dwarf gouramis, angelfish, kuhli loaches and tetras.

My main goal is too make sure each species has all of the friends it wants/needs to have and that I'm not stressing them out by keeping too few of one kind and too many fish total

I also really don't want to cut from my list either type of catfish, the snails, or whichever shrimp I go with. I plan on supplementing the algae eaters with tablets (and adding them last). Any advice or suggestions? Any relevant info I forgot to add? Thank you in advance!!

 

[Angelfish owner]

The rule is is that you take the full grown size and add it up. 1 gallon at least per inch. So your max is 29 inches. Also a little tip. Understocked is better than overstocked from my experience I learned this the hard way.

 

[Cayleevee]

Thank you for your help. I had heard that rule before, but for some reason I was confused about how it applied to mixed species of fish (something about the water column..., idk - I always over-complicate things...) I'll just work out the math then. Thanks again

 

[Angelfish owner]

From my experience (which is very little) I have a community tank. It's difficult. Luckily everyone is getting along. If you have your heart set on a community tank go for it! But I thought I'd give you some suggestions. You could do 1 angel and some Cory or some shrimp or you could do male and female guppies and then they will automatically fill out your tank with maybe shrimp or Corys. Be careful with gouramis and shrimp though. They sometimes look like a snack to them

 

[Barliman]

You stocking looks fine to me. The guppies especially should be quite colorful and active. I would wait a few months to add the otos until the tank has matured and there is plenty of biofilm for them to eat. (They also like French-cut green beans, the little gourmands) The snails and the shrimp won't add much at all to the tank's bio-load. Just make sure to keep up with your maintenance (water changes, &c.) and you should be fine.

Regarding the inch-per-gallon rule, that's an old rule of thumb better left buried. To take an extreme example, a 10-inch Oscar is not going to do well in a 10-gallon tank.

Much more important is tank maintenance and surface area: the larger the surface area, the better the gas exchange so the fish get enough oxygen. Like I said, your wish list sounds fine.

 

[Cayleevee]

Oh, that's great news! Thank you both so much for your replies. I think I'll stick with my current list, seeing how the guppies and corys do together before I add in the algae eaters once there's actually something for them to eat. I'm so excited to see how things go! Thanks again!!

 

[celticfan]

Stocking looks fine to me, its mostly small fish. I feel you can get more small fish epsecially whe you stick to groups from different levels like bottom, middle and ones like guppies that roam everywhere as they stay out of each others way and the main problem with over stocking is stress/aggression or keeping it clean but with smaller fish thats less of a problem and none of those are aggressive.



Keep away some barbs like Tiger barbs and some bigger or more aggressive Tetras like Buenos Aires Tetras which can be aggressive if you are going to add tetras, i'd say even in this set up you could get a small school of like 7-9 like neon tetras or white clouds or something as well. Don't add everything at once though maybe corys and guppies first then a week or two later the next ones and then a week or two again, even stick with the corys and guppies for a few months as they are active fish and nice to watch on their own just to let the tank become fully established and over that time you will learn a lot before you decide what to do next.