29 gallon stocking help

[MonkeyButto]

I currently have 2 female three spot gourami (opaline and gold) with a bristlenose pleco in my 29 gallon. I was wondering if the tank would be over stocked if I added more fish. I was hopefully thinking a few Cory cats and/or a couple swordtails/mollies/platies (not sure what yet, if I could even add any at all).

[charliebankston]

On smaller fish the generally accepted rule is 1" per gallon. That's accounting for their full grown size. Large fish like some cichlids, etc, need about 35 gallons per fish. But your stocking small. So fully grown, you could have 29" of fish in there

[charliebankston]

Keep in mind too that most of the fish you are considering do best in a school of at least 5. 1 or 2 of each will cause them stress usually, and you'll also miss out on some cool schooling or shoaling behavior

[MonkeyButto]

Originally Posted by charliebankston

Keep in mind too that most of the fish you are considering do best in a school of at least 5. 1 or 2 of each will cause them stress usually, and you'll also miss out on some cool schooling or shoaling behavior

Thank you! I’ve read this species gourami could get pretty big, would I probably be best with only the 5-6 Cory cats?

[Barliman]

Three-spots can get up to six inches, but that's not common in tank-kept species. Still they can get big. A 29 might be a little crowded for two, but I tend to be conservative in that regard.

Definitely consider 5-8 corys, depending on size. You'll definitely get more interesting behavior. To be honest, I'd look more a the smaller gouramis, such as the honey dwarfs, and then maybe a nice top-level fish.