My First Tank

[greenfish]

I'm starting my very first tank (29 Gal). I do not plan to try live plants at this time but may try later on when I am more comfortable with the whole aquarium process.

I was thinking about the following combination of fish and approximate numbers:
4 Mickey Mouse Platy's (I will cycle with these)
8 Zebra Danio's (I heard these are very active)
2 Dwarf Gourami's
4 Cory cats

Questions:
1 - Is this a good mix of fish?
2 - Are these numbers good for a 29 gal tank?
3 - Dwarf Gourami's should this be a male and a female or can I get two males?

Any suggestions or comments are appreciated.

 

[Menagerie]

[center:29d64a556e] Welcome to Aquarium Advice, greenfish! [/center:29d64a556e]

There is no reason to cycle with fish, you can do it with straight ammonia. This keeps all fish from the stresses of the ammonia and nitrite spikes. The tank will take the same amount of time to cycle
Platies are livebearers and you will have fry on your hands before too long. If you want no fry, get only males since female liverbearers can store sperm
Dwarf guramis have aggression issues and their own "rules". I would stick with one for now, or see if Christmasfish pops in with her opinion.
You may need to cut your number of ZDs to 6, to give all the fish enough room to swim around.

 

[bunebop]

I think it's a good decision on fish and also a good mix and ok for a 29 gallon. Go can have 2 male gouramis, although they are known to sometimes be territorial, dwarfs are usually ok though...

I would suggest however, running a fishless cycle on your tank instead of cycling w/ fish. It'll take longer, but your fish will be much happier that way. There's a lot of threads and stuff about fishless cycling on here.

 

[Endgame319]

You may have a problem with the two d-gourami but it could work. You could get two, and if it doesn't work then take one back. Otherwise you're fine.

 

[Menagerie]

Tanks can take up to 6 weeks to cycle regardless of what you cycle with. If you know someone with an established tank, then you can cut down on cycling time by adding some of their filter media to your media.

 

[greenfish]

Thanks

I think I will go with one Dwarf Guarami and avoid the complications. I chose the Platy's because I heard they were hearty enough for cycling. Maybe I will ditch the Platy's all together and do a fishless cycle.

Any suggestions on what to put instead of the Platy's? I am looking for a relatively peacefull tank so anything that "plays well with others".

 

[Deitta]

Take a look at my 29 gal. Everyone gets along, no fighting, lots of activity and on all levals of the tank. My tank is a bit full for a total newbie, and if I was starting I would only have 1 pleco.
I wouldn't worry about any fry from live bearers... if any survive being eaten, then free fish!
Truely the best advice is to keep posting on here! I learned more in my first two days online than ready books for 3 months!

 

[TankGirl]

Good advice about the DG, one should be good but unless you had a really giant tank it is amazing how agressive the dwarfs can be, from personal experience.

Go to the LFS and take a look at the fish, and I'll bet there will be a tank that you will keep coming back to with fish that really catch your eye. Post back and we can help you narrow it down, but it helps to go with what you find appealing. Rasboras and smaller tetras will all be good, for midwater, hatchetfish are cool for the top, and the cory cats are a great choice. You definitely can go with the platys if you like them, no reason not to. Barbs are a little more nippy than your average tetra, but that is not a hard and fast rule. You can still have them as long as you plan carefully.

Good luck!