new 29 gal stocking help

[ripvanrina]

hey-I've seen a lot of suggestions for communities in new tanks
any ideas for a 29 gallon unplanted freshwater?
I've always wanted clown loaches but i'm not sure if my tank is big enough..

 

[Steven A]

I would say it is 8) - But to be honast I aint really sure

 

[draX]

It will be big enough (for a while) if you buy them small - they're reasonably slow growers. But be prepared to get a much larger tank at a later stage, or to sell them back to your lfs.

 

[Felf]

ask your lfs if they'll trade large clown loaches for small ones before the need arises and i'm sure they'll say yes if they trust you. it'll take awhile for them to grow depending on how much you feed them.

 

[Blucat]

will you have fake plants at least? will you have driftwood/rock?
answer that and i'll get back to you with my very expert advice for a very colourful community based on my 500gal S.A biotope tank. lol...

 

[dr_girlfriend]

how about smaller loaches? Chained loaches only get to about 4 inches (I think), or yo-yo loaches. You could get a few of those, maybe 3 angels, and a school of whatever the angels wont eat


http://www.loaches.com/species_index.html

 

[malkore]

clowns will definitely get too big within 3 years, assuming you get small juveniles. yo-yo's would work fine, but they do like some hiding spaces, cave-work, or dense plant coverage.

 

[ripvanrina]

yes blucat, I have 3 fake plants, a large rock that they can swim through and two other rocks-plus a 'bog log' from my lfs that i could put in if it made the fish happy-but it's like black when it's in the water and looks ugly.

 

[Blucat]

2 angels: http://home.earthlink.net/~photofish/fish_photos/Angelpair2.jpg

3 Bosemani Rainbowfish: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=28378
-or-
3 opaline gourami: http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile84.html
-or- (you can't keep both opaline and dwarf together)
3 Dwarf gourami: http://www.fishpalace.org/C_lalia.html

1-2 yoyo loach: http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/img/lohachata1.jpg

3 juhli cory catfish: http://www.giveusahome.co.uk/allpets/fish/juhlicory.jpg
-or-
2 bolivian ram: http://www.btinternet.com/~pdj_photos/fish/ram1.JPG

 

[ripvanrina]

wow those are gorgeous
thanks so much!
I really like the bolivian ram and the bosemani rainbowfish

this place is great

 

[Blucat]

glad to make you happy like and glad that you find aquariumadvice great like all of us! if you really like aquariumadvice and if it is that great, would you mind taking a little time to vote for us ? http://www.aquarank.com/in.php?id=fishfree

so which fish are you getting?

 

[RoK]

(you can't keep both opaline and dwarf together)

Well, you can if they are all peaceful with each other but you would probably have to get quite lucky for that.

 

[ripvanrina]

i am kind've lucky
but i don't think i'll chance it

anyways I was wondering if i should start with some cheaper fish (like tetras or something) since my tank is newly cycled and i'm just starting out- and then advance to the more expensive and pretty fish in a little while so i don't kill the ones i spend some money on

or are those fish just as easy? I've fallen in love with that community and want it-
but alive and healthy

 

[Blucat]

Ok. well first decide which fish you want. im not sure if you can have yoyo loaches and corys and bolivian rams. you will have to cheeck with other members about that and about bio load. if the bio load is alright, you could get the bosemani rainbowfish AND the dwarf gourami OR opaline gourami.

The gourami are really hardy, not sure about rainbowfish or yoyo loaches. the cories are hardy. the angelfish and bolivian ram are a bit sensitive. add them last. i recomend FISHLESS CYCLING.

how much surface area is there? yoyo loach, bolivian ram and cory catfish are all bottom dwellers, so there needs to be enough bottom space if you have them all.

so wat about:
2 angelfish
2 bolivian ram
1 yoyo loach
4 rainbowfish
3 gourami (opaline or dwarf)

 

[RoK]

If you're getting those fish, start with the rainbowfish or gouramis. The catfish, loaches, cichlids (the rams and angelfish) should be added after the tank is cycled. NOT all at the same time though.
Angelfish swim slow and need a lot of room. The rainbows are quite active so IMO would not be a good choice to have with them.

Maybe you could go with:
2 angels
3 dwarf gouramis
5-6 cories or 2 yoyo loaches

or

2 rams
5-6 Bosemani rainbows
3 dwarf gouramis or 1 opaline
2 yoyo loaches or 5-6 cories

 

[ripvanrina]

i like that second set. Thanks so much for the help!

 

[RoK]

The ram that Blucat posted is actually a blue ram, not a bolivian.
This is a bolivian ram: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1082

 

[Blucat]

sorry, my bad

 

[ripvanrina]

well i like them both