Stocking for 29 gallon

[nirbhao]

29 gallon planted established at the end of August

Current stock:
1 male dwarf gourami
1 male blue ram
4 juvenile male guppies
3 rabbit snails
2 mystery snails (one of whom does nothing but sulk*)
1 Japanese trapdoor snail and her 5 babies

I love the snails. They are wonderful. But right now the stocking seems uneven, especially the gourami and ram.

The original plan was to have a blue ram couple, but that didn't work for a variety of reasons. I also wanted to do a small school of Harlequin rasboras.

Is this stock unbalanced?

* I'm actually starting to suspect that this snail is not well and don't know what to do about that.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Rams like to be in groups of 2-3 I think. Guarmi will do fine by himself as they tend to fight abit with partners.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[nirbhao]

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I don't think the gourami needs a buddy. I do wonder about the ram, and whether any buddies for him have to be female.

 

[nirbhao]

So is my ram lonely?

 

[Bert2oo1]

So is my ram lonely?

I'd say it would be. I'm not sure if sex plays a part but I'm sure they do best in groups of 3+. Also they prefer a lower ph


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[nirbhao]

I'm looking into the ram situation.

I'm also thinking more on the harlequin rasboras. I've read some places that they like to be in schools of 6, others schools of 8. Either way, that's a lot of fish to add at one time. If/when we add them, should we do it in stages?

 

[nirbhao]

Or, better yet, how many should I add at a time?

 

[Barliman]

I'm also thinking more on the harlequin rasboras. I've read some places that they like to be in schools of 6, others schools of 8. Either way, that's a lot of fish to add at one time. If/when we add them, should we do it in stages?

Reasonable caution rarely hurts. I'd go with a school of seven or nine (odd numbers seem to look better for some reason). You can add four one week and then three the next. They're not a fish that produces a heavy bioload, so I can't imagine them upsetting the water chemistry.

What kind of filter is on the tank, and how heavily planted is it?

 

[nirbhao]

I just removed a bunch of bamboo I had fully submerged on Friday, so it looks pretty spare now. I am planning on getting more plants.

View attachment 290386

I'm in the process of a water change, so forgive the cloudiness.

The filter is an AquaClear 30 with the sponge, purigen, and double biomax. No carbon.

 

[nirbhao]

I have no idea what happened with the picture.