29G Fishtank

[QueenKiara]

Hi! I'm thinking about buying a new fishtank, a 29 gallon, and I was brainstorming ideas for stocking it. I would put an Aquaclear 50 on it, plus whatever filter it comes with. But this is my idea for stocking it.

6 Black Kuhli Loaches
8 Silver Hatchetfish
5 Otocinclus
2 Mollies (Hopefully Lyretail.)

I put this into Aqadvisor, and it says I'm only 64% stocked. Obviously, under stocking is a good thing, but the fish I'm wondering the most about is the mollies. I would get 2 of the same gender, but would they be able to thrive in a 29G with those fish? I've heard so many different opinions about them that I'm not sure. If this is fine, would it be possible to get another school of smaller, middle swimming fish? Any suggestions on that? Or if the mollies are not okay, what is a nice middle swimming schooling fish I could have, that would be okay with my stock? Thanks!

 

[Rivercats]

I'm not a fan of Mollies but that stock should work. Be sure to have a good lid as hatchets can be quite the jumpers especially when startled. You could put in a small grouping of fish like Harlequin rasbora's, neons, cardinals, or maybe rummynose tetra's.
Six maybe but you would be heavily stocked. Remember Mollies get pretty big and also have a high bio-load so running two filters is a very good idea.

 

[Tetra1990]

I have a 29 and here's my stock: 4 harliqune Rasboras, 5 black skirt tetras, 4 neon tetras, a male Bolivian ram, a male earth eater, 4 kuhli loaches, 3 sterbial Cory cats a clown pleco and mts, assassin snails and shrimp. Personally, I'm worn out with live bearer fish such as mollies. Even if you do get the same gender, you could wind up with 2 females. And they could have been in a tank with males so you still might end up with fry.

 

[Try-na]

I have a 29 and here's my stock: 4 harliqune Rasboras, 5 black skirt tetras, 4 neon tetras, a male Bolivian ram, a male earth eater, 4 kuhli loaches, 3 sterbial Cory cats a clown pleco and mts, assassin snails and shrimp. Personally, I'm worn out with live bearer fish such as mollies. Even if you do get the same gender, you could wind up with 2 females. And they could have been in a tank with males so you still might end up with fry.

Earth Eaters need a much larger tank as they can grow to 10". They also prefer to be in groups. They will also eat smaller fish if they can fit them in their mouths. I would also assume you have sand substrate for it?

 

[cgthebeast]

Aren't Molly's brackish.

 

[Tetra1990]

Earth Eaters need a much larger tank as they can grow to 10". They also prefer to be in groups. They will also eat smaller fish if they can fit them in their mouths. I would also assume you have sand substrate for it?

Yep I'm aware of this and my uncle is giving me a larger tank( at least a 55). Both of my current tanks have sand and the new one will too. Currently he's only around 4 inches.

 

[Try-na]

Yep I'm aware of this and my uncle is giving me a larger tank( at least a 55). Both of my current tanks have sand and the new one will too. Currently he's only around 4 inches.

Good to know. I only know this because I wanted one so i researched them & I only have a 55 so it wouldn't be big enough to keep a few of them & they do better in groups.

I love the sand look & really wish I had done that instead of gravel. I'm still planning on changing it but its so much work at this point

 

[QueenKiara]

I'm not a fan of Mollies but that stock should work. Be sure to have a good lid as hatchets can be quite the jumpers especially when startled. You could put in a small grouping of fish like Harlequin rasbora's, neons, cardinals, or maybe rummynose tetra's.
Six maybe but you would be heavily stocked. Remember Mollies get pretty big and also have a high bio-load so running two filters is a very good idea.

Is there a reason why you're not a fan of them? I have no personal experience with them, so I wouldn't know.
I love the look of Harlequin Rasboras, and I'd love to have a school of them in there. I'd definitely be running 2 filters, even if I had to buy both separate from the tank. I have 2 filters on both of my other tanks, I prefer it that way. If I were to not get the mollies, and have the school of Rasboras, could I put in a pleco? I love plecos, but I don't know if there would be enough room on the bottom/decor because of the Otos and the kuhlis. If that'd work, what would be an okay sized pleco to put in there?

I have a 29 and here's my stock: 4 harliqune Rasboras, 5 black skirt tetras, 4 neon tetras, a male Bolivian ram, a male earth eater, 4 kuhli loaches, 3 sterbial Cory cats a clown pleco and mts, assassin snails and shrimp. Personally, I'm worn out with live bearer fish such as mollies. Even if you do get the same gender, you could wind up with 2 females. And they could have been in a tank with males so you still might end up with fry.

Is there an easy way to tell the gender of them when picking them out? Would 2 males be peaceful with each other?

 

[Rivercats]

I just don't like livebearers except Endler's. Mollies, depending on the type you get, can grow really large. Sailfin molly males I've seen reach 6 inches. Yes, you can sex them quite easily and no they don't need to be in brackish water. Sailfin mollies are the ones that like brackish. Instead of mollies you could do an angelfish, a Dwarf Gourami, Pearl Gourami. Then about the pleco, if you really want one you need to look for a bristlenose, rubberlip, or bulldog pleco. These pleco's stay small.

 

[Tetra1990]

Good to know. I only know this because I wanted one so i researched them & I only have a 55 so it wouldn't be big enough to keep a few of them & they do better in groups.

I love the sand look & really wish I had done that instead of gravel. I'm still planning on changing it but its so much work at this point

For now, him and my male ram are buddies. I'll be moving the earth eater to the big tank and get him a friend or two. If I find out that this new tank can't hold more than 1 earth eater, then I may move my ram as well. Can't break up the friendship lol.

 

[QueenKiara]

I just don't like livebearers except Endler's. Mollies, depending on the type you get, can grow really large. Sailfin molly males I've seen reach 6 inches. Yes, you can sex them quite easily and no they don't need to be in brackish water. Sailfin mollies are the ones that like brackish. Instead of mollies you could do an angelfish, a Dwarf Gourami, Pearl Gourami. Then about the pleco, if you really want one you need to look for a bristlenose, rubberlip, or bulldog pleco. These pleco's stay small.

I would love to have an angelfish! I had no idea they could be kept in that size tank. Is it okay to keep them on their own, and would they be peaceful with all of my other fish/would any of my other fish nip at their fins? I've heard angelfish will eat smaller fish.
Would this stock be okay? I could lower the loaches, hatchets, and oto's numbers by 1 or 2 if needed.
6 Black Kuhli Loaches
8 Silver Hatchetfish
5 Otocinclus
6 Harlequin Rasboras
1 Angelfish
1 Rubberlip Pleco

 

[Tetra1990]

I'd be leery of an adult angel in a 29. They can get pretty 'tall' with full fins.

 

[QueenKiara]

I'm not completely set on angels. To be honest, I think I would absolute love a tank with:
6 Black Kuhli Loaches
8 Silver Hatchets
5 Otocinclus
6 Harlequin Rasboras
1 Rubberlip Plecos.
With that, Aqadvisor says I'm 81% full. Do you all think this would be a good stock? Would they all have enough room?

 

[Rivercats]

One angel in a 29g is okay. Angels also don't just eat small fish, this is a common misconception. If you had wild angels or Altum's then fish like neons would be considered food but today color bred angels if added with a small body size of a dime to nickel and are raised with small fish then they are normally fine as adults. I currently have 12 adult breeding angels in a 220g with all small fish. Something else is you don't want to add any Oto's for 4-6 months. They don't do well in tank that aren't mature.

 

[Rivercats]

I'm not completely set on angels. To be honest, I think I would absolute love a tank with:
6 Black Kuhli Loaches
8 Silver Hatchets
5 Otocinclus
6 Harlequin Rasboras
1 Rubberlip Plecos.
With that, Aqadvisor says I'm 81% full. Do you all think this would be a good stock? Would they all have enough room?

That would be fine and your tank wouldn't be stocked to the limit which IMO is good. Plus you could always add a colorful DG or Honey Gourami later on if you want a pop of color.

 

[QueenKiara]

Great! I love the gouramis, so I probably would get a dwarf eventually. I'm getting a Honey one for my 20G too. Since none of the fish I want have much color, that'd probably look really nice as a centerpiece. Thank you all so much for all of the help!

 

[Wiggles24]

I'd be leery of an adult angel in a 29. They can get pretty 'tall' with full fins.

I wouldn't keep an angel in a 29. I have a group of angels I got as babies after growing out I moved all but two into my 55s. I left the two in the 29 mostly because I couldn't catch them lol but to me they seemed happy and they never bothered anybody but after a couple months of seeing the size comparison to them with the angels in my 55s I knew they needed to be moved. They were maybe 2/3 the size if the rest, probably not even that. It really stunted their growth they finally caught up with the others once moved

 

[candacecook1025]

I would definitely NOT lower the number of kuhlis. Six should be the minimum you have. They are a VERY social fish and do so much better in a large group. Even six is kind of small, but in a 29 gallon should be okay. Any larger and you would definitely have to get several more so they feel safe enough to come out. I have a 60 gallon long, and I have 18 of them. They are always out playing and are the best fish I have!

I also wouldn't recommend the rummynose tetras, like someone suggested. They are AMAZING schooling fish and are very cool to watch, but to see them at their best you need a large group of them too and I just don't think 29 is going to to give them enough swimming space.

I do love the rasboras, and you could also consider neon tetras. Mine school a lot of the time and are just so pretty. And I totally agree you should get a dwarf gourami!

 

[candacecook1025]

P.S. Thanks for the info about AqAdvisor...I had never used it before and it is really neat!

 

[QueenKiara]

Yeah, I would love to have more Kuhlis. They're actually the main reason I want this tank! I've seen them in my store so many times, and every time I've wanted to get them, but never had a tank with enough room. Do you think I should get less Silver Hatchetfish, and get more Kuhlis? Because, according to Aqadvisor, if I have 6 Hatchetfish, I can have 12 Kuhlis, without the Dwarf Gourami. I was getting less of them because I wasn't sure they could all have enough space on the bottom, I had no idea they were so social. If I did get the DG though, I could have 9 Kuhlis.
So I think my options for stocking are either:

12 Black Kuhli Loaches
6 Silver Hatchetfish
6 Harlequin Rasbora
1 Rubberlip Pleco

Or

9 Black Kuhli Loaches
6 Silver Hatchetfish
6 Harlequin Rasbora
1 Rubberlip Pleco
1 Dwarf Gourami

And with either of those I'd be completely stocked. Which do you think would be better, and more entertaining to watch?