Advice on 29 Active Community

[KevinES]

Hey I am looking at setting up a 29 gallon. I currently have a 55 gallon with different types of tetras. I won’t get into that tank much but I am just kind of letting it run its course. All of the fish, except 2 rainbow sharks, loaches, and plecos are getting near the end of their lives.
I am fairly experienced with fish. A little over a year ago in the 29 I had 6 tiger barbs, 6 Colombian tetras and 5 Serpae tetras in it. They all got a long great except the water had like a green/brown tint that didn’t go away. Later I found out it was the piece of drift wood I had in it. The tigers grew extremely fast but kept dying 1 at a time. I finally got sick of the water in that tank and moved them all to my tetra tank. The Serpae and Colombian tetras were great in there and got along well with my Congo tetras. They even left the small tetras alone. The 3 remaining Tiger barbs started harassing my Congos though and that is a death wish. I put them back in the old tank and they died a couple months later.
Anyways during that time I kind of fell in love with the active tanks and I wanted to give it a try again. I only have a 29 so I can’t get too crazy but I was looking for some ideas. I considered doing all tiger barbs but I think I want something a little more interesting. I know the Serpae and Colombians are fine in there but they just kinda shoaled at the bottom together. So now I am looking for suggestions…
For sure I want 6-9 Tiger Barbs in there but the rest is up for debate.
I have seen some people say that gouramis and cichlids will mix but I’m not so sure. I feel like tigers might try and pound on gouramis but I have no idea how cichlids act.
Another idea might be some barbs with 3-4 swordtails (1 male and 2-3 females.) I think these fish can handle themselves in a tank of barbs.
I know the LFS has Rosy barbs. They get kind of big and I am not sure how active they are…
Would a Blue Lobster work in the tank? Would Barbs be too small for them? Do they need a dry surface or are they totally aquatic?
Buenos Aires Tetras look perfect but I don’t know if my LFS carries them…
One of the best choices would be Zebra Danios. Personally, I think they look kind of lame but I do like how they move around a lot…my wife likes the glolight ones…but I don’t know if I want to support that practice…
Ghost Shrimp?
Any ideas or suggestions? I want to hear opinions. I just want a fun and interesting tank. Save your speeches on over stocking and the fish per gallon rule please

 

[ChizerBunoi]

welcome to the forum.

Tiger barbs are active but quite aggressive. If you are planning to add 9 tiger barbs to the 29 gallon tank then I wouldn't really add anymore fish unless they were corydoras. If you got less tiger barbs then make sure they are in a school of at least 6 as you had planned before. You could add some rosy barbs or serpae tetra (though they are not quite active) but most likely their fins will get nipped.

How about a mix of the tiger barbs and the green tiger barbs instead?

Some fun and active fish that I would personally put in a 29 gallon. Not saying with the tigers though.
- guppies and endlers
- danios
- blue, rummynose tetras
- cherry barb
- macmaster dwarf apistogamma
- german blue ram
- fancy ail gold fish

 

[BigJim]

If you like tiger barbs, look for five-band barbs. They look like tigers, but they stay small and they're pretty docile towards other fish. Rainbows are also very active fish. The smaller varieties work well in a 29g. Danios also like to swim.