Can I add more to my 29g tank?

[new2betas]

I currently have a total of 14 fish in my 29g tank as follows:

6 albino cories
5 lamp eye tetras
2 female bettas
1 rubberlip pleco

Would it possible to add a few more fish to this mix.....I have been reading some of the threads about yo yo loaches lately and might would like to add maybe three to my tank.....would it work? I am a maintenance freak. I do nice size pwc every Sunday and prune when necessary. If I could get a few of them that were young and small I would like to take one of them and put it in my 10g tank to clean out the snails in there first and then when they were cleaned out add him to the 29g tank with his buddies.

 

[bs6749]

I was going to say as long as they aren't bottom dwellers then you could probably get away with it. Since you want a couple of yo-yos I'd think about getting rid of the rubberlip pleco. If you do that you could add 2 yo-yo's and 5 ottos IMO. After that you could also add maybe 6 hatchetfish to the tank (upper level) or a schooling of 6-7 fish like neons/black neons/cardinals/rummynose/glass cats or a pair of angelfish/GBR's or a trio of apistos. Just a thought.

 

[new2betas]

I could never part with my rubberlip pleco....I just love him/her! Is there anyway I could add my rubberlip pleco to my established 10g tank that has the three cories and one male betta? or would that be too many for my 10g? So, Bryan, you are saying if I take out the rubberlip pleco I could add 12-13 more fish? That seems too many for my 29g tank...

 

[bs6749]

I wouldn't recommend keeping the rubberlip pleco in the 10g tank. In my opinion that is the fish that is preventing you from getting yo-yos. You really don't want to change the number of cories since they live to be in groups and you could probably only swap one yo-yo for one cory. Plecos are dirty though and you'd be okay with 2 loaches and 5 ottos in place of the rubberlip. Ottos are small and don't really add any significant amount of waste to the tank. The same thing goes with neons/black neons/cardinal tetras. If you get rid of the pleco I don't see any reason why you couldn't add 2 yo-yos and 5 ottos safely in its place. Plus, your tank is understocked right now IMO and you could add a small school of neons or the like, or a small school of hatchetfish, which will occupy the top level of the tank. I think that leaves room for a pair of angelfish or something larger like that. Maybe a dwarf gourami if you like those.

 

[mike47517]

hey i would suggest putting the fish bs6749 suggested they are good ideas you could also maybe get some live bearers or maybe some danios. I wouldnt suggest any more bottom feeders. If the pleco is small it would be ok for the 10 gallon while its that size but when it gets bigger it should have a bigger tank.

 

[new2betas]

Hey guys....no one is listening here....I do not/will not "get rid" of my pleco. I happen to like him/her very much. She is only about 3 inches right now and cleans the walls of my tank great! Plus, she has the best personality (better than my lamp eye tetras in my opinion). I would "get rid" of them before I got rid of my pleco. So, that being said, (lol ) since I am keeping my pleco, I can't add any more fish to this 29g tank?

 

[mike47517]

you could get rid of a cory or two but remeber they do better in groups of 3 or more even though i have one all alone im getting him a partner soon. i really think you need to get a normal fish not a bottom feeder. i would leave the pleco in the large tank they do a good job of keeping it clean. get some live bearers they breed alot and the males are much prettier and if you dont want them to breed you can get all males if you want them to breed get a ratio of 1 male 2 females or 2 males 4 females mollies are awsome and colorful fish.

 

[TheChards]

Just a quick question - who in the 10g tank would the Pleco not get along with? The Betta or the Cories?

 

[bs6749]

Just a quick question - who in the 10g tank would the Pleco not get along with? The Betta or the Cories?

It's not a matter of which fish the rubberlip won't get along with in the 10g tank. It's the fact that a 10g tank is too small as a permanent home for a rubberlip pleco, especially one that is already @ 3". Plecos produce a lot of waste and that tank would soon be overrun with nitrates.

Dottie, I don't recommend getting any more bottom feeders unless you get rid of the pleco or possible you could make things work if you have a couple of pieces of driftwood. Do you have a picture of what the tank looks like right now? Having driftwood/rock formations IMO would give the bottom dwellers more room to roam and that's basically what is hindering you from adding 2 yo-yos. Adding 2 of them would be possible if there was enough room for all of them but I don't see how that is possible in a tank without decorations of some sort. Decorations would break up lines of sight and would allow more territories to be established in addition to providing more surface area to swim for the bottom feeders.

 

[new2betas]

It's not a matter of which fish the rubberlip won't get along with in the 10g tank. It's the fact that a 10g tank is too small as a permanent home for a rubberlip pleco, especially one that is already @ 3". Plecos produce a lot of waste and that tank would soon be overrun with nitrates.

Dottie, I don't recommend getting any more bottom feeders unless you get rid of the pleco or possible you could make things work if you have a couple of pieces of driftwood. Do you have a picture of what the tank looks like right now? Having driftwood/rock formations IMO would give the bottom dwellers more room to roam and that's basically what is hindering you from adding 2 yo-yos. Adding 2 of them would be possible if there was enough room for all of them but I don't see how that is possible in a tank without decorations of some sort. Decorations would break up lines of sight and would allow more territories to be established in addition to providing more surface area to swim for the bottom feeders.

Bryan,
Here is a pretty current picture of the tank. It has both rock and driftwood. A huge rock formation on the right and a piece of driftwood about 14-15" long on the left side of the tank (although covered up pretty good by plants). I thought my pleco would love both of those things, but he/she stays out all of the time and never goes to them. I also have two moss covered half coconut shells near the driftwood. I also just measured my pleco and she/he is exactly 2" and she hasn't grown much at all since I put her in my tank 2-3 months ago.

 

[bs6749]

Hmmm, I think you have too many plants and not enough swimming room on the bottom to add more bottom dwelling fish. The tank looks very nice though!

 

[new2betas]

Hmmm, I think you have too many plants and not enough swimming room on the bottom to add more bottom dwelling fish. The tank looks very nice though!

Bryan,
I was getting ready to do some pruning over the weekend....my tank is even "plantier" than the picture you saw. I am getting ready to inherit a small 5g tank from my daughter and I am going to turn it into a QT tank and put some of my plants and one of the coconut huts in it to free up some "bottom space" in my 29g tank. That being said, you still think I need to stay away from those bottom guys? I just don't know which fish to go with. I have not been impressed with my lamp eye tetras....they don't have much personality and stay hidden behind the plants most of the time so you can't enjoy their color. I would like a mid/top dweller that is colorful yet will stay out and be seen....that is, if I can't get any more bottom dwellers...lol

 

[bs6749]

Marble or silver hatchetfish. How about a pair of koi angels? You could even go with a school of cardinal tetras if you wanted. I'd make some swimming room if you go with angels. Put most of your plants along the sides of the tank and put some of the taller ones in the back 3" of the tank. Leave the middle portion of the tank open for more swimming room and I think you'll see more activity out of your fish...even the lap eyes.

 

[new2betas]

Thanks for the "decorating advice". I am in need of some assistance in that department, I must say. I will try rearranging things when I prune and clean my tank this weekend. Let me ask you this, I like the idea of the pair of koi angels, but I would need to QT them before adding them to my 29g tank. Would they be okay for about a month in the 5g tank I am getting ready to "inherit" from my daughter? Also, would the angels be okay with the two female bettas that I have?

 

[bs6749]

I know it's not really a good habit, but I wouldn't QT them personally if I knew they were from a good source. If you are getting them from a local fish store I would QT for about 2 weeks max. If it were something like discus I would QT for a month. A lot of my QT procedures are based on the price of the fish that are in the tank. If I am getting a fish and planning on putting it in with my discus I am definitely going to QT it before hand but if I am planning on putting the fish in, say my angelfish tank, I wouldn't be as likely to QT. I think they'd be fine in a 5 gallon tank for two weeks. Buy small ones to make it easier on them.

 

[new2betas]

I get what your saying about the price of the fish and QTing. I have to say that I have not had one problem buying fish from my local PetSmart. When I bought my 6 albino cories for my 29g I had intended on QTing them for a month, but they didn't take to my 5g very well so I had to add them to my 29g tank sooner than I had planned and they were fine. I have not lost one fish that I have bought from them, knock on wood....they all have seemed very healthy from the start. Thanks for all of the help and suggestions, Bryan! As always, it is welcomed!

 

[bs6749]

No problem. I hope others reading this don't get the wrong impression about what I am saying. Basically you SHOULD QT any fish before adding it to a tank as a general rule. But good judgement can come from lots of experience. I have never lost any fish due to adding other fish to the tank without QTing and I have also QTed fish beforea adding to another tank and haven't had any losses. I don't recall ever having a fish die on me in the QT period. If you have an extra tank available I highly recommend QTing new fish. I wouldn't think of NOT QTing an expensive fish but I wouldn't be afraid to set up a new heavily planted 29 gallon tank and completely stock it with neons, hatchetfish, angelfish, and a pleco all from the same LFS. These fish are common and aren't really expensive considering the prices of some other fish.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

add a couple more lamp eye tetra's

 

[new2betas]

add a couple more lamp eye tetra's

Matt,
as I stated earlier in one of my posts...I am not that crazy about my lamp eyes. Not much personality, imo. Maybe I'm just not a tetra fan, don't know. I like fish that like to display and have personality and my lamp eyes don't. They hide alot in the plants and only really come out to eat.

 

[new2betas]

No problem. I hope others reading this don't get the wrong impression about what I am saying. Basically you SHOULD QT any fish before adding it to a tank as a general rule. But good judgement can come from lots of experience. I have never lost any fish due to adding other fish to the tank without QTing and I have also QTed fish beforea adding to another tank and haven't had any losses. I don't recall ever having a fish die on me in the QT period. If you have an extra tank available I highly recommend QTing new fish. I wouldn't think of NOT QTing an expensive fish but I wouldn't be afraid to set up a new heavily planted 29 gallon tank and completely stock it with neons, hatchetfish, angelfish, and a pleco all from the same LFS. These fish are common and aren't really expensive considering the prices of some other fish.

I get what you are saying Bryan! And, if I am able to get that 5g tank tomorrow I will plan on using it as a QT tank and when I get the angels (possibly later this weekend) I can put them in there for a couple of weeks before moving them to the 29g.