New 29 Gal Tank-phase II

[adelinamz]

So my two angels and pleco died. ... Of course, the advice you all gave me was to return them. I suppose I'll give up on Angels. I killed several the last time I tried too. ... So I replaced these fish with 3 spotted corys and 2 dwarf blue gouramis. I also bought a couple more cherry barbs as was suggested to me on this forum. So I now have:

5 Sunset Platys
5 Cherry Barbs
2 Dwarf Gouramis
3 Spotted Corys

Does this seem like a good mix? I assume I've reached my max on fish?

 

[maxwell1295]

How big is the tank?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Also, how long has the tank been running? Is it completely cycled?

 

[rich311k]

You could get a few more cories. Maybe a small pleco.

 

[ringfinger]

I also say get a small Pleco, or 3 Otocinclus Cats for algae. A pair of Dwarf Gouramis are great in a 29 eh!? I love mine.

You don't buy your Angels from Walmart do you? I had 5 in a row die from Walmart, then I went to a much nicer LFS to look for healthier stock. I paid $9 each for babies and they have been doing great for months now. A lot of the time I think I can 'save' a fish, but it pays to buy quality.

 

[Zagz]

Sorry to hear about your fish. Sometimes finding local breeders through your aquarium society will provide you with the best quality fish. I'd vote for a BN pleco and a few more barbs or 2 more dwarf gouramis.

 

[adelinamz]

Thanks all. I have this set to notify me when I get replies and it hasn't! Anyway, to answer your questions and ask more It's a 29 gallon tank and has been running for over about 2 months now so I think it's fully cycled. This last group of fish has survived nicely so far...I think. Earlier today I couldn't find one of the cherry barbs, but they're so small it's possible it was lurking in some hidden corner of the tank...

Plecos/Otocinclus Cats/Cories... Do I need more than 3 cories? Do they not take care of algae? I understand that they eat excess food from the bottom of the tank--is this true? Would the pleco/otocinclus eat different things? Do I need to feed the cories/plecos/otocinclus something other than the flake food I'm feeding the other fish?

Angels... I bought these last two angels at PetSmart; however the ones I bought last year (a total of 4 or 5) all died and all were purchased at a reputable LFS... I really would love to try again if there's still room in the tank...Do you think I should try again?

 

[Skyrmir]

Angels would be pushing your bio-load pretty hard by the time they reach full growth.

Cories don't eat algea, they may pick at some of it, and help to keep excess food from growing more of it, but they really don't eat it. They're really good at keeping the sand/gravel clean, but not much else. You could probably get away with adding 2 or 3 more of them though, they love being in groups and they're fun to watch play. As for feeding, yes you can get sinking pellets that cories love to make a mess with then hoover up. Usually shrimp based stuff that most of your other fish will pick at too. Usually I feed flake and pellets at the same time to give the Panda's first crack while the other fish are busy with the flakes. And it only takes 1 or 2 pellets for a half dozen panda's.

I'd suggest going for a mystery snail to combat algea. There's a lot of great pleco's out there, but LFS are notorious for giving people common pleco's and not mentioning they grow to 12 inches or more.

 

[adelinamz]

Thanks! I guess I'll give up on the Angels idea. Do I need an algae-eater? That is, I don't currently have any algae; is algae inevitable so I should go on and get an algae eater? ...

I like the idea of adding more cories, cuz their cute. QUESTION: when dealing with fish that like to be in groups, can you mix and match various species? So if I add cories to the three I have, can they be different types of cories? What's a Panda? Is that a type of cory?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

If you can find otos, they are small and do a good job with the algae. They also like to be in groups, so I'd say 3 is a good number. Or 1 Bristlenose Pleco.

 

[adelinamz]

Thanks! So does anyone have an answer for me regarding whether I can "mix and match" fish within a type and they'll still school? For example, can I put together different types of cories or different types of barbs and will they still behave the same as if it were a group of the same type of fish?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

As for the barbs, some do, some don't. But the cories, they get along great with each other. I have 3 kinds in my 75G and they are almost always together.

 

[adelinamz]

Thanks! What about dwarf gouramis...can those be mixed? amz