Tank stocking questions

[millerb7]

My 29 gallon is going through the cycle at the moment, but I want to have an idea of what fish I'll be putting in there when it's all done.

I honestly really have not much a clue about many fresh water fish, and don't 100% trust my LFS.

My girlfriend wants a "sucker fish", and I know a pleco is to big. I really like beta fish and/or gourami.

Any advice/thoughts/suggestions is more than welcome. I want to get obviously a decent number of fish into the tank, along with an invertebrate or two (or three) but of course, I def. don't' want over crowding.

The LFS said if I go cichlid it was that or nothing, had to go all or none type of deal. I don't really have a passion for them, so wasn't really leaning that way.

 

[siva]

You could do a dwarf cichlid or pair of them in a community in a 29 gal. Check out bolivian rams or apistogramma's. Both good fairly hardy cichlids for the beginner.

You can do a dwarf pleco, something around 4-5" will work great. You could do a bristlenose, clown, or zebra to name a few. Pitbull plecos are even smaller, and like to have buddies so you could even do three of those.

A betta or dwarf gourami makes an awesome centerpeice fish for a 29 gal. I haven't had much luck mixing these with dwarf cichlids, so I'd recommend going with one or the other. If you like gouramis you might also want to check out paradise fish.

There are lots of inverts you can do. Nerite snails and mystery snails are popular choices. I would recommend some tylomelania aka rabbit snails if you can get your hands on them. They are quite attractive and fun to watch. Dwarf shrimp like cherry or blueberry could work well depending on which fish you choose to stock. Amano shrimp are great algae eaters and are larger than most shrimp in the hobby.

 

[CleverBs]

Well you can have a pleco just need to pick the right kind. An amazing pleco is a grand clown pleco and they stay small and would work well in your tank. Or you can get Oto cats they like to be in groups of 4 or more and are quite active and only get to be 2 inches and they are a sucker fish. As for fish you could get any type of dwarf gouramies or you could have a nice school of tetras or barbs or even a combination of them.

 

[millerb7]

I'll probably not do any cichlids.

So it looks like either a beta or a gourami for the centerpiece

If I go with a smaller pleco can I also have any invertebrates as well? Or would he pretty much do the job for the algae? I suppose I can feed them algae wafers if need be. I'd like at least an invertebrate or two.

I was also leaning toward a red-fin or rainbow shark.... possible? I feel those might need to wait until I pick up a 55 gallon tank. Also want an angel fish really bad, but again, think it will have to wait until I upgrade to a larger tank.

Just want to make sure I get not only fish I enjoy watching, but what's gonna be right for the tank and the health of the fish.

I tell you what, I'm like a kid in a candy store picking out stock lol

 

[millerb7]

Just going through liveaquaria.com looking and reading for information.... any other good sources?

 

[siva]

I'll probably not do any cichlids.

So it looks like either a beta or a gourami for the centerpiece

If I go with a smaller pleco can I also have any invertebrates as well? Or would he pretty much do the job for the algae? I suppose I can feed them algae wafers if need be. I'd like at least an invertebrate or two.

I was also leaning toward a red-fin or rainbow shark.... possible? I feel those might need to wait until I pick up a 55 gallon tank. Also want an angel fish really bad, but again, think it will have to wait until I upgrade to a larger tank.

Just want to make sure I get not only fish I enjoy watching, but what's gonna be right for the tank and the health of the fish.

I tell you what, I'm like a kid in a candy store picking out stock lol

You can definitely do the pleco and inverts. Keep in mind many plecos eat wood as well, so depending on which you choose, adding driftwood or mopani to the tank will be necessary.

No shark. Tank is just too short.

I'm a kid in a candy store also

 

[siva]

Just going through liveaquaria.com looking and reading for information.... any other good sources?

To order fish or just for information? As far as minimum tank size and stuff like that, I wouldn't really trust liveaquaria. Do a broader search and see what several sources say and ask on here about specific fish, is a better bet to get the best info.

 

[millerb7]

Just using them for some information. I'll probably buy most my fish from the LFS.

I'm really leaning heavily on having a Betta as the CP fish and then some algae eaters (maybe some of the smaller species of pleco's... 2 or 3) and then some schooling fish.

 

[toddnbecka]

A 29 isn't going to produce enough algae for more than 1 BN pleco, and you'll still have to feed it veggies occasionally to supplement what it does find. A pair would be alright, but if/when they spawn the fry will overcrowd the tank. Clown pleco's and the various Hypancistrus are useless for algae control, the clowns need wood in their diet and the others are more omnivorous.
A single angelfish would be fine in a 29, but will eat neons or other small fish as it grows larger, so make sure the others are big enough.

 

[millerb7]

A 29 isn't going to produce enough algae for more than 1 BN pleco, and you'll still have to feed it veggies occasionally to supplement what it does find. A pair would be alright, but if/when they spawn the fry will overcrowd the tank. Clown pleco's and the various Hypancistrus are useless for algae control, the clowns need wood in their diet and the others are more omnivorous.
A single angelfish would be fine in a 29, but will eat neons or other small fish as it grows larger, so make sure the others are big enough.

Hmm... Okay. What about 2 or 3 otto cats vs a BN? They are smaller and I hear good algae eaters too. I have no issues supplementing their diet with whatever I need to.

I imagine an angel and a beta would def. not get along? Seems it would be one or the other type of deal.

Good thing I'm going this whole fish less cycle thing... need all this time to plan out the tank stock.. much harder than I thought.

I plan on getting some vertebrates as well... so I already know there won't be enough algae etc... so I'll be feeding them anyways.

 

[toddnbecka]

Oto's aren't hardy fish in general, do best in larger, well established planted tanks, definitely not suitable for a new setup.
Angel and betta might work, might not, just depends on the indivdual fish. Small angel that grows up along with a betta in the tank would have the best chance for success.

 

[millerb7]

Okay. Well noted. No Oto's

 

[toddnbecka]

I've never kept Oto's myself, but it seems like there are at least a few new posts about them every day. Most often the folks who've tried them say they didn't last long. Occasionally someone will say that theirs are doing well, and very rarely a few fry have turned up in large, planted tanks. They're all wild-caught imports, and for every one that you see in a tank at an lfs you can bet a much larger number if them died between being collected, held at distributors, and finally shipped to the store.
On the other hand, BN pleco's are fairly hardy fish. Tank-raised for so many generations they're pretty well domesticated, and will adapt to a fairly wide variety of water conditions.

 

[maxwellag]

A 29 isn't going to produce enough algae for more than 1 BN pleco, and you'll still have to feed it veggies occasionally to supplement what it does find. A pair would be alright, but if/when they spawn the fry will overcrowd the tank. Clown pleco's and the various Hypancistrus are useless for algae control, the clowns need wood in their diet and the others are more omnivorous.
A single angelfish would be fine in a 29, but will eat neons or other small fish as it grows larger, so make sure the others are big enough.

A 29 gallon with normal feeding and lighting won't produce enough algae.... but one with more food fed and lights on longer will have more algae... just saying

 

[siva]

I've had good luck with oto's. I think the key is just to wait until the tank has matured about 6 months before adding them, and adding a group of atleast three but stock no more than 1 per 5 gals.

 

[millerb7]

I've had good luck with oto's. I think the key is just to wait until the tank has matured about 6 months before adding them, and adding a group of atleast three but stock no more than 1 per 5 gals.

Makes sense.

Hmmm... so basically a centerpiece fish (beta or gaurami) and then some schooling fish, and a few shrimp?

 

[millerb7]

Well I'm thinking going with 1 Beta, 3-5 tiger barbs, a BN Pleco (down the line, after 3 or so months), and 2-3 clown loach's (NOTE: I do realize clown loaches reach 11+" and will get way to big for my 29gallon... but they are only about 1" right now, and they take a LONG time to grow fully.... so I'll be moving them into larger tanks once they grow).

What else can be added? If anything?

Again, none of this is set 100% except I do want the Beta in the tank. My GF LOVES the clown loaches, and again, like I noted, they would be moving out of the 29 gallon when they started growing. My good friend has 3 of them in his 125 gallon tank he's had them for 5 years and they are still only about 5-6".


GRRR... so hard to decide. I'll soon have a 55 gallon that will be my cichlid tank... but this 29 gallon is killing me picking fish for it hah!

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Tiger barbs might nip at your betta IMO.

 

[millerb7]

Yeah. I think I'm gonna drop the tiger barbs. So that really leaves me with the 3 clown loaches (again, please see note) and the 1 beta.... I need more fish