The loach's 29 gallon tank journal

[Goldfish loach boy]

Hmmmm now that you bring that up, there might be something up with my petsmart
That p-smart is the only place for fish that isn't 30 miles away

 

[Jbrock]

You are planning on having way too many bottom feeders. As the plecos grow they will become territorial and aggressive to everything around them, especially during feeding time. If you have an oto you should get a few more and stay away from plecos all together. My BN pleco rams my cories into the side if the tank during feeding. I am currently looking for friends who would like him in a bit of a more aggressive tank. Some catfish can get pretty aggressive as well.

Sometimes less is more bro.

 

[Jbrock]

You said you live in El Paso? Google Aquarium Concept in El Paso, think that may be a local fish store for you instead of Pet Smart.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Thanks for the info

I researched it and there is one near me, but it looks like its just saltwater

 

[Scottyhorse]

Can you order online?

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Yes I can

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Ok guys update!

Well, not much has been going on, a red eye tetra died from too much air in him
My balloon Molly is still there, and everything is going well!
The biggest problem I have right now are diatoms! I can't get rid of them!
Once I switch to sand next week and rid all the gravel out, that might help with those
I also have green algae, for which I am planing on two plecos to care for that, the plants have grown, especially the water wisteria and java fern so here it is
Current stock:
1 balloon belly Molly
4 red eye tetras
4 black kuhli loaches
1 peppered Cory cat
Still need:
1 dwarf gourami
1 honey gourami
1 Raphael catfish
2 more peppered Cory's
1 bn pleco
1 clown pleco
Plants:
Water wisteria
3 amazon swords
Java fern
Anubias nana
Still need:
Anacharis
Marimo moss balls
That's pretty much it, the sand is up for next week
Thanks for keeping up

 

[dragonfisher33]

loach boy, you're stocking way too much on your fish tank. raphael catfish, bn pleco need more space than 29gal. raphel catfish also gets really big. if algae is your problem, get some nerite snails or some otos (snails are preferred because you have too many fish already). i wouldn't do more than two dwarf gouramie because of the space limitation.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Wait, don't bn plecos get like 4 inches?

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Oh, and it's a dwarf gourami and a honey gourami, not two dwarf gouramis

 

[dragonfisher33]

Oh, and it's a dwarf gourami and a honey gourami, not two dwarf gouramis

honey gourami is part of dwarf gourami's family, so essentially you have two dwarf gourami

 

[dragonfisher33]

Wait, don't bn plecos get like 4 inches?

yes, i undertstand that, but you want to have rubberlip pleco, so i think getting a bn pleco is really pushing it. plus you intend to have them with raphael catfish, which gets big ~7inches. rubberlip gets around 10inches. so you have some heavy hitters in your potential stocking list

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Oh ok gotcha

So only a bn pleco and only the dwarf gourami right?

 

[dragonfisher33]

Oh ok gotcha

So only a bn pleco and only the dwarf gourami right?

if i were you, just a gourami with some otos. otos have smaller bioload and take care of the algae better than your pleco. plus, you wouldn't want pleco anyway because you have too much bioload in your tank already. a ballon molly, 4 loaches, and some corys. it's better for you to understock than overstock since the waste these fish produce will cause a toll on water quality.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Ok, what if I do no-weekly water changes?

 

[dragonfisher33]

Ok, what if I do no-weekly water changes?

no-weekly water changes?

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Oh yea, I do about 34.4827586% weekly water changes but I could maybe do bi weekly changes

 

[dragonfisher33]

Oh yea, I do about 34.4827586% weekly water changes but I could maybe do bi weekly changes

believe it or not, aquariums less than 30gal are considered small/nano tanks. two water changes per week will cause chemical imbalance and stress to your fish. Plus, what you're suggesting isn't practical in the long haul since you're bound to get tired of changing water every couple days. unless you get a bigger tank, i would suggest keep the stocking list to a minimal. i'm sure you've seen those tanks by ADA, they don't have many fishes at all. it's how your fishes compliment the overall aquascape, not the other way around (assuming you're still doing planted tank)

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Yea I'm still doing a planted tank

So I guess I should wait until some of my fish go huh?
When the tetras go, I want to add a smaller school of fish, like harlequin rasboras or endlers, do you think I can do it then

 

[dragonfisher33]

Yea I'm still doing a planted tank

So I guess I should wait until some of my fish go huh?
When the tetras go, I want to add a smaller school of fish, like harlequin rasboras or endlers, do you think I can do it then

i would suggest sell/rehome everything you have right now and start from scratch with the exception to the cory.

this is what i would have: 5-8 schooling fish such as rasbora, 4-5otos, 5 corys, some nerite snails (to clean up leftovers and algae in case otos miss them), and 1-2 kuhli loach, 1 dwarf gourami. THAT'S IT!!! no more, no less