29 gallon community suggestions

[abyrd]

I have a 29 gallon freshwater tank that is already established. I currently have an Oscar in it, but he will be moved to my 55 gallon as soon as its done cycling. I am looking for some suggestions on what I can put in my 29 gallon tank.

Here are some things I am trying for....
I would like some colorful fish. I would like to have as many as my tank will allow comfortably. I have had problems in the past w/ my Orandas having digestive problems so I would like to find some that dont have a lot of 'medical' problems.


Any ideas?

[Dr_House]

Orandas are one of those mutant fish that always end up with internal problems, in my experience.

Thank you for making clear what you're looking for in your new aquarium. That makes the job of recommending fish for it much easier.

If I were stocking a 29 gallon, I would use a school of 9 Cardinal Tetras, a group of 4 platys (1 male, 3 female), and a female betta. I would also add some driftwood after a thorough rinsing, and some low-light plants such as anubias nana and cryptocorenes.

You may want to substitute something such as Harlequin Rasboras or Pencilfish for the Cardinal Tetras for a more resiliant choice of fish.

I hope that helps.

[abyrd]

yes, orandas are very hard to keep.

Thanks for the suggestions on my new set up. Now to just do some research on those you listed so I can know what im getting into!

[JustOneMore20]

Dr_House gave you some good suggestions.

Almost any tetra or rasbora will work (there are some that are large and/or nippy and may limit tankmates though).

I suggest choosing a centerpiece fish, for example 1 Angelfish or a pair of Rams (dwarf cichlids) such as Bolivian Rams.

Then you could choose a school or 2 of tetras/rasboras/pencilfish. Last, you could get some Cories for the bottom.

I suggest going to your local fish store and seeing whats available to you. You could write down the fish that you like and let us know what you've found. Then we could help you come up with a stocking plan based on what you like and what's available.

[oliesminis]

yes i like the idea of the center piece fish and the schools however i must disagree with the platy with a male / female mix as you quickly have an over stocked tank, aklo i would recomend some thing like a freshwater shrimp selection if your tankmates allow for that

[JustOneMore20]

Just wanted to add that I have 7 Platies in my tank now (2m/3f I believe and 2 fry that I have not sexed) and I have only had fry once. That was right after I added them to my tank and I believe one female was pregnant when I got her. Only 2 fry survived. Since then (about 4 months ago) I have not had any fry.

Platies do not reproduce as fast as Guppies IMO so you would be fine with them if you wanted.

[Blue Cray]

Don't get any of those gross looking goldfish do yourself a favor and get sopme nice tetras, mollies, cories and shrimp.

[Betta1]

Your options are rather open as a large selection of community fish can live happily together. A few schools a center piece and something on the bottom is a great plan. Keep in mind bottom mid and top swimming fish. Just stay away from female guppies as they'll spit out fry faster then you can give them away. If something such as platy's which do produce fry become one of your choices you can always give them away, many fish stores will accept fish. Also fry often become food and tend not to survive, depends alot on the tank inhabitants, an angel would probably take care of any fry issues.

In my 29g the cherry barbs (albino) and ghost/amano shrimp have been a great addition.

[Dr_House]

Thank you for your input on the platys, oliesminis. That thought hadn't occured to me since my platy fry have always become food, except in my heavily planted tank, but that is a good point to consider.

[abyrd]

Thanks so much guys. I was just so worried about over crowding it. I really try to make my fishies happy!

Any of you know how hard Angelfish are to keep? I've read some things that say they are quite easy, others list them as difficult.

[abyrd]

Okay, here are some i've looked at and really like. Let me know what you guys think about how many of each, which will work and which wont, etc.

I would really like to have an Angel so lets start there. These are the others I like, but am unsure (no expierance w/ any of them) on how they actually do with each other.

Gouramis
Killifish
Loaches
Platies
Rainbowfish
Swordtails
Tetras


Thanks for all your help!

[Fishfirst]

Dwarf or honey gouramis would work fine

Killifish I'd stay away from for now... first off you probably won't find any near you and secondly a lot of them have different requirements than the other fish you've currently selected.

Loaches - a lot of them would get to large, but kuhli loaches would be a wonderful choice

Platies work fine

Dwarf rainbows would be fine, larger rainbows will outgrow the tank

Swordtails would be large but would work out fine with only a few

All tetras will work except for the very largest tetras.

[abyrd]

Okay, so for the ones that would be okay - how many of each fish would be acceptable?

[JustOneMore20]

If you want an Angel, then I'd skip the Gouramis. The two don't always get along, especially in smaller tanks.

So, your stocking could look like:

1 Angelfish
8 Dwarf Neon Rainbows
8-10 Kuhli loaches or Cories
3 Platies (1m/2f)

If you can't find those particular Rainbows, you might consider Tetras instead. If you go with Tetras, you could bump the number up to 10-12 depending on what type you choose. I'd skip Neons, Buenos Aires, Skirt tetras, and Serpae tetras. The first will be eaten and the last 3 are nippy.

[oliesminis]

ok i like the idea however again with something i say a lot i would advise you not to get a dwarf gourami because you are most likely to get a dodgy one

[Dr_House]

Wow, people put a lot more fish in a tank than I do. lol Chalk it up to personal preference, I guess. I like the fish Kristin has chosen. If you can't get the dwarf rainbows, I think columbian tetras would make a good substitution. They stay in a school and have roughly the same coloration as the pictures I've seen of dwarf rainbows (I've never actually seen one in person).

I would also like to second the recommendation against gouramis of any kind. Each fish differs in its temperament, but I've never had anything but trouble with any type of gourami, even those which are said to be mild-mannered.

[judya]

I really like rasboras - harlequin or brilliant (red-tailed). I also like Barbs for color but they are a snippy fish always roughhousing with each other and their tankmates. I also like pearl danios for a fast swimming fish. I would not recommend Gouramis. I might recommend a pair of kribensis, altho if they are breeding, they want to stake out a territory. I love cories.

[abyrd]

Well, my LFS doesn't really have a lot of the fish you guys listed and Im kinda nervous about buying fish online. So I talked to them and they recommended I get 2 or 3 angels and some small tetras. does that sound like okay advise?

[jaws]

fill it with some thing not usually seen forget your guppys plattys and barbs

[fishbguy]

No...it doesn't sound like okay advise...Really, only a single angel is okay for a 29 gallon.