10 and 29 gallon

[Ackerman651]

i recently purchased a 29 gallon to accompany my 10 gallon. in my 10 gallon i currently have 2 gouramis and a dragon goby (i know i messed up with that one) but i plan to put the dragon in there after the cyclings over. after hes gone, i was planning on stocking my 10 gallon with the 2 gouramis 2 albino cories a bamboo shrimp and maybe an oto or two if thats not overstocked. also, for the cycling i was thinking about adding a few cories to start. are they hardy enough for the cycling? i suppose i could always do the fishless cycle, but im impatient. any suggestions for stocking either tanks or anything else would be great. no i cant upgrade and no i cant exchange the goby, been trying to sell it will if i can, but til then i have to make due.

[Giddy012]

If you want to be impatient, you could always use Bio-spira. Cycled my tank in 48hrs. Cories are pretty tuff, but I don't think they would do well through a cycle.

[MyraVan]

For your 10 gallon, don't get just 2 cories; they are schooling fish and need friends. You should get at least 3. And considering this is only a 10 gallon tank, you should aim to get the smallest cories you can find, like panda (only get to 2"). On the other hand, the pandas are one of the more fragile cories; albino cories are most likely Corydoras aeneus which are tougher, so maybe they would be a better choice for a not-very-old tank (although they are larger at 3").

Don't do otos or bamboo shrimp until your tank has been running in a stable fashion (no cycling, no ich, etc) for several months: they are quite sensitive creatures. In fact, it may not be a good idea to get these animals unless the tank is heavily planted, as both do better in planted tanks. And if you do get otos, again get at least 3.

[Ackerman651]

i understand the otos and bamboo shrimp are sensative, but my 10 gallon i plan to put them in has been running for a good 5 months now at least. also, i put sand and gravel mixture in there, ratio of 2 sand 1 gravel and i think it looks nice. ive been waiting to put the filter on because theres still a lot of sand floating, and tons of sand on the bottom has air bubbles that will occasionally rise up with the sand. is this normal with sand? (its reef sand) ive never had any experience with cleaning sand or anything, so any advice with it would be great.

29 gallon

10 gallon. yes the waters clean, the light makes it look yellow.

[Giddy012]

My Panda Cories made it through an accidental cycle with no signs of ever being affected by the cycle. Also you might want to do some research on your reef sand. I heard something about it causing the water to have a high ph (8-9.5), but I'm not sure if I'm remembering this correctly. You could check with some of the saltwater guys.

[Giddy012]

Oh btw your tank looks great!

[Ackerman651]

thanks, i thought it looked kind of neat too. i was thinking about going out to get some cycling fish today, would it be okay to put the filter on and purchase some? the sand is still rising and sinking, im hoping the filter wont suck up too much. the temp is about 77 i think.

[Giddy012]

Did you get the sand completely wet before adding to the tank. If not, just stir it up really good in the tank and it should be settled in a couple minutes, and be ready for the filter and fish. But don't forget to ask about the whole reef sand high ph thing, cause that would be a fish killer. If you already have please let me know, I'm curious.

[gem]

A great way to help your cycle along, rather than adding fish, would be adding some of the established fliter media from your original tank to the new filter. Also....take an old nylon and put some of the gravel from your 10 gal in the tank on the sand as well. This will seed the tank and shorten the cycle. I still would make sure your stats are good before adding fish though.

[Ackerman651]

wow, bad news. i started to assemble my filter and when i started to let it run, i realized there was a piece broken off. of course it happens to be just inside the intake chamber and all the water leaks out as it comes in, lucky me. gotta send in for a new one, could take almost 2 weeks for it to get here, so im filterless for a while. i suppose this could be an opportunity for the fishless cycle, would that still work with no filter? im still looking into the ph thing, ill post it here when i find out. also, do you have any ideas for unique fish that would suit my tank? i typically like fish that have interesting behaviors or look different from most fish

[Giddy012]

All of these fish are South African, so they would get along great with the water conditions your Dragon Goby needs. That is until it gets big enough to eat them. So I am giving ideas that won't out grow your 29gal. (3"-5" should be ok) but your Dragon will
I would go with 1 of these,
http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_...fm?pCatId=2524
1-2 of these,
http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_...fm?pCatId=1837
and then depending on how aggressive these are 0-1
http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_...fm?pCatId=1663
Finish it out with a school of 6-8 Cherry Barbs.
Leave room for an algae eater if the need arise. This could be over doing it considering the size the Dragon will get, and that he will eventually get aggressive, that is if he's not already. I have also never kept Chilids so I hope someone will correct me if I've given bad ideas. Just some thoughts.

[Ackerman651]

ill have to think that one over. from what ive seen/read, the dragon isnt and wont get aggressive, but i could be mistaken. also, i wouldnt think the cherry barbs would get along with the cichlids too well, barbs are peaceful, and the cichlids would probably attack, just a guess. but its an idea, i do appreciate any i get.

[Ackerman651]

alright, this is just an idea im getting for the stocking of my tanks after the cyclings done.
10 gallon-
2 gouramis
1 or 2 bamboo shrimp
2 or 3 otos
and not sure about the rest
29 gallon-
the dragonfish subject to change
peacok eel
1-3 plecos not sure what species yet
Kuhlii loach and/or weather and/or loach dojo loach
around 3 or 4 cories, possibly albino
and a school or variety of middle top dwelling fish, havent quite decided on those
yes, im aware this is probably way too many bottom dwellers and no i wasnt planning on gettin all those loaches, just ideas. i dont really like a lot of one kind of fish, so if i can id rather get non schooling or small amounts of schooling fish. suggestions?

[JustOneMore20]

Kuhlii loach and/or weather and/or loach dojo loach

Weather and Dojo loach are the same fish....and it will outgrow a 29g. So mark that one off.

Kuhlis like groups, so get atleast 4.

Whats your pH?

[frogman5]

the tanks looks pretty sweet ackerman

[Giddy012]

Your Gold Gourami will out grow your 10gal. you should include him on you 29gal. list.

i typically like fish that have interesting behaviors or look different from most fish

Most of the fish you've picked out you won't see very much. Plecos are not all that active, and I beleive they sleep during the day (atleast mine did). Kuhli Loaches are very shy, having a group will help, but you still probable won't see very much of them. The Cories however are great I love mine, they are the most active little guys, very funny to watch. The Peacok eel will also hid most of the day, and could get plenty big enough to eat the Cories.

[Ackerman651]

right now my priority is my 10, ill have my dragon out of there in a few weeks once the other tanks cycled, along with the gouramis (unless theyre hardy enough to withstand the cycling?) but im about to go pick up a few fish for my 10 gallon (im gonna wait on the shrimp til the dragon leaves just to make sure) im thinkin maybe otos or cories. any ideas on what to get?

[Giddy012]

I would not suggest the Gouramis for cycling, not the toughest fish out there. Albino cories would go well in your 10gal. only get about 2", so do Panda Cories, so you could have 3-4. If your only doing Cories or Otos with no other fish you could probable get a way with around 6 cories or otos, or mix um up. Cories are a scooling fish so no less than 3 is usually reccomended. Good luck with what ever you pick out