29 Gal Cherry Barbs Stocking

[Clare_C]

Hi! So I'm pretty new to this and I have a 10 gal going strong rn. I made a deal with my boyfriend that at the end of the semester we can get a 29 gallon, which we are researching how to stock.
We really want cherry barbs - as many as we can with maybe a centerpiece fish. I have no idea what to keep with them! I am dead set against having tetras, I had neon tetras when I started (bad store advice now i know better and to research) and i slightly havent recovered from all the deaths. Please give me ideas!
Oh and I have hard water (well water) so hardier fish do better even after treating it.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the pH of your water?

How hard is the water (in numbers please and what is it measured in, eg: ppm or dGH)?
If you don't have a pH or GH test kit, take a glass full of water to the pet shop and get them to test it.

 

[Clare_C]

Hi and welcome to the forum

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the pH of your water?

How hard is the water (in numbers please and what is it measured in, eg: ppm or dGH)?
If you don't have a pH or GH test kit, take a glass full of water to the pet shop and get them to test it.

The ph before I put the reducer in is usually about 8. I havent tested the hardness, the store never directly told me the results they just said it was pretty hard. I have to use water from the bath not the tap bc its filtered more and ik we have lots of problems with metals in the water. When that happens I just buy water from the lfs if absolutely needed.
The 29 gallon is just the standard 30 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 18 3/4
Just checked our last report and it was about 130 ppm

 

[Colin_T]

130ppm is soft water.

How are you filtering the tap water?

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

I had exactly the same idea as you did when I got my first 29 gallon tank but then found it's really a lot more room than one might think and got an assortment of fish. Cherry barbs are pretty little fish but also pretty boring - so while I have 7, they aren't my only fish. My thought then was to get a small variety of schooling fish and put them together with one bigger fish - but then I saw Corydora catfish and found I really enjoyed watching them - they are quite funny and come in a dwawf size (about 2") and a regular size (about 3-4 inches) you need to get several but either size would be fine for your tank. My "star" fish was originally a Powder blue Gourami and I think you'll agree there are few more beautiful and peaceful fish, but I read you should get Gourami's in sets of two because they enjoy hanging out together. Then I saw the slightly smaller Dwarf blue Gourami that was also stunning, so I got a couple of those. I did find that the largest Gourami tends to get a bit bossy and will keep herself busy trying to keep the others from eating- but it's far from violent. I did have a (schooling) zebra danio eat the fins off one of my Dwarf Gourami's - who later died and then she proceeded to kill all her buddy danio's. She now resides (alone) with a school of Harlequin Rasboras and they are a very small tight schooling group when threatened and she has not touched any of them. Zebra danios are amazing and fast schooling fish - very cool to watch and are peaceful fish, I hope that my killer was a strange exception in this species.

After filling up my first tank with so many small schooling fish and the Cory's and Gourmi's - I decided to set up a second tank with nothing but Gourmi's which has been fun. But I HAD to get more Corydora's and also ended up witth two Bristly Nose Pleco (the yellow with blue eyes variety) - they are amazing algae eaters. Eventually will be 4 inches but are very shy so you have to have plenty of objects for them to hide behind. If they were less shy they WOULD be the centerpiece of my tank because I love them so much.

Anyway - my point is that you may find you have a change of plans due to fish availability, finding more stunning fish than you ever thought there were OR as Colin mentioned - some water issues (although I've never had trouble with water hardness or softness that I'm aware of and half the fish descriptions don't even mention it - because they want to simply sell fish - they don't want any complicated buyers.so doing it Colin's way will likely be the "right" way.

 

[Clare_C]

Idk about the hardness then, I'll get it tested today but I put the water conditioner in, aquarium salt, and ph reducer in the tap water before water changes in my 10 gallon. My Molly's and guppies do fine. My filter in the 10 gal has a bio maxx filter in it with a fine sponge and a carbon sponge. I was told the hardness killed the neon tetras and the more I researched them, they more I found them to be super sensitive fish, but now I'm second guessing that I'll update with the test results after work

 

[Essjay]

Please stop using the pH reducer, and the salt. Fresh water fish do not need salt, and mollies and guppies prefer high pH. A pH of up to 8.5 is suitable for these fish.
All you need to use is water conditioner.

Hard water will reduce the life expectancy of soft water fish such as neons; you need to stay with hard water fish.

To be honest, with mollies and guppies, a 10 gallon tank is probably over stocked as mollies need a tank at least 36 inches long - mollies are big fish. When you upgrade, make sure the tank is long rather than tall.

 

[Clare_C]

Please stop using the pH reducer, and the salt. Fresh water fish do not need salt, and mollies and guppies prefer high pH. A pH of up to 8.5 is suitable for these fish.
All you need to use is water conditioner.

Hard water will reduce the life expectancy of soft water fish such as neons; you need to stay with hard water fish.

To be honest, with mollies and guppies, a 10 gallon tank is probably over stocked as mollies need a tank at least 36 inches long - mollies are big fish. When you upgrade, make sure the tank is long rather than tall.

Thanks!!! I dont really trust employees anymore so that advice is helpful. I can definitely upgrade for the mollies, should they just go in the 29 or bigger? They seem super happy and content in the 10 gallon I wouldn't have known that. And any suggestions on hard water fish other than guppies? I love them but I want the tanks different.

 

[Essjay]

Fish store employees have a bad reputation for giving rubbish advice.

Do you intend keeping the 10 gallon running as well after the planed upgrade? If you do, you can keep the guppies in the 10 gallon but move the mollies into the new larger tank, and depending on how big you get you will most likely have space for other hard water fish as well.

The best site for researching fish is http://www.seriouslyfish.com. Look at the size tank they need, the type of water, and suitable tankmates.

 

[Clare_C]

Yes I intend to keep the 10 gallon. It's very relaxing to watch them all swim around and I love having something to care for. I'll move the mollies into a bigger tank for sure thanks

 

[Colin_T]

Find out what the actual GH is and then we can discuss what fish you can keep.

 

[Essjay]

I missed the bit about using "water from the bath as it's filtered more".

Colin asked how the water was filtered - if you have some sort of water softener we need to know what it is because some types add sodium to the water which is bad for fish.

 

[Clare_C]

The dgh is 12, not as bad as I thought it was and I just have the imagitarium water conditioner to treat it, but by the bath water I just meant it tested better than water from the sink. We have an extra filter for our shower idk how that works tbh but our tap water can taste like iron a lot (not completely safe sometimes....)

 

[seangee]

Not sure where you are but in the EU water filters certified as safe for drinking water are ok to use with fish (although you do have to check pH and KH as you could see a pH crash).

However a filter attached to a shower may not be safe, so I would avoid this unless you know for sure that it is approved for drinking water (and any replacement cartridges / media that may have been used).