29 Gallon Angelfish Community Suggestions

[vasu4ual]

After a mass-die off of guppies in my 29 gallon planted tank, I've made the decision to restock the tank in a few weeks and I really want a pair of angelfish in the tank. However, I also have 2 platies and would like to add a few more of them to have a small school of fish in addition to the centerpieces.

I also have 2 nerite snails, 3 MTS, and 5 peppered cories, with a SunSun HW303-B filter on the tank.

In total, the fish I'd like to have are:
5 platies
5 cories
2 angelfish
5 ghost shrimp
2 nerite snails + 3MTS

Most sources I've seen on the Internet have 29 gallon tanks with larger amounts of fish (two to three small schools, 3 centerpieces), but when I used AqAdvisor and put in all my information, this is what comes up:

You have plenty of aquarium filtration capacity.

Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 139%.
Recommended water change schedule: 45% per week.
Your aquarium stocking level is 135%.
Your tank is overstocked. Unless you are an experienced aquarist who can meet the maintenance/biological needs of this aquarium, lower stocking levels are recommended.

I'd like some suggestion from actual people to see if these are good ideas for a tank, and if AqAdvisor is just making me worry about overstocking for no reason?

 

[TekFish]

29 Gallon is probably nowhere near big enough for even 1 Angelfish, let alone 2. It's not a good idea to get 2 Angelfish anyway, unless they are a mated pair, as 1 could bully the other to death. If you want a pair of fairly large fish, Dwarf Gourami are a much better option. Maybe a trio of Honey Gouramis.

 

[Byron]

TekFish got it. The only change I might make is the dwarf gourami suggestion; given the still high risk of incurable disease in this species (unless you can obtain direct from a breeder [not store, breeder] you trust) the Honey Gourami is a much better fish, and a trio (one male, two female) ideal.

I know the tank seems like a lot of space, and especially when the fish are the small juvenile size at which they are sold, but they need space to grow and fish growth is surprisingly rapid, as external physical size and internal organ development--and these two can develop separately when the tank is not sufficient in space or water volume for proper development of both together.

Byron.

 

[vasu4ual]

29 Gallon is probably nowhere near big enough for even 1 Angelfish, let alone 2. It's not a good idea to get 2 Angelfish anyway, unless they are a mated pair, as 1 could bully the other to death. If you want a pair of fairly large fish, Dwarf Gourami are a much better option. Maybe a trio of Honey Gouramis.

Thanks for your help, I was always considering a gourami but my mom wants me to get angelfish really bad so I just wanted to make sure.

As an alternative, how good would Bolivian rams or GBR work as a centerpiece fish?

 

[Byron]

As an alternative, how good would Bolivian rams or GBR work as a centerpiece fish?

No mention has yet been made of water parameters, specifically GH (hardness) and pH. This is important for all fish, but the mention of dwarf cichlids brings it to the fore.

Moving on to your question, aside from the GH and pH...a pair of blue rams would work in a 29g. I personally wouldnot have Bolivians in anything this small, they will be better in longer tanks, say 3 feet (90 cm) minimum. Your 29g I am assuming is the standard 30 inches (76 cm). Length and width, which of course determines surface area of the substrate as well as the water surface, is somewhat more important especially with territorial species like cichlids.

A single Bolivian Ram would be better in a 29g, though I myself would still want him in a 3-foot tank. This species may live in isolation except when spawning, and single fish do very well in community tanks provided there are no fish that might be aggressive or feisty (avoid barbs for example).

Another aspect for the blue ram is temperature; this species needs warmer water (80F minimum) and this can be too warm for some other tropical species. The Bolivian is better suited temperature wise, as it does well in the high 70's F.

When considering a pair of either ram species, you come to another issue, bonding. Not every male and female (even if you can tell them apart, which is not always easy) will accept one another, and in small tanks (to the fish) this usually means one of them will be hounded to death before too long. [Same will occur with two males.] I have even had this occur with Bolivians in a 5-foot tank that was very heavily planted. I can go into more detail on bonding if asked, but it is a critical factor with rams, and most other Neotropical cichlids for that matter.

Byron.

 

[TekFish]

Yes, I agree with Byron. GBRs need HIGH temps. 28-30c, normally. Platies cannot handle this temperature. TBH since you have the Platies, soft water fish should be avoided.

 

[vasu4ual]

My pH is 6.8-7.2, alkalinity is 80ppm, and my overall hardness is about 300ppm (my region has pretty hard water). The water temperature hovers in the 78-80 degree range. Any other suggestions for centerpiece fish, particularly cichlids of some sort?

 

[Byron]

My pH is 6.8-7.2, alkalinity is 80ppm, and my overall hardness is about 300ppm (my region has pretty hard water). The water temperature hovers in the 78-80 degree range. Any other suggestions for centerpiece fish, particularly cichlids of some sort?

In your other thread, Ch4rlie spotted the variation between GH at 300 ppm (which is about 16 dGH, fairly hard) and the KH at 80 ppm (= 4 dKH) with a pH hovering around 7. As he suggested, this should be confirmed with your water authority. You will have some issues with fish if the water really is this hard, but the pH is slightly acidic.

 

[TekFish]

Not a cichlid, but looks like one. Badis Badis? There aren't many Cichlids that like hard water, that would also fit in your tank. Shelldwellers could, but they'd prefer to be species-only.

 

[vasu4ual]

In your other thread, Ch4rlie spotted the variation between GH at 300 ppm (which is about 16 dGH, fairly hard) and the KH at 80 ppm (= 4 dKH) with a pH hovering around 7. As he suggested, this should be confirmed with your water authority. You will have some issues with fish if the water really is this hard, but the pH is slightly acidic.

I have a layer of peat moss underneath my substrate, could this be an explanation for the pH being lower than expected?

 

[Byron]

I have a layer of peat moss underneath my substrate, could this be an explanation for the pH being lower than expected?

Yes, I believe so. The KH acts as a "buffer" to prevent pH fluctuations, and often it will counter in a sense the effects of organics (peat, wood, leaves and fish food/excrement are all organics). But here is the KH is not high, at 80 ppm (4 dKH) so peat I assume would have more effect. However, at some point the peat will exhaust itself, and then the pH will rise. Out of curiosity, what is the pH of the source water? I have been assuming the GH and KH were source water levels, but if they are aquarium, there could be substances therein that affect these. It might help clarify if you could post the GH, KH and pH of the source water (tap presumably) on its own, and then the same test levels for the aquarium water.

Remember when testing tap water for pH to out-gas the CO2 or it could affect the result. Letting a jar of water sit 24 hours is one method, another is to briskly agitate it for several minutes.

 

[vasu4ual]

Yes, I believe so. The KH acts as a "buffer" to prevent pH fluctuations, and often it will counter in a sense the effects of organics (peat, wood, leaves and fish food/excrement are all organics). But here is the KH is not high, at 80 ppm (4 dKH) so peat I assume would have more effect. However, at some point the peat will exhaust itself, and then the pH will rise. Out of curiosity, what is the pH of the source water? I have been assuming the GH and KH were source water levels, but if they are aquarium, there could be substances therein that affect these. It might help clarify if you could post the GH, KH and pH of the source water (tap presumably) on its own, and then the same test levels for the aquarium water.

Remember when testing tap water for pH to out-gas the CO2 or it could affect the result. Letting a jar of water sit 24 hours is one method, another is to briskly agitate it for several minutes.

I live in St. Louis county and the water here is supposed to be very basic (makes sense, as the water hardness of my tank is so high anyway). Whenever I test from the tap, and even in my old tank (which had no peat, only rainbow gravel) I get values of 7, sometimes 8 from the tap.

I haven't tested the water with my strips though, so I'll be sure to do that.

 

[Byron]

I live in St. Louis county and the water here is supposed to be very basic (makes sense, as the water hardness of my tank is so high anyway). Whenever I test from the tap, and even in my old tank (which had no peat, only rainbow gravel) I get values of 7, sometimes 8 from the tap.

I haven't tested the water with my strips though, so I'll be sure to do that.

We need the test results for GH, KH and pH from just the tap water, then the same test results from the tank water. It is next to impossible to explain differences without knowing all the data.

 

[vasu4ual]

We need the test results for GH, KH and pH from just the tap water, then the same test results from the tank water. It is next to impossible to explain differences without knowing all the data.

After running a strip through my tap, I got the following:

GH 300ppm
KH 120ppm
pH 8.4+

I checked the tank again and this time I swished the strip around, getting the following:

GH 300ppm
KH 40ppm
pH 6.8 (hard to tell which)

 

[Byron]

After running a strip through my tap, I got the following:

GH 300ppm
KH 120ppm
pH 8.4+

Again, the tank is as follows:

GH 300ppm
KH 80ppm
pH 6.8-7.2 (hard to tell which)

OK, now can you compare the tap water results with the water data from the municipal water authority? They may have a website, and if so, water data is usually posted somewhere. This is worth doing because it will confirm (or refute) your test strip results for the tap water.