African Butterfly Stocking Question

[karin]

Hi all.

I have recently purchased a used and cycled and inhabited 29 gallon tank. It was way way over stocked and I found a great home for all the huge fish in it, cleaned it up and added neon tetras. Here is the stock now:
1 zebra loach
6 neon tetras
3 albino corys
1 bronze cory
1 falowella (95% of his time is stationary stuck to the heater)
1 african butterfly fish

I would like to get a few more schooling fish and a centerpiece like a dwarf gourami. My question is around the african butterfly. His body is about 3 inches and as you know he is a quiet guy that just hangs at the top and pretty much seems to live for food. I get him crickets when I can and feed flakes, blood worms and I'll see about other tasty dry stuff I can get him. No lfs in my area so hard to keep the crickets coming continuously. He is behaving himself with the neons and they seem okay together. Living together for 3 weeks now. Here are my questions:

1. Am I nuts to think I can keep the african butterfly in a 29 gallon community tank? I think he can get one inch bigger. I get it is not ideal but is the 29 gallon just a terrible idea for such a fish? I ask because he is so quiet most of the time.
2. Which fish are the primary fin nippers?
3. I have an older aquaclear 150 and would like to get a new one because this tank is in my office and not constantly monitored and the last owner told me that it sometimes stops and you have to do this and that to keep it running. My thought was to get an Aquaclear 30 and just transfer the old filter medium (two sponges and a bag of ceramic rings). Do I risk messing up the biofilter with such a change?
4. Is the Aquaclear 30 sufficient as an only filter? I'm getting up the courage to remove the UGF and replacing gravel with sand. I could purchase a bigger Aquaclear if it is a better way to go.
5. Any other suggestions?

Thank you.

 

[Davo86]

1. Am I nuts to think I can keep the african butterfly in a 29 gallon community tank? I think he can get one inch bigger. I get it is not ideal but is the 29 gallon just a terrible idea for such a fish? I ask because he is so quiet most of the time.

29G is more than sufficient for a ABF, however as soon as one of the neons and the ABF cross paths there is only going to be one outcome, and once this happens the ABF will go hunting for the others.

2. Which fish are the primary fin nippers?

The zebra loach could be a fin nipper, Is it a Botia Striata? or another species?
Botia Striata are best kept in small groups and a lone specimen may become unusually aggressivve,

3. I have an older aquaclear 150 and would like to get a new one because this tank is in my office and not constantly monitored and the last owner told me that it sometimes stops and you have to do this and that to keep it running. My thought was to get an Aquaclear 30 and just transfer the old filter medium (two sponges and a bag of ceramic rings). Do I risk messing up the biofilter with such a change?
4. Is the Aquaclear 30 sufficient as an only filter? I'm getting up the courage to remove the UGF and replacing gravel with sand. I could purchase a bigger Aquaclear if it is a better way to go.

don't really know much about aquaclears? guess you are from the USA,
However if the AC30 is a bigger or similar sized filter to the 150 then yes you can just transfer the media from one to the other