Help Me With 29 Gallon Setup?

[Cdb1992]

Hi, hope I'm in the right section. But I need advice. On Monday I'm going to be given a 29 gallon aquarium. I have a 10 with 1 sun catfish, 1 Raphael, 1 Pleco, 4 green Cory's , 2 very sexually active mollies(Dalmatian) an 2 unknown small tetras, all these will be transferred over to new tank. Along with 2 figure 8 puffers I plan to buy. I'm on a budget and I need help deciding on my equipment(filter, heater ,air pump) I need it to meet or exceed my needs but while still staying at a fairly low cost, thanks for the help

 

[Wills]

Hi welcome to the forum
 
Bad news is a lot of those fish are in a really small tank now and even the 29 gallon is going to be too small for them. The Sun Catfish will grow to 10 inches to a foot long. Same with the Pleco and the Raphael will get a very fat 8 inches as well. The Green Cories will actually be Emerald Brochis and as adults these are a very big small catfish, much larger than most Cories and bigger than most people expect as well. Adding the Figure 8 puffers sounds like a bad idea as well, they are often problematic when kept with other fish, being nippy and sometimes aggressive though generally its just their natural inquisitiveness that gets them in trouble.
 
If your looking for equipment - I would look at one of the smaller APS filters which are externals but quite affordable I think. Failing that I think the Fluval internals are a good buy as well - as for heaters the Aqua One heaters are quite good and reliable and start around £15 - air pumps depends what your looking for I often find them noisy and you can get just as much surface aggitation from a well angled filter outlet
 
Also with the Figure 8s you are best off keeping them in brackish water as well - when kept in freshwater they can have health problems and it can shorten their life span. If your really set on having your puffers though maybe you could rehome the giant growing fish you have (sun cat, plec and raphael) and look at turing your tank a light brackish tank.
 
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news I am just trying to prevent future problems for you with large fish and incompatible fish.
 
thanks Wills

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Hello, and welcome.
 
Wills is exactly right.
 
 
Just be certain to know that salt and the catfish doesn't mix.  So, a brackish set-up, required for the puffers won't work with the cats, no matter how big the tank is.

 

[Cdb1992]

Thanks for the advice , I know the catfish will get very large over time but I also know they don't grow incredible fast 2 inches per year is what I'm finding out at most and their rather small now just pups, I will be looking into a 100-150 gallon within the next year or so. So that eliminates that little issue.
Do you think I could house the 2 figure 8's in my 10 gallon? If so any particular tank mates? (Gonna give them a crab to pick on every once in a while )
And with the other fish ill be transferring do you think I could throw something mor in the mix? Will be taking about 1 month before adding any fish to plant it first though.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

I think you should take the advice above and start thinking what would be best for your fish, not best for what you get to look at through the glass.
 
Terry.