How many fish can my tank hold?

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NewToFish2

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Hi, this is our first experience being fish owners. We have cycled our 29 gallon tank, and our water was double checked at the pet store. We came home with 6 platies. We’d like to get some Cory Cats and either guppies or neon tetras. Do we have room for 2 more species of fish? If so, how many of each? I’m afraid of over crowding the tank. I’d appreciate any advice. Thank you!
 
There is more to stocking a tank than just the number of fish.

First I need to ask if you did a fishless cycle using ammonia? If you just let it run, when the shop checked the water it would have been perfect as there were no fish yet to make it non-perfect. Using a biological additive is not guaranteed to work. It is good practice to measure both ammonia and nitrite daily after getting fish, even if you did cycle using ammonia.


Before we can say yes it is fine to get those fish we need to know the hardness and pH of your water. Of the fish you mention, platies and guppies need hard alkaline water, while cories and neon tetras need soft acidic water.
The simplest way to find out is to look on your water company's website. We need a number, and the unit. They could use any one of half a dozen different units and we may need to convert the number into one of the two used in fish keeping. Ignore any words they use.


In 29 gallons three shoals of smallish fish that suit your hardness would not be a problem. But you need to know your hardness so you know which species to buy.

Can I ask, are the platies all male, all female or a mixture? If you have both, you need twice as many females as males - and the same applies to guppies. Male livebearers have one track minds and can stress females by constant pestering to mate. With more females than males each female gets time out while the males chase another. And even if you have all females, be prepared for fry. Every month. Female livebearers can store sperm so they only need to mate once to have babies for several months.
 

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