Need restocking advice...

[mlee0332]

I have a 29 g that had a major wipe out. 7 of my ten fish died. Now I have 3 white clouds and 3 african dwarf frogs and 1 guppy fry (fry was in a diff tank when the disaster happened)

Now I would like to know...

What else can go in if I buy:
10 neon tetras
2 more wcs
and 6 cherry barbs - these aren't nippy like the tiger barb, so the frogs will e okay with them.

If need be, I can rehome the frogs with ease...

 

[fishwatcher]

I suggest you do a dwarf gourami or maybe a trio of honey gouramis. They are small fish and you really don't have much room left. You really couldn't do another big school of fish, so I'd go with one larger fish, like the dwarf gourami.
BTW, what happened that killed your other fish?

 

[boxman]

I wouldn't recommend neon tetras, they need a pretty stable tank, if you've just had a disaster chances are they aren't going to do well - I just lost 6 myself because of water parameters not being good.

If you're sure the water is fine then may I suggest a small school of cardinal tetras, they're smaller than neons, not as bright but you can get more in your tank.

Saing that, tetras can be nippy so may not be great with frogs.

Dwarf gourami are fine, care, there are some mislabled as dwarf but are honey and vice versa.

As a rough guide your stocking is

3 White Clouds 2" each = 6"
3 African Dwarf Frogs 1.5" each = 4.5"
1x Guppy 1" = 1"

Total of 11.5" of fish (and frogs!) Depending on your filteration and water displacement I would say you've got between 17.5 - 20" of fish you can put in.

BUT - saying that if your frogs are Dwarf clawed frogs thats fine, if they're african clawed frogs then they can grow up to 10" long - in which case you are about fully stocked.

Definately worth checking which sort you have as it could make a very significant difference!

 

[mlee0332]

The tank had a mix of ich AND a harsh case of fin rot. All fish that caught it died w/in hours of any visible signs. Took 2 days to kill them.

I strongly believe the water is fine b/c the guppy isn't dead yet but seriously, has been running for 1 month, no more sickness with the remaining.

Frogs can be removed if need be, filter is prolly too strong for them,

I have a 30/60 filter that has been set to the lowest possible flow, along with a 30/60 aeration system.

Frogs are african dwarfs, I am pretty positive, they do have claws, but they all do, right?

NO MORE GUPPIES They caused the whole epidemic to begin with

Okay I wont get neons, if I decide to leave the frogs there. Could I put the frogs in a tank that has 3 flame tetras, or a tank that has a betta (♂) and 3 white clouds? Both of the above are 10 gallons...

I had them in a five gallon hex with a betta (♀), and I was told that was overloading the bio filter, so I moved them...

 

[fishwatcher]

Frogs are african dwarfs, I am pretty positive, they do have claws, but they all do, right?


If they have CLAWS and not webbed feet, they will eat your fish.

I'd go for the cardinals as well, if you really want them. Otherwise, I'd go for something a little hardier all the way around.

 

[mlee0332]

they have webbed feet, with "toe nails" i guess you'd say...

cardinals over neons then? and get a shoal of 10?

 

[fishwatcher]

That's webbing on front and back right?
Yep, I'd do cardinals, a group of 10 would look amazing!

 

[boxman]

Yep, 10 sounds good. They are less 'neon' than neons (if that makes sense) but they really do brighten up your tank!

I've never had much luck with tetras in my new setup so I hope you have more luck than I did!

Really make sure your fish look healthy, most disease comes from newly added fish that carry the desease already - I was so lucky, I had cardinals with some fungal disease and others with white spot (developed shortly after I bought them) and didn't wipe out my betta or mollies, only themselves

 

[mlee0332]

^No worry, the new additions will be added to the q tank before I put them in the 29 gallon (about 2-3 weeks). I have had lots of luck with tetras before so I really thought they were hardier than they actually are. I really like neons alot more than the cardinals, but the cardinals are close enough in resemblence to them that I don't really mind.

^^Yes both the front and back are webbed. I am really sure they are dwarfs b/c someone pmed a link to a dwarf frog site just a few hrs ago and they are the spitting image of the frogs in the pics on that site.

They are smaller than neons? I thought they were larger tho... I know that neons don't produce much waste, is that the case with cardinals as well? ANd the reason i'm doing cardinals is the frogs, or hardyness? (sp?... Is that even a word? lol) Just curious...

I was told to add all 10 neons at once b/c they wont cause a large ammonia spike. How many cardinals @ once so to ensure low ammonia levels. I have been over feeding badly to help keep ammonia levels high enough to keep the cycle half way alive...

 

[fishwatcher]

Cardinals are slightly larger than neons, I believe.I would go with the cardinals instead of neons because they are a little hardier, but either should be fine with the frogs. As for the bioload, it shouldn't make much difference as they are both small fish. I would add them all at once too... and I'd get 8-10. If you haven't gotten them already though, I'd get them last since they are more sensitive, as that would allow the tank to mature a little. If you do add them last, you could probably go with the neons if you'd prefer since it would be more stable. Either way though they should be ok. Just keep an eye on your water stats.
Hope this helps, and isn't confusing!

 

[mlee0332]

Not confusing at all! I understand everything! I want to get the cherries next, how many of those should I add at a time?

Also, i saw a blue gourami, could I get a trio of those. I really like them. (Unless they're dyed, then I don't want them.)

They grow to 4'' and are almost 2'' in the store now...

 

[fishwatcher]

I'd get all of the cherries together. They are small fish, so it shouldn't shock the bioload too much. As for the blue gourami, I believe that color is a breeding-related color morph, not a dye job. If you can get females then a trio of them in a 29-gal should be ok, I think. I would personally just get one them, or either make the group of neons a little smaller, but just keep a close eye on them. You will be overstocked according to the "inch-per-gallon" guidelines by about 10+ inches, not including the frogs, so if you go with all of these be sure to keep up on your water changes/vac and keep the filter cleaned (in dechlorinated water only). You may have to move the frogs out if it gets to be too large of a load, or seems too crowded. If the fish feel to crowded they can get stressed and sick, even if the water stats are kept at great levels. Like I said, just keep a close eye on them all as you stock, and at the first sign of distress I'd stop adding to the stock and make sure they're ok.
If it were me, I'd try the trio of gouramis, with a foursome of cherries (1m, 3fm), 8 neons, and 5 white clouds. That'd still have you overstocked, but not as bad. And you'd still have a good sized group of each fish. Again, though, that's just me!

 

[mlee0332]

I'll only get one gourami, I didn't think about the stocking... Cherries have to be in a group of 5 or more b/c they shoaling fish, so I may have to remove the frogs... Maybe not with only one gourami, I'll figure it up. I have a filter that's too big for the tank as well, so that will help out alot. its the one that filters 330 gallons per hour, b/c it's for 55 gallon tanks really (or that's the recomended). That'll help out some too. I think with one blue g and 8 neons, I'll be okay. Don't you?

Thanx for your help so far!

 

[fishwatcher]

You should be fine at the original numbers if you do only 1 dwarf gourami. Since they get some size to them, they would really add bioload to the tank. If you're only getting one, I'd get the original 10 neons, 6 cherries, 5 w clouds, either with or without the frogs. The only possible problem I really see with the frogs is just making sure they get food. It can be hard for them since the fish are much faster, and, let's face it, the frogs aren't the smartest things in the world. When I had some in my tank I ended up putting them in a big 2-gal jar by themselves bc they just weren't getting enough food. When I'd drop their food in right beside them even after the others were fed, they still only got it about 1/2 the time. So I took them out. Just an idea in case they don't do well in the main tank.
Good luck! Please post some pix after you have them all stocked!

 

[mlee0332]

I'll try