Restocking My 29 Gallon

[Hunterprey]

I think the Black Skirt Tetras will be fine with the Honey Gourami.I've kept them in my Dwarf Flame Gourami tank. Also kept them with Blue Spot and Gold Spot Gourami tank. Gouramis are slow eaters tho, make sure they get enough food cause the Tetras are fast during feeding time.

Im not sure how nippy can individual Black skirt Tetras are but I also kept them with female Bettas(3ft tank), and
also kept them with a male Betta in a 4ft tank. The size of the tank might be a factor for it to work but it helps if you have spare tanks just in case they dont get along. Not sure if the Betta will get on fine with the Platies tho, heard some Betta keepers with Bettas attacking Platies. I had a Male Betta hated and relentlessly chased my swordtails, and male Bettas that just ignored them.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Mollys and corys are not a good mix. Ultimately cories like soft water, slightly acidic. Mollys require hard water and prefer slightly basic water. I love both, but I had to choose between the two. For me, I chose cories, because my water is soft and pH around 6.8.

 

[Man of fish]

Ok I went to look at some things today. I didn't pick up the live plants yet.
I liked the serpae tetra the bleeding hearts(may get them for my 29 and get another type for my 55) and then the black skirts. I liked the neons but I know they are too small so just don't need to know about them.

 

[Man of fish]

So here's my list:
6 platys
2 molly
2 honey gourami
1 bristlenose pleco
8 serpae, bleeding heart, or blackskirt tetra

Still looking for suggestions on other algae eaters other than the bn.

Oh will those types of tetras school with each other like if I got 5 serpaes and 5 bleeding hearts would they swim around? And what should I feed the gouramis?

 

[Man of fish]

Bump....

 

[Rafael Dilone]

I must agree with everyone else about the pleco situation.They just get too big and have a big bio-load. Betta in a tank that is this heavily stocked will require very high flow rate. While betta's like very low flow rate or will just struggle against the current. I hope that you have a great filter for this stocking level. I myself have a 29 gallon that is overstocked but compensate with a Eheim Professional 3, Uv Sterilizer, and phosphate reactor. Everyone has their way of doing things and i wish you the best of luck.

 

[Man of fish]

I'm not putting the betta in that tank.
Everyone is saying not to get a pleco but noone is suggesting anything. What do you suggest

 

[Rafael Dilone]

If you really want something for algae control get otocinclus catfish. Very very small and does not grow. Low waste load and better algae eater than a pleco. But make sure you have some established algae prior to its addition so it does not starve to death. I know there are sinking wafers or whatnot you can feed it, but in my experience other fish sometimes get to it and leave little to none for them. Another option would be a gold algae eater. Can get relatively large but much slender fish and lower waste load as well. Hope this has helped

 

[Man of fish]

I was thinking of a Siamese algae eater or two would these work?

 

[onidrase]

Chinese, Siamese, and Golden Algae Eaters from what I hear go from sucking algae to turning aggressive and preferring a diet of the slime coating of other fish or become aggressive to tank mates and will cut their diet of algae to eat normal fish flakes, fighting other fish to get to them. I'd personally avoid all of them in order to keep from getting a bad fish, as a lot of them are also miss labeled.

I agree with the oto catfish, good algae eaters that eat all sorts of algae, very active, all you need to do is be patient enough to have a mature tank.

 

[onidrase]

Alternatively, take my route and just don't have any algae eating fish. Cleaning the tank yourself is something you have to do now and then in fish keeping regardless of if you have algae eating fish. Algae eating catfish really are not a mandatory thing to keep in a tank. I find oto's to be too small and possibly appetizing for some of my larger fish, plecostamus release a bioload which is more of a hassle and more harmful to fish than algae is, and larger algae eaters that look similar to oto's can be aggressive. So I really ask myself why bother having one if you should be scrubbing the tank once a month anyway?

 

[Man of fish]

Ok I think I'll do 1 bn for start (I had 2 before the accident and I wasn't overrun by their crap) then I'll get some Otos. How many should I get and what should I feed? Do they also require driftwood?
To the Siamese algae eater. The Siamese do NOT become aggressive like the Chinese do. You need to know how to identify the difference so you don't get the wrong one. Siamese will eat any type of algae(from what I've read) and are generally rather peaceful fish.

 

[Hunterprey]

I think you shud be fine with just 1 algae eater, the BN pleco, my BN pleco does a great job in my 6ft tank by himself.

I think Siamese Algae eater prefers to be in groups and dont stay as small as Oto cats.

 

[onidrase]

Ok I think I'll do 1 bn for start (I had 2 before the accident and I wasn't overrun by their crap) then I'll get some Otos. How many should I get and what should I feed? Do they also require driftwood?
To the Siamese algae eater. The Siamese do NOT become aggressive like the Chinese do. You need to know how to identify the difference so you don't get the wrong one. Siamese will eat any type of algae(from what I've read) and are generally rather peaceful fish.

But they're very strong and speedy fish, which would make them not suitable for slow moving fish like your Black skirt tetras and gouramis, as rambunctious behavior causes less active fish to hide as much as possible.

they also grow to be territorial, especially with others of their species. There is also another sort of SAE out there that looks nearly identical but is even more aggressive and not suitable for aquariums called a false siamese algae eater. Even a generally peaceful fish will grab a part of the tank as its own and defend it with aggressive behavior. And reading the comments about SAE online, a lot of people say they never want another one again. That's enough to steer me clear of them.

Honestly, if you're dying for algae eating species, I'd get oto's. If you're just aiming to have a big fish in the tank, get a BN pleco, but don't be lazy about cleaning your gravel.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'd steer clear of the serpae tetras. Unfortunately, they can be VERY nippy.