Stocking 29 Gallon Aquarium

mnemonik23

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Was going for a 20 gallon but ended up with 29 :)

After cycling I'm planning gradually add the following fish:

7 Neon Tetra
5 Harlequin Rasbora
3 Corydoras habrosus
2 Otocinclus
1 Red Tail Black Shark

Maybe I should have only 1 Otocinclus and 2 Corydoras and add some other nice or a bit bigger fish?
What do you think guys? Any advise/suggestion on combination/species/numbers will be much appreciated!
 
the cories and ottos both need to be in bigger groups, 6+ of each

the rtbs is waaaay too boisterous for the cories and will bully nad eventually kill them.

i'd just recommend scrapping the rtbs and getting bigger groups of cories and ottos
 
the cories and ottos both need to be in bigger groups, 6+ of each

the rtbs is waaaay too boisterous for the cories and will bully nad eventually kill them.

i'd just recommend scrapping the rtbs and getting bigger groups of cories and ottos

Thank you Miss Wiggle for your advise! Ahh, I wanted rtbs so much :(

Are there any other cats that would co-exists with rtbs or rainbow shark?

Also, do you think neons and rasboras will fulfill the middle and top areas of the tank nicely? I thought they are too small...
Any other combinations/species are very welcome! I bet I don’t even know more than 10% of all the tropical aquarium fish out there!
 
Thank you Miss Wiggle for your advise! Ahh, I wanted rtbs so much :(

Are there any other cats that would co-exists with rtbs or rainbow shark?

Also, do you think neons and rasboras will fulfill the middle and top areas of the tank nicely? I thought they are too small...
Any other combinations/species are very welcome! I bet I don’t even know more than 10% of all the tropical aquarium fish out there!

In the size tank, not too many catfish. A small loach species might be a bit better for them - loaches are a bit tougher than corys, and will stick up for themselves. They've got bone spines under their gill flaps that serve as a pretty good deterrent to bullies (I got my hand sliced open moving a yoyo loach once). Possibly a smaller syno like petricola (might eat the neons or otos, though) or negriventris (probably misspelled - it's one of the species sold as upside down catfish), or a bristlenose plec (4-6 inches. There's quite a few species of them, but usually just listed as bristlenose or Ancistrus spp.). If you get the bristlenose, I'd skip the otos. They can be hard to get started, and also can be skittish. Mine wouldn't eat when the bristlenose was eating.

Neons and rasboras are small, but they shoal in fairly tight groups. Having 12 neons looks a lot like having one much bigger fish.
 
Ok, scrapping shark...

Stocking # 1

7 Neon Tetra (10.5")
5 Harlequin Rasbora (8")
4 Corydoras habrosus (4.8")
4 Otocinclus (6")
---------------------------------
Total: 29.3"

OR

Stocking # 2

7 Neon Tetra (10.5")
5 Harlequin Rasbora (8")
5 Corydoras habrosus (6")
4 Gold Algae Eater (4")
---------------------------------
Total: 28.5"

Basically I have 3 questions, if you do not mind:

1) In case of stocking # 2, do I add 1 Gold Algae Eater or 1 Harlequin Rasbora?
2) I like the size of Corydoras habrosus and the way they stay at the bottom. Are there any other small cats or loaches (1-1.5") that are pretty?
3) Will Gold Algae Eater be fine with any other cats? Btw, do I need a few of them or they might be fine in a pair?


Thank you very much!!
 
Skip the gold algae eaters. They're a variety of Chinese algae eaters, and have a worse personality change at adulthood than the shark. They can get 8-10 inches, to start, and eventually stop eating algae in favor of a protein rich diet, which is likely to include the fins and slime coats of other fish.

Your first stocking is pretty good as a starting point. Since everything is small and light bioload, as the tank matures, you could likely double all those shoals without overstocking.
 
There are four species of pygmy cory, C. habrosus, C. hastatus, C. pygmaeus and Aspidoras pauciridiatus. If you're a beginner I would stay away from Aspidoras, they are touchy or so I've heard. The other pygmy cories all look very similar and grow to a similar size. If you can get one of them it might be best just to stick with a group of those.

In a 29 g if you wanted to you could also have a clown plec or a bristlenose. They both grow to 4 or 5 inches (though I have seen a 6" bristlenose) but are peaceful bottom dwellers. You could only have one in a tank that size. One of those could be added to that tank when mature without overstocking. The absolute recommended max is 2"/gallon in a well filtered, mature system.
 
Many thanks to everybody for pointing me in the right direction!
Fishless cycling starts this weekend!!! I'm excited but also a bit nervous :blush: my first big aquarium and real cycling, you know...
 

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