Whats A Big Fish For A 29

[ABNM]

Convict Cichlids

 

[n3ont3tra]

I would say a Red Tailed Shark. Maybe it'd be kinda plain though, so you MIGHT be able to fit an RTS and a school of Tiger Barbs. Both are probably aggressive enough not to bother with each other (if that makes sense). IT's an awesome color combination, though, lol.

 

[smmetz]

My fish database is good for stuff like this. Unfortunatly, the search is not saved in the URL, making it hard to just copy and paste a URL. However, if I search for "min tank volume less than 30" then sort the results by average adult size, the top contenders are:


common name, average - max adult size
Banjo Catfish, Guitarrita 5 - 6"
Clown Pleco, Ringlet Pleco 5 - 6"
Spotted raphael catfish, spotted talking catfish 5 - 6"
Bristlenose Catfish, Bushymouth Catfish, Bristlenose pleco 4.5 - 6"
rainbow madagascar 4 - 6"
Amazon Molly 4 - 7"
Pearl Gourami 4 - 5"
Paradise Gourami 4 - 5"
Upside Down Catfish 3.5 - 4"


I also get a hit for chinese algae eater - but I think I need to update that entry, it gets too big for a 29 gallon IMO. I don't think it's really a good fish to have anyway, IMO.

 

[Katchan]

not sure of the exact dimensions of a 29 (there not common downunder)
my thoughts
moonlight/silver gourami - pair or single 7" (give or take)
snakeskin gourami 7" (give or take)
a blue acara (but they really need a 40) 7-8"
single convict, can keep with other fish then 5-6"
Red tail or rainbow shark 5-6"
add a medium pleco

using some or all of the above fish you could make a semi decent medium size community, if you were wanting a single fishmaybe an acara but they dont really make singular display fish, some africans fit into that size range but I think the prefer groups

one other option I just thought

Reef + Lion Fish if marine was a possible

 

[Dorkhedeos]

if its a 29 long, you might be able to get away with a senegal

 

[atmmachine816]

What's a big fish that all living requirements could be met in a 29 gallon and live comfortably for it's whole life. Biggest the best, my uncle was wondering what the biggest fish he could have, thanks

atm

Seriously though, should we be working out what the biggest fish you could put in a small tank was? Wouldn't it be better to say - what will fit in comfortably and happily, rather than what's the biggest I could get in there?
[/quote]

Indeed, I stated that originally as I don't want to tell him a fish that will get too big, basically he'd like a larger fish and not a schooling fish Thanks for pointing that out though

i'd get him to look into some of the medium-sized cichlids; convicts and jack dempseys spring to mind as good choices. 7" is about as large as he can expect to get without getting a sedentary ambush predator.

since he's looking for "the biggest fish he can get in there", then i doubt that he'd be interested in something that spent 90% of its time hidden in sand

Yes convicts I'm going to talk to him about, jack gets too big to be in there permanently. Ya he doesn't want something that will hide almost all the time .

If he wants big fish he'll need a big tank. There's no way a JD could or should be put in a 30g. 55g absolute minimum. He could have a pair of convicts (although pair = multiple virtually unsellable babies) or angels, as long as the tank was 18" deep. Erm...a pair of keyholes or maybe even rainbow cichlids at a push?

My aunt, his wife has angels so no angels, convicts maybe, keyholes I'll look into and if rainbows are going to be a push then I don't want to recommend them.

Convict Cichlids

Yup

I would say a Red Tailed Shark. Maybe it'd be kinda plain though, so you MIGHT be able to fit an RTS and a school of Tiger Barbs. Both are probably aggressive enough not to bother with each other (if that makes sense). IT's an awesome color combination, though, lol.

Maybe though I'm' not sure if he's into those type of fish.

My fish database is good for stuff like this. Unfortunatly, the search is not saved in the URL, making it hard to just copy and paste a URL. However, if I search for "min tank volume less than 30" then sort the results by average adult size, the top contenders are:


common name, average - max adult size
Banjo Catfish, Guitarrita 5 - 6"
Clown Pleco, Ringlet Pleco 5 - 6"
Spotted raphael catfish, spotted talking catfish 5 - 6"
Bristlenose Catfish, Bushymouth Catfish, Bristlenose pleco 4.5 - 6"
rainbow madagascar 4 - 6"
Amazon Molly 4 - 7"
Pearl Gourami 4 - 5"
Paradise Gourami 4 - 5"
Upside Down Catfish 3.5 - 4"


I also get a hit for chinese algae eater - but I think I need to update that entry, it gets too big for a 29 gallon IMO. I don't think it's really a good fish to have anyway, IMO.

Thanks I'll look into those

not sure of the exact dimensions of a 29 (there not common downunder)
my thoughts
moonlight/silver gourami - pair or single 7" (give or take)
snakeskin gourami 7" (give or take)
a blue acara (but they really need a 40) 7-8"
single convict, can keep with other fish then 5-6"
Red tail or rainbow shark 5-6"
add a medium pleco

using some or all of the above fish you could make a semi decent medium size community, if you were wanting a single fishmaybe an acara but they dont really make singular display fish, some africans fit into that size range but I think the prefer groups

one other option I just thought

Reef + Lion Fish if marine was a possible

Ok thanks

if its a 29 long, you might be able to get away with a senegal

Nope not 29 long

Tankk dimensions are 30" long, 18" high, and 13" deep. How would a convict and firemouth cichlide along with a BN pleco be....or a rtbs/rainbow shark wiht something else?

thanks for all the suggestions, appreciated.

 

[smmetz]

Scratch the spotted raphael catfish off the list then, as they hide most of the day.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

ooo... you know what he might LOVE to get? 4-6 South American Puffers. they wouldn't get very big, but they're quite hardy for a puffer and pretty easy to feed (most of them can be weaned onto flake). he'd need a lot of driftwood and preferably a canister filter, but i bet he would really enjoy watching them. keep 'em on a sand substrate or Schultz's ceramic pond soil (you can get the Schultz's from Home Depot) and you really shouldn't ever need to trim their teeth.

 

[jayjay]

you really shouldn't ever need to trim their teeth.

Flake's not the way to go about that.

They would need a diet of a lot of hard foods, cockles, snails, shelled prawns etc. Though most people I talk to still say they have to cut their SAP's teeth.

 

[stackem evs]

I'd do some kind of gourami... pearls would be nice. Kribs are great, but they have LOADS of babies.

How well do a small shoal of mixed gourami go? In a 29Gal tank as he mentions, could you happily have a pearl, a blue, a kissing (the green morph looks nice) and a honey. There is a range, honey about 2", kissing, 6-12" others about 4".

One of each maybe 20" so should be ok. Think would make a nice little group.


Forgot the ggggg in gourami

 

[stackem evs]

get a tad pole...they are awesome and then when they grow up you can feed them to the giant knife fish you put in your 29 gallon tank...=P

I keep suggesting this about all the platty fry's (they just don't stop), my big goldfish would just love them =P

 

[pica_nuttalli]

you really shouldn't ever need to trim their teeth.

Flake's not the way to go about that.

They would need a diet of a lot of hard foods, cockles, snails, shelled prawns etc. Though most people I talk to still say they have to cut their SAP's teeth.

i suppose that i really should have said "processed foods". in my experience and several others, the best way to keep an SAP's teeth ground down is to feed sinking foods (such as algae wafers and shrimp pellets) on a small grain substrate (such as sand or the ceramic soil i previously mentioned). once i swapped my puffer off a gravel substrate to the Schultz's, he went almost a year without needing a trim. had he not died in a freak accident, i suspect that the growth would have been stemmed indefinitely.

--EDIT--
i wouldn't keep any group of gouramis in a 29g, mixed species or otherwise. it just wouldn't be large enough for everyone to find a territory of their liking--gouramis are generally aggressive and will readily fight with other species. but an individual kissing gourami would be a good choice if it was the only fish in the tank; they get pretty sizable but aren't overly active, so a 29g could be a viable option for an individual specimen.

 

[jayjay]

Personally I find my two kissing goruami's use the whole of my 90g and are moving none stop, I wouldn't put them in a 29g. Something like a three spot gourami with 3 hoplo's for the bottom, seems a better option in my opinion.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

well there you go

 

[kelp]

Wow, South American Puffers sound like a great oddball idea. If I had just restarted my tank, I'd definitely get those.