# Stocking ideas for a 29g community tank



## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

Any ideas and advice would be greatly appreciated here!

I currently have 7 glow light tetra, and 7 danios (2 x zebra, 5 x leopard) 

I am a complete beginner, and my tank is still fairly new so is not established yet, I am waiting until the tank is fully cycled before adding anymore fish, but I am just planning for then. (p.s. fish are all happy, ammonia is low to non existent, 0 nitrites, and nitrates are fine)

What I was wondering is if anyone had some ideas for some tank mates that would complement the current inhabitants and also add some different interest in the tank.

the tank is a 110l or 29g rectangular tank, it is fairly heavily planted with live plants and has natural gravel and some driftwood + driftwood with java moss.

any combos and variations welcomed!! 

Thanks in advance

Simon. :-D


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Do you have any idea how hard your water is? Numbers would be great, but if you know that it's very hard or very soft, we can go from there, too. 

Your middle and top swimming areas are already pretty heavily stocked. Why not try for some substrate fish? Many of the corydoras species like bronze cory or leopard cory are commonly found in stores and very entertaining. Loaches are another option. The kuhli loach is my favorite, and I plant to have about 10 of these in my 29 gal with cardinal tetra. If you don't want an eely fish there is the banded dwarf loach and dwarf loach (although the later is somewhat sensitive). Oto catfish are another option and will double as a bit of algae control. Bristlenose pleco is another choice. Some of these species have schooling requirements, so make sure you click on the shaded name to check temp, pH, and schooling needs.


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

Hey thanks, I was planning on putting some substrate fish in there. I quite like the look of any of those, I guess it just depends on whats in stock at my LFS. As far as hardness of water is concerned I have no idea, I do know my ph is 8.2 and according to my LFS that is normal round here and their fish are kept in the same water. 

I was hoping to put another school in, maybe some neon tetra maybe? Or something like that, would that be a disaster in such a small tank? 

Would any kind of live bearer be unwise too? My wife wanted a few mollies, or platies maybe? From what I have been reading on other threads I'd be best of avoiding those.

Thanks again
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Generally a higher pH is related to harder water, but this isn't always the case. For a better estimate you can check your local water quality report. Your LFS might be able to give you a better estimate, too. 

The reason I ask this is that most of the fish you're looking at and currently have are soft water fish and will live the longest and be the healthiest in soft water. When your LFS says they survive in their water just fine, they mean on a short-term. Most soft water fish can tolerate hard water for a short time but won't show their best color or live longest in it. If your water is hard, you the livebearers will be a better bet. 

I'm thinking adding another school to the middle section is going to overcrowd the tank a bit. Plus, it gives you another reason to get a another tank.


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

Hey Izzy,
I found this info on my water boards website, apparently that is the water hardness levels for the exact area that I live, do those number mean anything to you? because they mean absolutely nothing to me, thought I would post them just incase they do and you can help advise me in which direction to go with regards to stocking of my tank.

thanks

Simon


Zone
coton

mg/l as Ca 113
mg/l as CaCO3 283
English (Clarke) degrees 20
￼
French degrees 28
German degrees (dH) 16
millimoles /litre (mmol/l) 2.8
￼
grains /gal 20

￼


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

That is fairly hard water. Here is an article that explains the relationship between hardness and pH that might provide some useful background in understanding this:
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-articles/water-hardness-ph-freshwater-aquarium-73276/

I agree with Izzy that many soft water fish will have difficulties in water this hard. Livebearers will be fine, and there are some other species that manage well in such water too. We have fish profiles, second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top, you might like to browse those. Some are under the Cyprinids, some the Athernids, some Catfish, and of course Livebearers. Several will be suitable for a 29g tank too.

It is always easier to match fish to the source water. But, adjusting the water is still another option, and some of that is mentioned in the linked article.

Byron.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Wow that's a lot of numbers, but they all mean the same thing: you've got hard water. It's nothing to fret about, tho. There are plenty of nice hard water fish like livebearers. (Looks like your wife might get her wish after all). 

I'm not that familiar with hard water fish because most of the species I keep are soft water fish. Byron has the right idea to poke around in our fish profiles. A lot of them come with pictures, so you can see what the fish looks like. If you can't find something, try googling it. Many fish have 3-4 common names that are used.


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## Termato (Feb 21, 2012)

rhymon78 said:


> Any ideas and advice would be greatly appreciated here!
> 
> I currently have 7 glow light tetra, and 7 danios (2 x zebra, 5 x leopard)
> 
> ...


Have a look at this page: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-aquarium/nano-fish-96186/

VERY helpful.


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

Wow thanks for the advice people, I appreciate it! 

So at the risk of sounding like I need to be spoon fed....(which I do!) looks like going for a few livebearers could be the direction to go. With my current 7 glow lights, and 7 danios in my 29 gallon, what would be a sensible number of platies to add? it would either be mollys or platies and after reading the profiles it seems platies would probably be easier? 

Also off the top of anyones head do you know of any substrate fish that would do well in this set up, with the hard water I mean. and if so what sort of numbers? 

I hope these amateur questions aren't making you sigh too much, but its just too tempting to not plunder the depths of your fishy guru minds!! 

Many many thanks x


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

rhymon78 said:


> Wow thanks for the advice people, I appreciate it!
> 
> So at the risk of sounding like I need to be spoon fed....(which I do!) looks like going for a few livebearers could be the direction to go. With my current 7 glow lights, and 7 danios in my 29 gallon, what would be a sensible number of platies to add? it would either be mollys or platies and after reading the profiles it seems platies would probably be easier?
> 
> ...


Before you fall back on the old standby livebearers, check out those other categories in the profiles. You might find some real neat fish.


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## Termato (Feb 21, 2012)

Byron said:


> Before you fall back on the old standby livebearers, check out those other categories in the profiles. You might find some real neat fish.


I agree. Once you go livebearers it restricts you completely.

Substrate fish you could look at are as follow:

Bronze Cory Catfish
Panda Cory Catfish
Dwarf Otto (Otocinclus)

Basically any small species of Cory under 3" (some get bigger). Ottos only for heavy planted tanks with enough algae too eat. Corys are a better bet.

If you go to your LFS or PetSmart or one of those stores....you can ask them about their fish. Most stores will keep MOST of their fish some how in the same water. PetSmart here keeps all their fish in fairly hard water and the Blue Rams and Bolivian Rams are bred in fairly hard water. 

You should check this outbecause it will expand the option of fish you can keep in your tank.

Edit: I don't have any male platys (only females....and 20 fry who aren't big enough to sex yet)...but my male mollies are bred fighters. I can only keep one in a tank...I have already separated all my mollies so I only have one molly per tank. Males are vicious little things. I don't know about platys but if you want peaceful fish and not a lot of babies being pumped out every month...by the hundreds...go with only females.


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