# What do you think of these 3 stocking options?



## Tropical Trav (Apr 18, 2013)

Please tell me any problems I would have if I chose any of these 3 options for stocking my 29 gallon tank. 

1st

3 Kuhli Loach
5 Glass Catfish
6 Cardinal tetra



2nd

3 Kuhli Loach
1 Veil Angelfish
5 Black Skirt Tetra
3 Platys (probably Mickey Mouse Platys)


3rd

3 Kuhli Loach
5 Tiger Barb
5 Cherry Barb
1 Mickey Mouse Platy


Any adjustments to quantities? Any problems you see getting along?


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

I know you're afraid of overstocking, but you do need to up some of those groups for the fish's sake. Like the loaches. I've kept them in groups of three, and you hardly see the little buggers. I'd certainly go 6+ with them. I have 9 in my 29 right now, and they do not look cramped at all. 

The same goes for the tetra, barbs, and the glass cats. These fish live in groups by the hundreds in the wild and the "six fish" min that is often give is the bare bones of what they need. You really do get better looking fish if you keep them in groups of more than six. 

For example, I'd change that first stocking option to 6 kuhli loaches, 10 cardinal tetra, and 8 glass catfish. With enough plants (and especially floating plants) this will not be anywhere near overstocked.


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## JDM (Dec 9, 2012)

Ditto, up the numbers.

I would probably go with the loaches, glass cats and cherry barbs instead of cardinals. I'm not certain about the angel but with that mix it would work... Just not sure about tank size for the angel. I'm not a fan of the platy so I would never recommend them... personal choice only.

Jeff.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

This thread is related to the older [ http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...sh/need-advice-stalking-new-29-gallon-156465/ ] so I am using some of the data from that thread as background, such as the water parameters which are soft to moderately hard (GH). For this alone, I would forget livebearers (platy) as they need harder water than the other fish mentioned.

And i concur with previous posts that the numbers need to be increased. As I mentioned in the other thread, more is always better for shoaling fish. Aside from increasing the numbers, there are issues with #2 and #3 options.

Angelfish is not suitable in a 29g, unless you have a mated pair for breeding. Rather than repeat the info, please read the profile, for Pterophyllum scalare [click shaded names]. Also, Black Widow Tetra [another common name for Black Skirt] is not a good match with angelfish anyway, as the tetra tend to fin nip and the angelfish is too much of a temptation to such fish. If you do get this tetra, you will have to carefully consider other fish due to this nipping tendancy.

Same holds for the Tiger Barb, even worse. This fish should be on its own in a 29g, with 8-12, and nothing else.


Byron.


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## Tropical Trav (Apr 18, 2013)

My son and my girlfriend really want some Guppies. Can you tell me quantites of fish If I get loaches, glass cats, cardinal tetra and guppies? How many of each??

Also, I planted my tank last night. 2 sword plants, 2 hornwart, 3 java ferns and 4 corkscrew vals. I will be ordering water sprite online also. I cant find it at any stores. I will post a pic pretty soon. Any others I should get? Do I need more since i will be slightly overstocking this aquarium? 

This website has been very helpful to me.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Tropical Trav said:


> My son and my girlfriend really want some Guppies. Can you tell me quantites of fish If I get loaches, glass cats, cardinal tetra and guppies? How many of each??
> 
> Also, I planted my tank last night. 2 sword plants, 2 hornwart, 3 java ferns and 4 corkscrew vals. I will be ordering water sprite online also. I cant find it at any stores. I will post a pic pretty soon. Any others I should get? Do I need more since i will be slightly overstocking this aquarium?
> 
> This website has been very helpful to me.


I would not put guppies in with the glass cats, guppies are much too active. And while guppies are livebearers and thus best with harder water, they are one livebearer that manages in less than ideal water, though I personally do not see this as an excuse for treating them less than best, so I still can't recommend it.

Cardinals are very soft water fish, very soft. You might want to dilute the water to lower the softness if you get cardinals.

Plants are fine; you might want to get a pygmy chain sword or chain sword if you can find either; they are ideal substrate plants as once settled they spread via runners, as it notes in the profiles.

Byron.


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## Tropical Trav (Apr 18, 2013)

Thank you Byron.

What other Tetras would be suitable? I want a fish like the tetra in my tank with some bright glowing color. Neons are cool if they would work. I really want the glass catfish and want to work around them. How about loaches, glass cats, neon tetras (i will go with cherry barbs if tetras will not work and the barbs will) and 2 Dalmation Mollies (the other fish my girlfriend wants lol). Im open to any other suggestions also. I just want at least 4 different kinds of fish if possible. And the glass catfish are mandatory.


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## JDM (Dec 9, 2012)

Tropical Trav said:


> My son and my girlfriend really want some Guppies. Can you tell me quantites of fish If I get loaches, glass cats, cardinal tetra and guppies? How many of each??
> 
> Also, I planted my tank last night. 2 sword plants, 2 hornwart, 3 java ferns and 4 corkscrew vals. I will be ordering water sprite online also. I cant find it at any stores. I will post a pic pretty soon. Any others I should get? Do I need more since i will be slightly overstocking this aquarium?
> 
> This website has been very helpful to me.


Guppies... I'm glad that my daughter (my cohort in tank crime) doesn't like guppies. You need to consider that guppies reproduce like crazy so two things happen... 1) your end up with baby fish that get eaten (the cats will do that nicely) or 2) you end up with too many fish for your tank and have to try to give them away.

I like the idea of stocking more than minimum on fish levels as this accommodates some potential losses without having to "top off" the group and when they start out small the tank has time to rebalance as they grow. Even though it may be slightly overstocked, the tank isn't going to have any growing pains. I don't think I would choose to do that in a non-planted tank though.

I won''t suggest numbers as I think that you have two many species of fish for the tank and guppies prefer harder basic water (over 9dGH and pH above 7) while cardinal tetras prefer soft acidic water (less than 4dGH and pH under 6.0) so your water requirements don't go anywhere near overlapping.

On the plants, very good start... once you get everything in that you have planted and ordered you should be able to stock fish right away. Put one species in at a time, starting with the tetras and higher water fish, leave loaches and cats until later and leave at least two weeks between additions... maybe three.

Jeff.


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## JDM (Dec 9, 2012)

Tropical Trav said:


> Thank you Byron.
> 
> What other Tetras would be suitable? I want a fish like the tetra in my tank with some bright glowing color. Neons are cool if they would work. I really want the glass catfish and want to work around them. How about loaches, glass cats, neon tetras (i will go with cherry barbs if tetras will not work and the barbs will) and 2 Dalmation Mollies (the other fish my girlfriend wants lol). Im open to any other suggestions also. I just want at least 4 different kinds of fish if possible. And the glass catfish are mandatory.


That's what happens when it takes me so long to get to a started post.

Cherry barbs are great and will do well in harder water too. With a good number they show their colours nicely. I have 16 in my 37 gallon tank and the males are very red. They tend to shoal more in more current and just wander around in less current... as a sidenote.

Jeff.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Tropical Trav said:


> Thank you Byron.
> 
> What other Tetras would be suitable? I want a fish like the tetra in my tank with some bright glowing color. Neons are cool if they would work. I really want the glass catfish and want to work around them. How about loaches, glass cats, neon tetras (i will go with cherry barbs if tetras will not work and the barbs will) and 2 Dalmation Mollies (the other fish my girlfriend wants lol). Im open to any other suggestions also. I just want at least 4 different kinds of fish if possible. And the glass catfish are mandatory.


Building around the Glass Catfish, I would look at the medium rasbora, such as Trigonostigma hengeli, Trigonstigma espei, or Trigonstigma heteromorpha. Among the characins (tetra), look into Roberts Tetra, Rosy Tetra, Lemon Tetra, Black Phantom Tetra, Flame Tetra, Neon Tetra. With any of these, a group of 7-8. In a 36g bowfront, I would say 3 such groups (plus the Glass cats, so 4 total) or one more.

For the substrate, perhaps some corys if you have sand or fine gravel (small sized grains that are smooth). A group of 6-9.

Byron.


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## Tropical Trav (Apr 18, 2013)

So maybe 7-8 glass catfish, 8 Neon Tetras, 8 Rasboras and loaches or corys for the bottom. Is this feasable??


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Tropical Trav said:


> So maybe 7-8 glass catfish, 8 Neon Tetras, 8 Rasboras and loaches or corys for the bottom. Is this feasable??


Yes. Which loach though; some (most) are very active.


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## Tropical Trav (Apr 18, 2013)

Kuhli loach i hear would be best for the tank size i have. 

After talking to the family, We will probably go with Kuhli loaches, glass catfish, Lemon Tetras and Harlequin Rasboras. Help with quantities would be great! 

One more thing. What is a good website to order Water Sprite? (or aquarium plants in general)


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Tropical Trav said:


> Kuhli loach i hear would be best for the tank size i have.
> 
> After talking to the family, We will probably go with Kuhli loaches, glass catfish, Lemon Tetras and Harlequin Rasboras. Help with quantities would be great!
> 
> One more thing. What is a good website to order Water Sprite? (or aquarium plants in general)


I will leave the plant website question for those who have done this; I have been fortunate to get my plants locally. Besides, I'm in Canada and imports of plants from the US is not easy [works the other way too].

For numbers, I would say 5-6 kuhlii, minimum 7 Glass cats, 7-8 Lemon and 8-9 Rasbora.

Kuhlii need sand, they have to burrow. Plus lots of chunks of wood with tunnels. You may rarely see them, but once they are settled, and if they have plenty of hiding spots, they should be out more than if they are stressed by not sufficient hideouts.

Byron.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Aquariumplants.com is a good place to order plants online. Every shipment I've received from them has been packaged wonderfully and the plants in great condition. The shipping is a bit expensive, so it might not be worth it for just one plant. You could try putting an ad up in the Classified section. We have some users on the west coast and shipping from there would be cheaper than from Aquariumplants.com.


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## Tropical Trav (Apr 18, 2013)

I did actually buy from aquariumplants.com. It should be here Friday. It was $2.99 for the plant but $22 for shipping. I REALLY wanted that darn plant! LOL. I got the 2nd day delivery or it would've been over $40. Hopefully it gets here in ok condition. 

Thank you everyone! I will be stocking Neons very soon.


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## ZivaD (Jan 26, 2013)

Tropical Trav said:


> I did actually buy from aquariumplants.com. It should be here Friday. It was $2.99 for the plant but $22 for shipping. I REALLY wanted that darn plant! LOL. I got the 2nd day delivery or it would've been over $40. Hopefully it gets here in ok condition.
> 
> Thank you everyone! I will be stocking Neons very soon.


Yikes - for future reference, most LFS's can add specific fish/plants to their regular weekly orders if you ask so you can avoid having to pay such shipping charges. Also, you might want to poke around on Aquabid or post a"want to buy" listing on fish forums when there are plants or fish you are wanting.


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## Tropical Trav (Apr 18, 2013)

I will definitely do that in the future. I do not have a local fish store within 30 miles of me except Petco and Petsmart. Thats the only problem.


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## Tropical Trav (Apr 18, 2013)

OK so I still had the 3 clown loaches and stocked 11 Neon Tetras on Tuesday night. The Loaches FLIPPED THE F*@% OUT!!!!!!! Complete carnage! 3 Neons dead in 24 hours. A few others with nipped fins. The loaches have been returned and I replaced the Neons. I had to pull all of my plants out to catch the Loaches too. Disaster! 

The Tetras are doing fine now. Our final stocking decision is 10 Neons, 8 Glass Catfish, 8 Cherry Barbs and corys for the bottom. Hopefully no more bullying ensues.........


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## Tropical Trav (Apr 18, 2013)

OK so I believe my tank is finally cycled after 5 weeks. Even though my tap water has .50 ppm of ammonia, within 2 days of my water changes the ammonia and nitrite is 0. Nitrate around 10. I believe i am ready to stock more fish. Below is some info about my tank to refresh memories lol.

29 gallon 
7.4 pH
Live Plants (see aquarium log for most recent picture)

I currently have 7 Cherry Barbs. 

I want to add 10 Neon Tetras and 7-8 Glass Catfish (also cory's or loaches if possible but that is down the road a bit)

My question is: Can i stock 10 Neon Tetras at once? Or should i do 5 & 5? Last time i added Neons, they killed each other so im looking for advice on introducing them to the Cherry Barbs. Also, my Barbs are over an inch and the Neons at the store are pretty small. Should i try to find some bigger Neons? 

I was told Glass Catfish should go last and want to confirm that. 

Anything else that you want to add that would helpful i would appreciate


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Tropical Trav said:


> OK so I believe my tank is finally cycled after 5 weeks. Even though my tap water has .50 ppm of ammonia, within 2 days of my water changes the ammonia and nitrite is 0. Nitrate around 10. I believe i am ready to stock more fish. Below is some info about my tank to refresh memories lol.
> 
> 29 gallon
> 7.4 pH
> ...


Add all the tetra at the same time. Whenever a shoaling fish is added, the entire group should be added together.

I wouldn't expect the cherry barb to bother the neons, but fish can vary from the norm.

Glass cats last, only because they are the most sensitive and the more stable the tank the better. And the plants will have grown in a bit, so that helps with such skittish fish.


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## Tropical Trav (Apr 18, 2013)

Ever since you told me to switch from API Leaf Zone to Flourish, my plants have EXPLODED! I have had to trim back my water sprite, corkscrew vals and hornwort already. The picture in my aquarium log was just after the trim last week. Plants are full and should be great protection and make the fish comfortable. Im a bit scared of getting the Tetras after they killed each other last time but it may have been that I still had ammonia in my water due to cycling and they were stressed.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Tropical Trav said:


> Ever since you told me to switch from API Leaf Zone to Flourish, my plants have EXPLODED! I have had to trim back my water sprite, corkscrew vals and hornwort already. The picture in my aquarium log was just after the trim last week. Plants are full and should be great protection and make the fish comfortable. Im a bit scared of getting the Tetras after they killed each other last time but it may have been that I still had ammonia in my water due to cycling and they were stressed.


Probably something to do with it. Should be OK now. Glad the plants are responding...once you know what they need and how to provide it, you're home free.:-D

Byron.


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