# Help with stocking my new 29g planted tank!



## Jbrofish8 (Jul 7, 2011)

So I've set up my very first planted tank. Right now I have quite a few plants in it, some wisteria, anacharis, needle-leaf ludwigia, bacopa, some micro sword, an amazon sword and a java fern.

The tank is a 29g Red sea max Red Sea MAX | The Concept

My water is sitting at about 8.3 gDH and the pH is around 7.2.

Im using dip sticks to measure pH though and I've heard they aren't as accurate.. so I'll get a new kit soon and test.

I have no fish as of yet.. the tank has been up and running a little over a week now with the plants being in there about 5 days.

I need some ideas for fish stocking. So far I know I want some shoaling fish, 1 or 2 groups. I dont like platys, mollies or guppies. Id like to also have some algae eaters of some sort. I know ottos require a stable tank so maybe sometime down the road I'd be able to get these.. any ideas in the meantime though?

As far as my tank goes, since it is still very new, _how many fish should I put in at first_?


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## Barbman (Jun 17, 2011)

If your looking to do a fish in cycle to establish your tank, TigerBarbs are good shoaling fish and hardy so they could handle establishing your tank ... figure around 6.


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## Christople (Sep 7, 2010)

plants remove need to wait while the tank cycles... of course if you have enough... I would get a school of as many neons or harqlein rasbora


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## gingerael (Mar 5, 2011)

I don't agree with either of the above posts; first of all, tiger barbs tend to be quite aggressive once established so, not a good starting fish; secondly, harlequin rasboras are not a very hardy fish and don't make a good starting fish either. However, there are many tetras that ARE good starting fish. You have a large enough tank to handle Red eye tetras, for instance. Neon tetras are also a good starting fish. After you get the first 5 or 6 shoaling fish going you can probably add something more fun like the harlequin rasbora or black skirt tetra.
Once your tank is cycled with those fish you can add some more community aquarium type fish and I would be happy to help you out with that process as would many other people on this site.


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## Jbrofish8 (Jul 7, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestion. I really wanted to lean towards some tetras. How are glowlight tetras? Ive read the fish profile on them and I think my PH might be a little high?

Also If i'm not mistaken... I'm doing the silent cycle where you add in plenty of plants right from the get go that will eat up all my NH3 and allow me to add a few fish from the get go.. am I mistaken here?

So a good start would be maybe 6 tetras of some sort? If At a later date I wanted to up that to maybe 8 or 9 of the same species would they all get along or will they not accept new members to their shoal? Sorry if that is a silly question!


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## sik80 (Mar 16, 2010)

Jbrofish8 said:


> Thanks for the suggestion. I really wanted to lean towards some tetras. How are glowlight tetras? Ive read the fish profile on them and I think my PH might be a little high?
> 
> Also If i'm not mistaken... I'm doing the silent cycle where you add in plenty of plants right from the get go that will eat up all my NH3 and allow me to add a few fish from the get go.. am I mistaken here?
> 
> So a good start would be maybe 6 tetras of some sort? If At a later date I wanted to up that to maybe 8 or 9 of the same species would they all get along or will they not accept new members to their shoal? Sorry if that is a silly question!


I'd say glowlights are a good choice. They were the first fish I ever got in fact! pH shouldn't be a problem as they are relatively adaptable.

6 is a great number to start with. Adding more at a later date won't be a problem and should help to further even out any aggression between them. I find that glowlights and neons can be slightly aggressive towards one another even in shoals of 8+ like I have and that it's normal.

yes, a silent cycle is possible with lots of plants. The tank should be *heavily* planted to start with. I'd give the plants a week or so to settle to be on the safe side and then stock the tank slowly over a long period, perhaps starting with 6 glowlights initially. If you haven't already, I'd read the planted tank stickies at the top of the Aquarium Plants section of the forum to make sure your plants are going to grow well and use up the ammonia from the fish.


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## Christople (Sep 7, 2010)

6 is a great number but i think the more the better it looks, So how was I wrong, and plants do remove the cycling effect. No tprocess. One still needs to grow the prokayatic bacteria I believe it was and that is why we cycle.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

With a GH of 8 I would expect the same or less for KH, so pH will tend to lower as the tank matures. This will suite soft water fish like the tetra, rasbora, and many others. Avoid livebearers, they would not fare well in soft water and you said you didn't want them anyway, so that's good. And I agree to forget Tiger Barb, in a 30g to be "healthy" they should be on their own in a group of 8-12. That's fine if that is what you want, but if you want more fish species, please forget the Tigers. And Serpae Tetra too before you come to them, very similarly aggressive fish.

We have fish profiles, second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top, you can search possible fish there. Characins (tetra, etc) and Cyprinids (rasbora, etc) would be the main categories for a 29g, plus catfish. Info on numbers needed (for shoaling fish), compatibility, water preferences, etc. are in the respective profile.

With a 29g, the options are so numerous. Remember the smaller the mature fish, the more you can have, and several groups of small tetra/cyprinids can be quite interesting and beautiful in a ploanted 30g tank.

Byron.


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## Jbrofish8 (Jul 7, 2011)

Thanks for the help! I've been looking at the profiles and I'm just having such a hard time deciding. I really do like the glowlight tetra though! 

Im not interested in having large fish and would prefer multiple shoals. Would glowlight terra and harlequin rasboras do okay? Also how many of each would be good? 

Also for bottom feeders would I have room for Ottos? 

What about corys?

Ahh this is such a hard decision! I guess I still have time though..
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Jbrofish8 said:


> Thanks for the help! I've been looking at the profiles and I'm just having such a hard time deciding. I really do like the glowlight tetra though!
> 
> Im not interested in having large fish and would prefer multiple shoals. Would glowlight terra and harlequin rasboras do okay? Also how many of each would be good?
> 
> ...


Glowlights and rasbora would be fine. I would suggest a group of 7-8 of each. You have room for another group or even 2 more, depending upon which species. Perhaps something for the upper level? Glowlights tend to remain in the lower third, and rasbora about the middle or upper half.

As for corys, they are also shoaling and a group of 5 of one species works well, or if you want 2 or 3 species (you have room) then 3 of each species would be my suggested minimum.

Otos can be difficult, and I would not acquire them until the tank is established (after a couple of months). If you really like them as fish, fine; but if you are only think algae-eating, I would not. They need algae at first or they often starve. This is explained in our profile.

For an interesting "odd" fish, a Whiptail Catfish is ideal; very peaceful, small, interesting--and if algae occurs it will eat it, same as otos.


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## Jbrofish8 (Jul 7, 2011)

Oh wow that is good news! I was thinking I would barely have room for one group of 8 ..

Thanks for the info about the whiptail I will defiantly check that out. I'm not planning on putting in fish for another week or 2. Would putting 8 tetra right from the start be a bad idea? Or should I start with something like 5 or 6 and then add more later once my aquarium is more established?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Jbrofish8 (Jul 7, 2011)

Also.. can you suggest a good upper level small shoaling fish?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Jbrofish8 said:


> Oh wow that is good news! I was thinking I would barely have room for one group of 8 ..
> 
> Thanks for the info about the whiptail I will defiantly check that out. I'm not planning on putting in fish for another week or 2. Would putting 8 tetra right from the start be a bad idea? Or should I start with something like 5 or 6 and then add more later once my aquarium is more established?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


You have plants, and some of those are fast-growing stem plants (= they use nutrients like ammonia faster), so once you've decided on what you want--and I do recommend getting a fair idea of the total end stocking so you know where you're going--an initial group of 7-8 of say glowlights would be fine. Then wait a few days, then the next group, etc. You can start now. I would.


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## Jbrofish8 (Jul 7, 2011)

Will it hurt my plants to wait? I'm in the process of changing jobs so I was holding out until I get settled. 

Also..I think I slipped my second question too late earlier.. can you recommend an upper level small shoaling fish that would work with the ideas for fish I have thus far?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Jbrofish8 said:


> Will it hurt my plants to wait? I'm in the process of changing jobs so I was holding out until I get settled.
> 
> Also..I think I slipped my second question too late earlier.. can you recommend an upper level small shoaling fish that would work with the ideas for fish I have thus far?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I just wanted you to know that with live plants, you're set to go from the first. No harm in waiting. Unless you are moving the tank though, I would put something in it fish-wise, or snails like Malaysian Livebearing.

Top fish--hatchetfish (esp the species in Carnegiella which are all in our profiles, these are my favourite, a group of 8-9). Some of the dwarf rasbora like Boraras brigittae spend a lot of time near the surface. Floating plants are necessary (good idea anyway). Pencilfish, Nannostomus marginatus are good, Nannostomus eques also. Check the profiles.


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## Jbrofish8 (Jul 7, 2011)

Thanks so much! I have a lot to think about.. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## gingerael (Mar 5, 2011)

I also LOVE the hatchetfish for top of the tank shoalers. They have been some of my faves for years! Good luck in your decisions!


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## Jbrofish8 (Jul 7, 2011)

would another option for an upper half fish be the Eyespot Rasbora ( Brevibora dorsiocellata ) ? Has anyone had any experience with these? and how hard are they to come by?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Jbrofish8 said:


> would another option for an upper half fish be the Eyespot Rasbora ( Brevibora dorsiocellata ) ? Has anyone had any experience with these? and how hard are they to come by?


This fish spends a lot of time close to the surface if you have floating plants (which it needs). I have a group of them. They are forever darting to the surface to grab tiny hopping bugs that jump around on the surface. These critters are common in planted aquaria, and these rasbora love eating them.

Very nice little fish. The brillian blue iris of the eye is very bright when the light strikes it.

I have seen this fish a couple of times in the past 2 years, so depending upon where you live it may be hard to find. You could probably find it online from one of the fish suppliers.


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## Jbrofish8 (Jul 7, 2011)

SO.. I found some blue cochu tetra at petsmart and bought them. ;x There are 7 of them and theyve been in the tank about 4 hours and Im noticing that they are chasing each other all over the tank.

Having done more research after the fact.. im seeing that they can be nippy. Ive had my LFS order me some glowlight tetra for next weekend and now im starting to get worried that they will get bullied. Should I be worrying or might they keep this behavior within their own shoal?


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## ladayen (Jun 21, 2011)

Many fish will be a bit nippy at first as they establish a "pecking order". This usually only lasts a couple hours, maybe 2 days tops. Reading the profiles and the information Byron provided there shouldn't be any long term problems, especially with the Glowlight tetras staying near the bottom and the cochu's staying nearer the top. Having plants also will help calm them. It is possible to get an aggresive individual fish even though the species is generally peaceful. This can occur with any fish though, and in my experience is rather rare.

Somewhat related, I had a school of 12 danios in my tank and I introduced 6 harlequin Rasbora. The danios chased the Rasbora relentlessly to the point of exhaustion for about 4 hours. After that they got along great and I would occasionally see the rasbora merge in with the danio school.


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## Jbrofish8 (Jul 7, 2011)

So far I have 8 Glowlight tetra and 7 Cochu's. My next buy will be a Whiptail catfish.

I was looking at Pygmy Cory to get as possibly my last group of shoalers. I read the fish profile and they seem within the ranges of my tanks parameters.

Does anyone have any hands on experience with these? Also will I have enough room to pick up like 8 or 9 of these with what I already have in?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Jbrofish8 said:


> So far I have 8 Glowlight tetra and 7 Cochu's. My next buy will be a Whiptail catfish.
> 
> I was looking at Pygmy Cory to get as possibly my last group of shoalers. I read the fish profile and they seem within the ranges of my tanks parameters.
> 
> Does anyone have any hands on experience with these? Also will I have enough room to pick up like 8 or 9 of these with what I already have in?


Corydoras pygmaeus would work. I find the dwarf species of corys to be the most difficult. They do better with sand substrate, I found that out--mine have now lasted longer over sand than they did over gravel. My regular corys have no issues with gravel. And a large group like 9-12 is better. You could have another species as well, say 5 of one of the "medium" sized corys.


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## Jbrofish8 (Jul 7, 2011)

Byron said:


> Corydoras pygmaeus would work. I find the dwarf species of corys to be the most difficult. They do better with sand substrate, I found that out--mine have now lasted longer over sand than they did over gravel. My regular corys have no issues with gravel. And a large group like 9-12 is better. You could have another species as well, say 5 of one of the "medium" sized corys.



Ahh.. they might not like my tank then as Im using the flourite-activ flora combo. Maybe I'll just get the medium sized corys for now until I get a little more experience. I'd just feel bad bringing in a fish I know would be happier with a different set up (sand).

Oh! One more quick question, I saw a blue mystery snail at my LFS the other day and i ALMOST bought it. However I convinced myself to stick with the stock I had planned out for the tank. In your experience are 1 or 2 of these snails worth having? are snails in general worth having?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Jbrofish8 said:


> Ahh.. they might not like my tank then as Im using the flourite-activ flora combo. Maybe I'll just get the medium sized corys for now until I get a little more experience. I'd just feel bad bringing in a fish I know would be happier with a different set up (sand).
> 
> Oh! One more quick question, I saw a blue mystery snail at my LFS the other day and i ALMOST bought it. However I convinced myself to stick with the stock I had planned out for the tank. In your experience are 1 or 2 of these snails worth having? are snails in general worth having?


I've never kept the larger snails like the Mystery, but I see no issues; don't know if they cause trouble with plants, someone who has them will likely tell us. Snails are very useful. I have the small species in all my tanks, by the hundreds. Malaysian Livebearing snails are super, they burrow through the substrate doing what nothing else can. And pond snails or acute bladder snails. None of these harm plants but they assist bacteria by breaking down organics in much smaller particles that bacteria can more readily deal with, and snails get into spots we never could to keep the tank healthy.

There are so many cory species...if you want just one, five is a good number; with 2 or 3 species, e of each works well. And you can manage up to 9 in your 20g.


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