New 29 Gallon Tank - Stocking Ideas, Comments and Suggestions

[IrwinMFletcher]

Hello,

I am in the process of setting up a new 29-gallon freshwater tank.  I would love for everyone to comment on the list of fish below, their numbers and anything that I can do to improve the mix before I head to my local fish store. 

I will be cycling the tank using the following:

• Tap water that starts out at 7.4 pH
• Fritz Complete
• FritzZyme 7
• Fritz Fishless Fuel

Here is the equipment I will be working with (unless someone sees an opportunity to improve)

• 29 Gallon Tank ( 30.6"L x 19.0"H x 13.25"W)
• Tidal 35 HOB Power Filter
• CaribSea Eco Complete - Black (mixed with some small natural colored substrate)
• I plan to use Purigen in the filter along with the the foam filter and Matrix Bio-Media (after the tank has cycled)

Here are the fish that I am considering and where I really hope for comments and suggestions.  I would like to see activity at all three levels of my tank (top, mid, bottom), a lot of activity, color, schooling and general interest.

• Silver Hatchet Fish - Top Level - Qty = 6
• Zebra Danio - Top Level - Qty = 10
• Neon Tetra - Middle Level - Qty = 10
• Golden Mystery Snail - All Over - Qty = 3
• Corydoras - Bottom - Qty = 6 (not sure what variety.  suggestions?)

I will also be buying all of my plants from AquariumCoOp.  I will be asking for advice on the number and types of plants in another post.

 

Is this a good mix of fish for a community tank?

Is this generally a good number of each type of fish?  Too many?

 

Thanks you for your comments and suggestions!

Joe

 

 

[Levi_Aquatics]

That stocking list looks pretty good. I would suggest either albino/bronze or panda corydoras as they are easy to find, relatively undemanding, and look super cool. 

[Calico]

The list looks good! I have a very similar setup with similar numbers for stocking. I always found myself wanting a focal point for my tank however. beyond the groups of schooling fish I added one dwarf gourami as a center piece fish.  It has added a lot of personality to my tank IMO. 

[lefty o]

looks like an ok mix. when you are ready for fish, add 1 type, give it a few days or a week, then add another, repeat.  adding a small number of fish at a time lets your tanks bacteria colony adjust to the new bioload without being overwhelmed.

[anewbie]

I would only get one mystery snails; after a few years i'm really sick of them and if you get a female they populate like mad.

[IrwinMFletcher]

Thank you everyone.  I appreciate all of the advice!

 

Joe

[BETTA999]

just watch out if mystery snails puts eggs because you can get an out brake 

[Intuos]

Your stocking level is good for the tank size, with the possibility of adding a centre piece fish like a pair of apistogramma or rams. 

You can never go wrong with Cory's my personal favourites are panda's and sterbai. 

[Prochaska]

I like your setup and have my 29g set up the same way filtration wise it has worked well for my Multi colony of x20-25 with x5 Transcriptus and grow out black Calvus!

The 29g is the smallest size I’ll keep, I’ve always really enjoyed the little community I’ve been able to create with it! I have GBRs such as the one in my profile and apistos, and have had a pea puffer community, a endler livebearer tank and even a shrimp one too. 
 

The small body fish you have in your stocking list will work great, I’d personally replace snails as I’m not a fan and replace them with some Otocinclus if you’re looking for algae eaters!

[Mark C.]

Can I add on a question to this forum? I hope so. I have a 29 Gallon and I want to make sure I don't over load it. Here is my setup:

1 - Angelfish

6 - Harlequin Rasboras

2 - Guppies

1 - Clown Pleco

2 - Mystery Snails

5 - Ghost Shrimp

1 - Cardinal Tetra(the store only had one left so I grabbed him)

The tank has 5 plants: Amazon Sword, Red Flame Sword, Water Sprite, Nubias and something else.

I want to add some more Cardinal Tetras and maybe Guppies. How many more fish would I be able to add? I read about the 1 inch per gallon rule but that's seems difficult to go by. Do you factor in how large they get full grown?

Thanks!

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/5/2022 at 8:46 AM, IrwinMFletcher said:

Tidal 35 HOB Power Filter

Upgrade to the 55. The 35 won't move enough water for a 29G

On 5/26/2022 at 8:15 AM, Mark C. said:

I want to add some more Cardinal Tetras and maybe Guppies. How many more fish would I be able to add? I read about the 1 inch per gallon rule but that's seems difficult to go by. Do you factor in how large they get full grown?

Depending on personality, the angel might go after fish with that body shape. Rasbora / narrow tetras like that, they might end up getting picked on.

 

Aq advisor is a great resource for stocking and to see what you can put in the tank. I wouldn't take it to 100% but maybe 80% based on their tool.

[Mark C.]

On 5/26/2022 at 12:46 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Upgrade to the 55. The 35 won't move enough water for a 29G

Depending on personality, the angel might go after fish with that body shape. Rasbora / narrow tetras like that, they might end up getting picked on.

 

Aq advisor is a great resource for stocking and to see what you can put in the tank. I wouldn't take it to 100% but maybe 80% based on their tool.

I tried to use aqadvisor but I don’t see the Tidal filters on there?

[nabokovfan87]

You can use an aquaclear as an equal measure.

Edited May 26, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[Mark C.]

On 5/26/2022 at 1:09 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

You can use an aquaclear as an equal measure.

And Aquaclear 70 should be around the same as a Tudal 55 shouldn’t it?

[nabokovfan87]

The AC55 --> Tidal 55

All it really does is take the pump GPH into consideration. There's some other stuff but that's the main one.

[Mark C.]

On 5/26/2022 at 1:12 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

The AC55 --> Tidal 55

All it really does is take the pump GPH into consideration. There's some other stuff but that's the main one.

I added the Aquaclear 50 and according to that I can't really add anything else to the tank. If I add 5 more Cardinal Tetras it says I would have to increase my filtration. I think the Tidal 55 puts out more than the AC 50 does. I like that source though, pretty cool. But those figures were also considering all adult fish too.

[nabokovfan87]

Yes exactly. And I wouldn't go over 100% the fish and load definitely increases over time.

The AC is 200 GPH but has more sponge.

The Tidal can handle more sponge but it's 250 GPH