29 gallon tank: Striving for that happy community

[Satya]

I have a 29 gallon balanced, planted aquarium with a sponge filter. 7.8 pH, very hard water, 80F 

My current stock is 9 neon tetras, 1 hillstream loach, 3 adult platys, one mystery snail, 2 nerite snails. 

I’m striving for a low maintenance, happy community tank. We recently had to return a beautiful betta who was getting along fine with everyone for 8 days and then all of the sudden the tetras started to nip at the betta’s fins. I tried separating the Betta with a breeding net, doing a water change, and reintroducing him a day later. The tetras almost immediately went for his fins again. They don’t seem to be nipping each other or the platys.  
 

Trying to decide whether to try another centerpiece fish (dwarf gourami, honey gourami, bristlenose pleco) or say goodbye to the bully tetras in hopes of finding a happy community. All my water parameters are normal (0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrite, 10 ppm Nitrate).  I do have high pH (7.8 ) and hard water but it’s consistent. 

[Fish Folk]

Hmm . . . hoping for a happy community tank . . . 

Some folks like female powder blue dwarf gouramis. They're less aggressive than the males, but they present nice blue coloration.

If you use sponge filters, and can close off the lid tightly, you might buy some Blue Gularis Killifish...

[_Eric_]

Tetras of all kinds seem to love nipping at betta fins -neons aren’t the worst nippers and I wouldn’t be too worried about neons with a honey gourami but you could keep an eye on them.  fin nippers will go after their whisker looking fins.  I doubt the neons would but they may be unusually nippy.  
 

I’d try a Bolivian Ram (or a pair) if I had this setup though so you may want to check that one out.    Ph is out of recommended ranges but expect they will be fine.  
 

Also, I would recommend dropping the temp for the hillstream loach to keep him happy. 

[anewbie]

Couple of comments: First dwarf gourami are best avoided. There are a lot of reasons for this but i rather not go into details here. Second hill stream loaches are generally a cool water fishes. While technically they can overlap they will limit what you can keep in the tank (btw beta should be around 79-80 which would not have been temp compatible with neon and hill stream loaches). Third platy like most live bearers tend to do better in hard water while neon tetra and hillstream loach are soft water fishes. Ph isn't that useful for various reasons - the numbers that are more useful are kh,gh,tds (there is some relationship between gh/tds). 

-

I'd avoid bolivian rams since they don't really behave well when not breeding and are a fairly large fish relative to their tank mates. Most gourami are soft water fish. If you were to drop the neon you could consider paradise fish as a centerpiece; though it can be a bit on the aggressive side of things so there is that aspect.

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/17/2022 at 5:31 PM, Satya said:

I have a 29 gallon balanced, planted aquarium with a sponge filter. 7.8 pH, very hard water, 80F 

My current stock is 9 neon tetras, 1 hillstream loach, 3 adult platys, one mystery snail, 2 nerite snails. 

I really don't think the hillstream loaches will do well at this temp.  This is just a note and something where I need to verify it.  I have seen and kept them at 78 degrees, but they seem to do a lot better when it's a cooler tank in the 72-74 range with high oxygenation.  The other fish all should be fine in that tank setup.

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/hillstream-loaches
 

Quote

Most of the initial research into this species says that they are a cool water fish that must be kept in a river manifold tank with fast current and high oxygenation. We have personally kept them in hot water tanks with clown loaches, unheated setups with goldfish, and even heavily planted 20-gallon tanks with gentle sponge filters – and the hillstream loaches happily thrived and bred in each of those different settings.

In our opinion, what they really appreciate is a stable pH (preferably from 7.0-7.8) and good water quality. Any kind of fish tank filter will work, as long as it’s appropriately sized for your aquarium and the other inhabitants can handle the flow. A range of 65-80°F (20-27°C) is acceptable, but at higher temperatures, they may be more susceptible to stress and illnesses. Also, keep a tight lid on the aquarium since they have the ability to climb up glass walls and escape. If your hillstream loach is missing, try looking in your filter because sometimes they like to crawl inside.

I think rams, emperor tetras, having 2-3 schools of tetras is a great way to setup this tank.

[Satya]

Thanks for all the input. I have lowered the temperature to 78 for the hill stream loach but yes, I had seen videos from Cory and Irene at Aquarium Coop suggest that they have experience with them happy with a sponge filter and at warmer temperatures. I will keep an eye on him but he seems happy and active as can be. 
 

The lfs got in German Blue Rams and I was tempted but I was under the impression that they were soft water, acidic pH fish and wouldn’t do well in my tank. 
 

I originally really wanted a honey gourami and they seemed to fit my tank but I’m worried the tetras will bully him. Is there a small, peaceful schooling fish, that does well in high pH and hard water? Or is that just a pipe dream?
 

 

[Cinnebuns]

On 7/17/2022 at 8:36 PM, Fish Folk said:

Some folks like female powder blue dwarf gouramis.

Stop reminding me how much I want one of those!! Lol. After the guppy invasion is done I'm totally getting one. If the guppy invasion ever ends cause I love those little fish. 

On 7/17/2022 at 7:31 PM, Satya said:

I have a 29 gallon balanced, planted aquarium with a sponge filter. 7.8 pH, very hard water, 80F 

My current stock is 9 neon tetras, 1 hillstream loach, 3 adult platys, one mystery snail, 2 nerite snails. 

I’m striving for a low maintenance, happy community tank. We recently had to return a beautiful betta who was getting along fine with everyone for 8 days and then all of the sudden the tetras started to nip at the betta’s fins. I tried separating the Betta with a breeding net, doing a water change, and reintroducing him a day later. The tetras almost immediately went for his fins again. They don’t seem to be nipping each other or the platys.  
 

Trying to decide whether to try another centerpiece fish (dwarf gourami, honey gourami, bristlenose pleco) or say goodbye to the bully tetras in hopes of finding a happy community. All my water parameters are normal (0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrite, 10 ppm Nitrate).  I do have high pH (7.8 ) and hard water but it’s consistent. 

Tbh my vote is honey gourami if you are wanting to go for low stress. Another similar option is thicklipped gourami and are often sold as "red honey gourami"  at one point I had 3 of each in my 29. They are very peaceful and enjoyable fish. I will caution you that the regular yellow honies can very a little shy. 

[Hannah Parker]

You could easily have a pair or trio of honeys in that size tank. They are incredibly peaceful and stay small, with great personalities. On the off chance the neons got nippy with them too, you could try heavily planting the tank, and adding spiderwood and floating logs so the honeys can get away from the tetras. Honeys are much faster than a betta and can get away from the neons easier than he could.

Unfortunately, they are still a little slower than other fish, but short-finned plakat bettas are much faster than their long-finned counterparts, if you really wanted to try a betta again. You could even try a female betta, as they have a slightly better chance of not being aggressive themselves. My last piece of advice for the nippy neons would be to increase their numbers if possible; a larger school will help them feel more secure and be less likely to nip. Good luck and I hope you find something you love! It took me forever to have a perfectly harmonious community tank, but once you do you will love it so much. 

[_Eric_]

On 7/18/2022 at 7:52 AM, Satya said:

Thanks for all the input. I have lowered the temperature to 78 for the hill stream loach but yes, I had seen videos from Cory and Irene at Aquarium Coop suggest that they have experience with them happy with a sponge filter and at warmer temperatures. I will keep an eye on him but he seems happy and active as can be. 
 

The lfs got in German Blue Rams and I was tempted but I was under the impression that they were soft water, acidic pH fish and wouldn’t do well in my tank. 
 

I originally really wanted a honey gourami and they seemed to fit my tank but I’m worried the tetras will bully him. Is there a small, peaceful schooling fish, that does well in high pH and hard water? Or is that just a pipe dream?
 

 

78 should be fine for the hillstream - a degree or two colder would be even better (depending on tank mates).  You are right that conventional wisdom is for much colder but mid to upper 70s can be ok. I was worried about 80 though.  
 

I would not get a German Blue Ram if you keep the hillstream.  They need to be hot to be happy.  Below 82 starts to be too cold and above that would be too hot for the hillstream.  The Bolivian can handle 78 just fine though.  A group of Honeys would look nice in a 29 but I have never kept them.  I just put a pair of cockatoo apistogramma in a 29 but I haven’t had them before.

I agree with Hanna above that adding more neons would make them less likely to nip if you run into problems again.  I think they will be fine without the flowy betta fins to tempt them but they are still tetras so they might get nippy.
 

For what it’s worth though here are some other nice looking shoaling options that are not nippy (may be some other downsides to consider though so do some more research if you look at any of these)

- Harlequin rasboras

- celestial pearl danios

- chili rasboras