Sciurus Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Hello! Relatively new fish keeper here debating on what to put in my planted 29Gal. Currently it has a quickly growing population of blue velvet shrimp, which I know will probably get snacked upon by most other fish, and will be moved to there own tank eventually. I'm thinking of getting 2 clown plecos, but can't make up my mind about any other fish. Are there any oddball/unique type fish to inhabit it? Some type of schooling fish and some type of centerpiece... Any ideas would be appreciated! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Medaka/ Ricefish. I LOVE my Platinums and they don't even care about the shrimp. It's fun watching them share the same plants to breed and feed. In a tank with lots of easy plants, it makes it even better. Just my 2 cents 😊 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 If you allow the shrimp population to explode enough, you could keep the shrimp and add fish both. Yes you will have some shrimp eaten but they will populate fast enough to keep up. I enjoy hillstream loaches as an oddball. Foe schooling fish there's TONS AND TONS of options so I'll answer it with questions instead. This will help narrow down what fish you would be happy with. 1. How much color do you want? 2. What specific colors appeal to you? 3. How much activity do you like in the fish? This is one I realized is very important to me personally and I think many people don't consider. Do you want a highly active fish or a chill one? 4. How important is "personality" for you? These questions can also help narrow down a centerpiece fish but there are fewer options here. I tend to love gourami personally but there are other options like a betta or a ram. A betta would take some more steps to accomplish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sciurus Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 I also love hillstream loaches, and have planned to do stream paludarium with them when I have the time/money! I tend to be a very indecisive person which makes this decision really difficult... I do like color, but I want to stick to something that will look natural. -Maybe chili rasboras or CPDs I honestly don't seem to care too much about activity, but I'd prefer more of a tighter schooling fish compared to a fish like endlers who tend to scatter and do whatever they want. Personality would be a plus, but not a necessity. Which gourami's would you recommend? Would pearl's be too big for this tank? I love the look of Rams, but would like to keep temperatures in more of the 78F range Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmo1922 Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 I love your tank! I think a big school of harlequin rasboras plus 3 honey gourami would be great in there, plus a few hillstream loaches as others have suggested. I doubt the rasboras or loaches would mess with your shrimp much so you could add them pretty quickly. My honeys tend to leave my shrimp alone, at least the adults, but they may prey on the young ones (so you may want to add after a few months so your colony can take off). Clown plecos would also be great! I would probably just keep one in there though. They do make more waste than most fish their size. With those fish you won't need to heat it as much, could keep the tank more room temp around 72-75 F. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 (edited) On 2/25/2024 at 2:34 PM, Sciurus said: I'd prefer more of a tighter schooling fish While some do school tighter than others keep in mind that no fish in the hobby is going to school like you see in videos. They only do that when new to a tank or frightened. A lot of times the videos you see of a massive rummy nose tetra school or something they set those videos up. On 2/25/2024 at 2:34 PM, Sciurus said: Which gourami's would you recommend? Would pearl's be too big for this tank? Pearl are too big yes. I've tried it. My favorite BY FAR is thick-lipped (often called red honey) but you could also do honey, dwarf, sparkling, or any of the smaller ones. Thick-lipped would he the largest one. Edited February 25 by Cinnebuns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sciurus Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 On 2/25/2024 at 1:53 PM, Cinnebuns said: you could also do honey, dwarf, sparkling, or any of the smaller ones. I like sparkling gouramis. How many would fit in the tank without getting territorial/aggressive? On 2/25/2024 at 1:51 PM, cmo1922 said: I love your tank! I think a big school of harlequin rasboras plus 3 honey gourami would be great in there Thank you! Personally, I like the look of chili rasboras better than harlequins, and because they're smaller, theoretically I could get a larger school. I do like honeys though, and their larger size might make them stand out better than the smaller sparklings. As of now, stocking is looking like: 1x Clown Pleco 15x Chili rasboras 3x Sparkling gouramis plus the shrimp and snails currently in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmo1922 Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Cool @Sciurus! I've never had chilis but they look awesome. I think that is a better choice than CPD. I have emerald dwarf rasboras, which are essentially CPD. They do tend to hide a lot in my set up so I don't get to enjoy them as much as I would like. Sounds like a lot of people on this forum also find CPDs to be more skittish than other fish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 On 2/25/2024 at 4:37 PM, Sciurus said: like sparkling gouramis. How many would fit in the tank without getting territorial/aggressive? You could easily fit 2 trios, so 6. They are pretty small and can be a little shy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sciurus Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 On 2/25/2024 at 6:32 PM, Cinnebuns said: You could easily fit 2 trios, so 6. They are pretty small and can be a little shy. I'll try that Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 in a nicely planted tank like that i like ember tetras for a schooling fish. they arent too hard on shrimp as a bonus. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 On 2/25/2024 at 9:01 PM, lefty o said: in a nicely planted tank like that i like ember tetras for a schooling fish. they arent too hard on shrimp as a bonus. I think ember tetras are beautiful but I like to warn people that they don't move around a lot. They kinda hover. That's fine for most people and is a benefit in smaller tanks but I personally enjoy movement in my fish so if the person is the same as me they may not enjoy it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galabar Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 I have guppies, ember tetras, and chili rasboras in various tanks. The guppies are constantly moving, the embers move just a little, and the chili rasboras can hover in the same spot for a long time, not even moving an inch. I'm watching some right now, and they are just not moving at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanB Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 One of my favorite tanks ever was a 12 gallon bookshelf tank (36 inches long) with 6 honey gouramis. They were constantly playing/chasing (but not in a stressful way) and truly didn't need anything else in with them (though I did have some clithon snails and shrimp). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flipper Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 On 2/25/2024 at 3:51 PM, cmo1922 said: I love your tank! I think a big school of harlequin rasboras plus 3 honey gourami would be great in there @Sciurus I love your tank, too. It looks very professional. I love my Harlequin Rasboras and Rummy-Nose Tetras. I keep them in a 20 gallon high with one dwarf Clown Pleco and yellow neocaridina shrimp. I'm going to add a Honey Gourami as a centerpiece. I've had no trouble with the fish going after my shrimp, even the baby shrimp. They both school together and/or wander at their leisure. Feeding time is fun because the fish shoot like rockets, literally, to the top to eat. My two breeds have never been sick in 2 years; quite hardy little guys. On 2/26/2024 at 10:15 AM, Flipper said: @Sciurus I love your tank, too. It looks very professional. I love my Harlequin Rasboras and Rummy-Nose Tetras. I keep them in a 20 gallon high with one dwarf Clown Pleco and yellow neocaridina shrimp. I'm going to add a Honey Gourami as a centerpiece. I've had no trouble with the fish going after my shrimp, even the baby shrimp. They both school together and/or wander at their leisure. Feeding time is fun because the fish shoot like rockets, literally, to the top to eat. My two breeds have never been sick in 2 years; quite hardy little guys. Tank is lightly stocked because I recently lost my Betta that lived there. Big schools would look great in your 29g. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdaddy36 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 On 2/25/2024 at 2:52 PM, Sciurus said: Hello! Relatively new fish keeper here debating on what to put in my planted 29Gal. Currently it has a quickly growing population of blue velvet shrimp, which I know will probably get snacked upon by most other fish, and will be moved to there own tank eventually. I'm thinking of getting 2 clown plecos, but can't make up my mind about any other fish. Are there any oddball/unique type fish to inhabit it? Some type of schooling fish and some type of centerpiece... Any ideas would be appreciated! If you get the Clown Pleco don't ever expect to see it. They will hide all the time. I don't have experience with sparkling gourami, but Honey Gourami with rasbora combo works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sciurus Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 On 2/25/2024 at 8:58 PM, Galabar said: the chili rasboras can hover in the same spot for a long time, not even moving an inch. I'm watching some right now, and they are just not moving at all... I'd probably like more movement than that, so I'll probably steer away from those guys then. On 2/26/2024 at 8:15 AM, Flipper said: I love my Harlequin Rasboras and Rummy-Nose Tetras. Harlequins look like a good option then instead of the chilis On 2/27/2024 at 6:53 AM, macdaddy36 said: If you get the Clown Pleco don't ever expect to see it. They will hide all the time. Good to know, It'll still be fun to spot it every time it appears! Besides pleco's, what other bottom dwellers could I do Thoughts on Pygmy Cories or Kuhli Loaches? Also any thoughts on Cardinal tetras? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 On 2/27/2024 at 12:05 PM, Sciurus said: Besides pleco's, what other bottom dwellers could I do Thoughts on Pygmy Cories or Kuhli Loaches? Pygmy and kuhli you won’t see much. I recommend either Corydoras Melini or Aspidora spilotus These are the clowns of the tank. Constantly swimming midwater. Aspidora spilotus. Melini 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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