Want to add some chichlids to 29 gal.

[Dr_Woo]

Hi everyone, i recently bought a 29 gal. long and am looking to start it up next week. I am thinking of adding some chichlids to it, but i want to keep in mind the 3 Black Skirt Tetras and 3 Rosy Barbs from my old 10 gal. Basically i have narrowed my selections to 4 types...either a pair of Angels, a pair of Bolivian Rams, a pair of firemouths (or just one), or a pair of blue acaras (or just one of these also). The ones that have my attention the most are the firemouths or acaras, but i don't kno if they will be compatible with the other fish. I am also getting a rainbow shark, which is a guarantee because they look so cool :)

Anyway tell me what u think would be a good choice, and if you have any other suggestions, by all means share them. Oh and i already kno about cycling the tank and all that (made that mistake with my first tank).

[SomeGuy88]

If I were you, I would go with the Bolivian Rams. They stay relitively small and they are really freindly. The Angels ( i had a really nasty one, killed all my tetras) and Firemouths get more aggressive and larger while the Blue Acaras just get fairly large. The Rams are the best choice, but if you cant get them, go with the Acara. You might have to watch the Rainbow shark though, I had one and he used to beat up on my Blue Acara pretty badly.

Hope that helps.:D

[Dr_Woo]

Thanks alot for the help, and i have one more question. If i get the acara, should i get one or a pair (hopefully a mating pair). I may want to keep some fry and i am sure they could stay in my 10 gal. for a month or so until i get rid of them somehow (boy that sounded mean). And also if anyone has any other suggestions please do tell.

[SomeGuy88]

deffinatly only one for ur tank if You want a blue Acara. 2 fish at a possible 8" is really pushing it for a 29 gallon. One by himself will be fine. I would still go with the Rams. Once your Blue Acara is fully grown, he might become Territorial and beat up the other fish. Also if you get the Rams, you could have enough room to beef out your school of tetras aswell.

[Dr_Woo]

thanks a lot, hmm i guess i won't get the blue acara then, i'll just get the rams. Ok, last question (i hope), are the rams going to be ok with regular gravel or do they require sand, because i don't really wanna complicate myself by adding sand. And i also like the idea of beefing up my tetra school, i really love those little guys, especially when you see them try to gulp down flies that barely fit in their mouth.

[SomeGuy88]

The Rams will be just fine with regular gravell.

Good luck and have fun with your new tank.:)

[kribman]

It may be too late, and rams are cool anyway, but kribensis arent too aggressive and make good community fish!

[WharfRat]

Rams are super picky about water quality and tend to be on the shy side. Lots of plants are a good idea for a ram tank.

[Dr_Woo]

lol, it's not to late yet because i am trying to still get a stand for the aquarium (looking to do that this weekend, and should have the tank runnin by the end of next week). Anyways I've read that Bolivian Rams are pretty hardy, maybe you're thinking of the Blue Ram. Kribs are always an option for me, but the Rams look a little better to me. Hey do you guys think that a Pink-Tailed Chalceus would fit in my tank, because i'm pretty much sure it will not grow to it's max size in aquariums. It might eat my tetras though. Aghhhh, so many fish so little space. I'm still thinking about the blue acara too.

[Jayhawk]

Bolivian rams are definitely hardier than blue rams, and they are not shy at all...ever. Mine are highly social and very intersted in the food gods walking around the aquarium.

Great fish!

Eric

[Dr_Woo]

still pondering about that Pink-Tailed Chalceus. If anyone thinks i can put one in a 29 gal. please say so...... i just need one confirmation and that baby is going in (lol, they are so freakin cool). I kno most sites say they need bigger aquariums but i think some exaggerate. I've seen sites say that rosy barbs require 20 gal. and mine are doing excellent in a 10 gal.

[Seaman]

most sites im seeing say no less than a 50 gal

check this (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://badmanstropicalfish.com/stats/pink_tailed.jpg&imgrefurl=http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile77.html&h=165&w=285&sz=11&tbnid=nMUrsTQk-SIJ:&tbnh=63&tbnw=108&start=11&prev=/images%3Fq%3DChalceus%26svnum%3D100%26hl%3Den%26lr %3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG)

[Dr_Woo]

*sob* those *******s took away my soon to be pride and joy....oh well time to look into those chichlids again. Hey are firemouths really agressive or would a pair do good in the above mentioned conditions (29. gal, barbs, and tetras, red finned shark)?

[Seaman]

I personally wouldnt put even one in that tank just because they are messy...and agressive and would probbably make life for your other fish miserable, mainly the shark. But if you have ALOT of cover and hiding spots one might be ok.


why not keep it a more friendly tank...and maybe do 3 cory cats...they have great personalities, and love hangin around each other.

[Dr_Woo]

sorry but i never was a fan of any type of catfish really. I enjoy fast-swimming fish like my tetras, and i also really want fish that are able to eat flies, because i will be able to get rid of them from my home, and the fish will have something to eat :) At the time only one of my tetras is able to swallow flies, and my rosy barbs only rip them apart if i put the flies lower in the aquarium not the surface.

[Dr_Woo]

that is the reason i am thinking of adding an african butterfly fish in there, but am afraid he may be nipped at by other fish.

[Seaman]

african butterflies like to hide in plants that reach to the surface....so theoretically if you put some tall plants in there...if you dont allready have any then they will hide the long fins so it would probbably do ok. and i doubt it would eat your tetras....as long as they are big enough.

[Jayhawk]

African butterfly fish are great - I had one in with tetras and a breeding pair of kribs. They are incredible jumpers though. If your lid has ANY hole in it, they will eventually jump out. Mine had two triangle sized holes (very small holes just a tiny bit bigger around than the fish), about 3 inches above the water level that opened sideways (they were on either side of the return waterflow of my powerfilter - I had the top of the water return covered). They do eat flies, spiders, etc.

Basically, unless your top is totally covered (i.e. - with a piece of glass) or you can lower you water level about 4 inches (and still have the tank covered, but not perfectly), you'll come home one day to find a dead butterfly fish, and they're so cool a dead on is really depressing.

Eric

[Dr_Woo]

one more question are african butterfly fish active, cause i have heard ppl. say they are pretty boring. I still think they look sweet though :)

[Jayhawk]

They do spend a lot of time just hanging out in one place up top of you tank, but they are very cool to look out. They learn who you are pretty quickly, and I used to hand feed mine. He bacame active at dusk and in the early morning (at times swimming down to the bottom of the tank), but most of the time he sat up top amidst some floating java fern to wait for food to float by (they are ambush predators).

I really can't emphasize how well your tank must be covered, or the water level lowered still with a good lid.

Eric