Stocking idea for a 29 gallon tank

[Bucky Katt]

Since this is going to be my first tank and I am putting it together for my 2 year old son, I need something that will be entertaining. A mix of some golorful fish with good personalities would be ideal.

Thanks

[Bucky Katt]

Oh and can someone advise some good live plants to add. Maybe some that do not require a strong light source

[D-Bak]

I admit i am fairly new to the hobby.... but so far the best fish in my mind for your situation is the swordtail platty or guppy. You can get all of them in many many colors and they are about 2 bucks a piece. Also, the platys and swordtails in particular are very hardy and will tolerate beginner mistakes and less than perfect tank conditions....

[you made me ink]

i would also reccomand guppies or zebra danios would be fun for a 2 year old to watch ... i dont know much about plants but i think amazon sword are pretty easy to keep you can go to the plant forum to find get more and better info on plants

[Bucky Katt]

here is a set-up someone else has given me. What does everyone think?

For a general community tank you could have:

2 schools of fish (6-8 in each school, depending on the sizes)
1 centerpiece (smaller gourami, rams, betta)
6-8 small bottom fish (i like cories)
maybe 3 ottos or 1 small pleco

or if you like livebearers, you could go with

4-5 platies
4-5 guppies
6-8 small bottom fish
maybe a centerpiece gourami
few ottos

[robert333]

i think u should have

7neon tetras
7corys
4giant danois

[LunchBox]

the only pleco you can keep in a 29 that won't outgrow the tank is a bristlenose. be careful to make sure that is the kind you get (if you get one) since those will only get to about 4" long and will devour your algeae and any veggies you put in there for him.

for an entertaining community I would recommend a shoal of maybe 10 lemon tetras, which are colorful (bright yellow) and active (usually) and a pair of powder blue dwarf gouramis (be sure to get a male and female). it would give you a nice color contrast, and the gouramis will "encourage" the tetras to school more which is always cool to watch.

[Bucky Katt]

Could I get away with 2 dwarf gouramis and 2 schools of different tetras?

[Bucky Katt]

or maybe a school of guppies, school of tetras and 2 dwarf Gouramis

[Star_Rider]

actually there are several 'pleco' (actually catfish) you could keep in a 29..there are several species that only grow to 4-6" queen arabesque, clown, bristlenose are just a few.
however , if you want one that consumes algae I'd go for the Bristlenose or a school of oto's.

I like rams but I would recommend Altispinosa (bolivian) as they are a bit hardier than the german blue.

also consider dither fish, danios, neons. hatchets..etc

danios alwasy seem to be moving..and neons do well in school(so do danios).

if you plan on a fishy cycle get the danios..they are tough lil cookies. cycle the tank with them and after the cycle slowly start adding the other fish..I would not recommend cycling with rams.

[LunchBox]

Could I get away with 2 dwarf gouramis and 2 schools of different tetras?
probably as long as you keep the 2 schools at 6 each (they will be happier that way)

[DaisyTattoo]

I have a 2 year old and the fish he seems to pay the most attention to are my bettas and my snails. You can see what I have in my sig.

[Ray Pollett]

here is a set-up someone else has given me. What does everyone think?

For a general community tank you could have:

2 schools of fish (6-8 in each school, depending on the sizes) _ I probably would do a school of Guppies. Colorful males would probably be good for a 2 year old.
1 centerpiece (smaller gourami, rams, betta) I would probably go with a drawf Gourami
6-8 small bottom fish (i like cories) Love cories - great fish 5-6 is good.
maybe 3 ottos or 1 small pleco - A bristlenose or a clown pleco would be my choices.

or if you like livebearers, you could go with

4-5 platies
4-5 guppies
6-8 small bottom fish
maybe a centerpiece gourami
few ottos That works also.

[Ray Pollett]

As too plants - if you are going to use a 65 watt PC plants will do good. You should put them in the tank and let them get a good root system going before adding the fish. I usually put them in 6-8 weeks before the first fish.

Some of the swords, any Crypt almost, Vals, Anacharis, Any Anubias that stays small enough, Java Fern, Java Moss, Wisteria, Rotala, Bacopa, and Water Sprite (great with guppies).

[Bucky Katt]

Here is what I am looking at. I have to please my wife with the selection of fish.

6-7 Neon Tetras
2 Dwarf Gouramis
2 German Blue Rams
4-5 Panda Cories

If my tank can sustain this.

[ROLLIN]

Since this is your first tank, I wouldn't go with any of those except the gouramis (and not with two, they will likely fight). The neons, rams, and panda cories will be a better choice when you get some experience under your belt. I think a 29 gallon beginner community would do well with the following fish.

10 white could mountain minnows
6 cories (I recommend aeneus)
A few ghost shrimp after the tank has matured
An apple snail

The above suggestion might not give much color, but it will give a good variety and lots of activity. Kids seem to like things like shrimp and snails too.

[Web Gazelle]

Dwarf Gouramis are not a good choice for a beginner. You should go with a more hardy Gourami. Gold Gouramis are hardy and would look nice as a center piece. Cory cats are good bottom feeders but should not be added till the tank has been cycled. I recommend going with a school(8 or more) of either Rasboras (any type) or Tetras (Lemon and Black Phantoms are nice). Get a Gold, Opaline or Blue Gourami for your center piece and after your tank has had 6 to 8 weeks to cycle then get 4 or more Cory Cats (pandas are my fave).

[ljse]

I think you could go with the panda cories, in my experience they are just as hard to kill as bronze corys.

[dorkfish]

Just a warning on gold, three spot and blue gouramis(there all the same species), if they don't like there tankmates, they can and will kill them, provided you don't take the one that's being beaten up out.

These are very teritorial fish, so make sure you provide lots of tall plants/decor for them to establish teritory. Also, remember these fish will usually reach 5-6inches.

[Ray Pollett]

Here is what I am looking at. I have to please my wife with the selection of fish.

6-7 Neon Tetras
2 Dwarf Gouramis
2 German Blue Rams
4-5 Panda Cories

If my tank can sustain this.

From your selection of fish I'm guessing you have neutral to slightly acid water. Those fish should do well in that water. The panda cories and neons are good for beginers in my opinion. I would chose between the draft gouramis and the rams. Both can be territorial and there may be problems there. I've never tried to keep both in the same tank, but am guessing from what I've seen and read on them. If you go with dwarf gouramis get 2 of the same color or you may lose one inthe first 3-4 weeks. One of the problems with Dwarf Gouramis is they usually are all males - no females. They do that on purpose so you can not breed them. 2 males may fight as they get older and try to establish a territory. So you may want only one of them.

Rams are not a beginners fish in my opinion. I see a lot of people who have trouble keeping them.

[Web Gazelle]

Yes Panda Corys are very tough and hard to kill unless you put them in a tank with Malawi Cichlids. :eek: If you get a single female of any of the Blue, Opaline or Gold Gouramis then the fish should be fine in a community tank.