Empty 29 gallon tank.... Any suggestions?

[tarheels910]

I have two tanks:
55 Gallon- set up and ready for fish... Already have a 2 1/2 inch female convict and 2 1/2 inch common pleco. I plan to get one or two more pairs of convicts and a firemouth.... Does anybody have any pointers or better suggestions for this tank?

29 Gallon- Empty... Does anybody have suggestions for fish to put in here?

[fishcatch22]

try a small school of congo tetras and a siamese algae eater, perhaps, with a bamboo shirmp or an apple snail for randomity.

[tarheels910]

I think I want to stay with South American cichlids... Right now I have like 30 platies in all different sizes... They breed like crazy, and 1 cory cat. Im trying to get rid of all the fish in this tank right now.

[fishcatch22]

hmmm... a convict?

[Grundy]

A mixture of barbs always looks nice. Or, if you want to stay with cichlids, how about some severums (just 2 or 3)?

[tarheels910]

How much do servems cost? I dont have much money to spend... How about a pair of firemouths?

[exotic_keeper]

a 29 gallon would be a good growout tank for a reddevil cichlid tioll he gets around 8 inches

[Rbishop]

Why does there seem to be an abundance of people keeping and recommending large cichlids for 29 gallon tanks? Grow out tank my rear end. Talk about bad advice. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. If you want to risk it or your ill fated experience has let you get away with it, it is not something to recommend.

[fishcatch22]

like I said before, bud, try a single convict.

[threejjj]

like I said before, bud, try a single convict.
Why would he want another convict? He already has some in his 55 gallon. I would go with a pair of turquoise jewel cichlids they sell them at Petsmart for like 3 bucks. They are a neat looking fish.

[wannabefishguru]

how about a mated pair of german blue rams for your 29?

sorry if the rams don't fit which i have heard they have, not trying to give bad advice but this is what i have heard on AC.

[beatle]

I vote for angels. Depending on your LFS you could start with a few and wait for a pair to separate, then return the rest and add 4-6 cories.

[fishcatch22]

yeah, why not get an angel?

[okief1sh]

I agree with wannabefishguru. I think German Blue Rams would be a great choice (or their kin, the Gold Rams). These are great fish to have because they are easy to care for and are non-aggressive. I have three in my 20 gal community tank along with vatios Tetras and some Brilliant Rasboras and they do great!


They are also S American cichlids so they will fit with your theme.

[beatle]

Though I've heard the opposite about rams (difficult to keep) they'll work with angels. ;)

[rmcder]

I have two tanks:
55 Gallon- set up and ready for fish... Already have a 2 1/2 inch female convict and 2 1/2 inch common pleco. I plan to get one or two more pairs of convicts and a firemouth.... Does anybody have any pointers or better suggestions for this tank?

29 Gallon- Empty... Does anybody have suggestions for fish to put in here?
I think I'd put the pair of convicts in the 29 and open the 55 up for a little larger fish. Eartheaters, firemouth, sajica, female nic (smaller than the males).

Or a pair of sajica in the 29, the single convict in the 55 along with some combination of the others I listed. If you didn't already have the convict, I'd suggest replacing your idea of convicts with honduran red points (like blue convicts only less aggressive).

55g: Pair of convicts, pair of firemouths

[khombre]

Hey tarheels, do you have any future plans for that common pleco you have? I understand that it is small right now but it can outgrow your tank. Good luck :)

[tarheels910]

Some things changed around... Now its like:

55 Gallon: 5 Firemouths, 1 common pleco

29 Gallon: 1 Convict.. I still want to change this.

[blackwolfXKAV]

I vote for angels. Depending on your LFS you could start with a few and wait for a pair to separate, then return the rest and add 4-6 cories.
not to barge but most angels will pick on any smaller fish and corys are in the line of fire, but i think if you added enough caves you could get away with it
PLUS if you used slate you might also have an egglaying surface for your angel pair. Good luck though!!

[rmcder]

Some things changed around... Now its like:

55 Gallon: 5 Firemouths, 1 common pleco
I like this idea better. Dithers? If it were my tank, I'd want something yellow or gold.


29 Gallon: 1 Convict.. I still want to change this.
If you go for a pair, that's it for that tank; mating pairs of convicts are going to take over the whole tank, and you're going to end up with a crapload of little convicts that no one wants. If you're not interested in breeding, you could add at least one of the Cryptoheros (sajica, nanoluteus, etc). You could probably get away with a pair of rams, or a multispinosa. I lean toward calm, peaceful cichlids, and I'm not sure how peaceful convicts are. I like the convict-like honduran red points; they get along with everything, don't get too big, and have a nice blue color.

[DeRo316]

You could get another convict and pair them up in the 29, then when they spawn(all the time) you will have free live feeders for your firemouth tank. Thats what I did for a while when I had an oscar/jack.

[tarheels910]

Me and my dad used to own convicts in the 55. We started with about 5 and at one point there was about thirty (2-5 inches). They breed like crazy. I wanted to try something new and got 5 Firemouths for the 55. Now after not buying any convicts for 5 years only one remains... I dont think she has that Much more time left on her. She is so calm... Ive kept her with platies 1/10 her size and shes done nothing. So tried to put one 2 inch male Firemouth in with her yesterday and they swim together and stuff. Could they be breeding? Thanks for everyones help.

[exotic_keeper]

like i said try a reddevil for about half a year.

[hughitt1]

reddevils and severums are way too big. angels can be pretty but from what i've read they definently can be tank bullies, and convicts of course are just as bad if not worse. If you want a community tank with SA cichlids go with some other more peace dwarfs cichlids. Rams would work, but they have a short lifespan (couple years?) and are sensitive to water. Bolivians seem to be a little better at adapting to non-perfect water conditions, and live longer. (they are also slightly larger-- 3 1/2 - 4''). You could probably do one pair of rams, a school of 6 medium-ish tetras, an ancistrus, and maybe even a few panda cories?

5 firemouths would be very bad news for a 55 come time when they decide to spawn, so i would go with 1 mated pair and provide lots of plants and hideaways.