Another "Noob with a tank" question

R

Revmann

Registered Member
Jan 22, 2007
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I am a total fish newb. My father usually had fish when i was growing up, but I was never really interested or paid attention much. I needed a hobby that I could do while going to college that doesn't get me away from home during studytime, so I decided to take the plunge and I bought a 29 or 29gal Bowfront tank, Penguin 200 filter, and a 150 watt heater. I haven't tested the tank for leaks yet. I will this weekend sometime, then go to the lfs around my house and get some freshwater for it and start cycling it. It will have gravel right now and probably no live plants. This is mostly a learning experience for me and I don't want to complicate things by having to worry about plants and fish right now.

The thing that is confusing the hell out of me is that I have been searching around the internet lately. I see the rule about 1" of fish per gallon. Then I see 2" per gallon. Then I see some people saying throw that rule out the window. Realisticaly, if I wanted colorful fish, perhaps some large ones and possibly smaller ones, what would be some examples of fish that would work with this tank? I am trying to go into this logically and I don't want to do fish harm because I was stupid and decided to put a fish the size of a largemouth bass in my tank with other fish he might consider fishy snacks or cause my ammonia and other levels to go wild.

Could anyone give me some insight into this and help me shed my newbieness?
 
k.

1. what are the measurements of the tank? knowing exactly how much it holds will help us help you decide what kind of fish to put in it.
2.you can get water out of your tap, you don't need to get water from the LFS. what you do need to get there are test kits for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, maybe for Ph, and definitely some water dechlorinator if you have water that is treated with chlorine.
3. there are no rules. to decide what kind of fish you can get, you have to take into account: temperature, feeding habits, food, light, adult size, aggression/temperment, schooling habits, swimming habits, breeding habits, waste production, fresh/brackish etc. lots of things other than size are part of the equation.

next time you go to the store (when you're getting your test kits) remember the names of fish you like, and we'll tell you if they're good or not.
 
A Simple Guide to the Freshwater Aquariums (I think I have the title right) is a good book that goes over the basics and will introduce you to a slew of stocking schemes that will work for a 29 or 50 Gallon Tank.

Good Luck!
 
The tank is 24"x19"x13". I bought it at Petsmart. As far as buying water, I was told that it was a good idea hewre because the water is pretty hard.
 
Get yourself the API Master Test Kit you will need it during cycling your tank anyway and test how hard your water is, it should be ok.

For fish once cycled I would get......

6 neon tetra http://images.google.ca/images?svnum=10&hl=en&q=neon+tetra
6 Harlequin Rasbora http://images.google.ca/images?svnum=10&hl=en&q=harlequin+rasbora
a pair of Rams http://cichlid.infocrux.com/Ram-Cichlid.html
4 cory cat fish (same specie) http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en&q=cory catfish&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Maybe a dwarf gourami if your tank doesn't look too overcrowded with the above.. http://images.google.ca/images?svnum=10&hl=en&q=dwarf+gourami
 
Ok scratch the Rams they dont' like hard water, put the gourami in their place :)
 
Revmann said:
The tank is 24"x19"x13". I bought it at Petsmart. As far as buying water, I was told that it was a good idea hewre because the water is pretty hard.
Click to expand...

You could always buy a Gh test kit to confirm what they are saying. I mean if you have to buy water for the aquarium it sounds like a great money making deal for the pet store when you factor in weekly water changes and such. Actually when your there and they tell you that you need to buy such and such because the water around here isn't perfect its probably a good idea to get a second opinion. Having your own test kits on hand to find out what your tap waters Gh, Kh, and ph is can be very handy. If you are buying stuff from petsmart also visit their websight. If you see something you want print up the internet price and they should match it. Also I'd recommend Prime for treating your tap water.

When it comes to your stocking I'd go along the lines of 3 peppered cories, a dwarf gourami, and like 8-12 harlequin raspborra or small tetra species.
 
Hello fellow newbie!

From my research the 1 inch per gallon is more a guideline than a strict rule. From the wonderful guys on this forum I found if you get a good mix of bottom swimmers, middle swimmers, and top level swimmers you can skim by that rule.

But to be honest as a newbie like me, just follow the rule until you feel comfortable.

Also you have to keep in mind how responsible you are with water changes and testing nitrates/ammonia etc... If you are willing to change the water once or twice a week they I can assume you can skim by the rule. But if you are a procrastinator type to just change it say twice a week then 4 months down the line you get lazy and do it less and less then you might as well understock the tank.

I have 2 tanks i understock my 16G with basically just one dwarf gourami 2 cory cats and 2 ottos. I literally stocked my bigger 29G tank using the 1 inch per gallon rule. So far no one has died in either tank, but I am very responsible in water changes, good luck!

*EDIT* I want to add that you want to calculate the ADULT MAXIMUM size of each fish when using the 1 inch per gallon rule because unless you are a Nazi you want your fish to live to be adults.
 
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Instead of following the inch per rule, you will want to use the 1 inch of adult size of fish per gallon. If you have messier fish (like most cichlids, plecos, and most fish that are "thick in the body like you could make a fillet out of them") You would want to double this. Fish that school you will want to have idealy at least six, but a bare minimum of four of the same species. With that tank i would do -

1 Dwarf Gourami
7 Harlequin Rasboras
4 Giant Danios or 3 additional Harlequin Rasboras and 10 Lepord Danios
1 Mystery Snail
 
the one inch per gallon "rule" should never be followed. you need to take into account several things. fish temperament, overall adult size (not just length), among many other things. you wouldn't put a 10" oscar in a 10 gallon tank, nor would you put 2 5" angels in there. take into account the dimensions of your tank as well. i know you gave yours already but i just want to use this as an example. you wouldn't stock a "high" the same as you would stock a "long". the fish have less room for lateral movement in a "high" than in a "long". also, you have high, mid and bottom level fish. there are many things that you need to consider when stocking your tank if you want your fish to live a long happy life. just remember that no one is perfect and i doubt anyone got it right the first time. heck, i have a million questions about stocking, but these are the basics that you should be considering. throw the one inch per gallon "rule" out the window!
 
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