Help me stock my 29 gallon

T

ThisMortalQuill

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Apr 21, 2007
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Moved to a new house, and we now have room for fishtanks! The 29 gallon has been in storage for several years, as I'm not too fond of the size. I've considered getting rid of it and getting a larger tank, but I have the perfect spot for it in my new office, so it's going back into action. I'm not a stranger to fish keeping, but I want to try something I haven't kept before.

I need some stocking suggestions. I want an active, colorful tank to watch while I am knitting. I've been thinking along the lines of either a platy species tank, or a harlequin rasbora/cory tank, or even a female betta tank. I don't really want a tetra tank, and most barbs seem too active to keep a decent group in a 29. I need help figuring out stocking levels for these three potential tank setups. Suggestions for other setups are welcome as well.

Thanks for your time!
 
The platy species tank would work out OK. I am partial to wild, class N, endlers. Easy to care for, colorful and very active (see my avatar). I keep them with pygmy cories in a 29. Now I also keep them in a 45 and a 20H because I haven't moved them out fast enough.
 
I'm personally more fond of the livebearers, its an amazing thing when your first fry are born. If I had your tank, I would stock it with gold tetras, even though you said you're not too keen on tetras, in a planted tank, a school of 6 of these are a beautiful addition, plus they get along great with other livebearers, and they're apparently one of the easier tetras to breed. If you're looking for fish with a lot of character and energy take a look at zebra danios. These are another schooling fish, they're generally peaceful, but can become bothersome to other fish due to their high energy levels. Platies are beautiful fish that come in a wide variety of colors. ranging from orange to blue, to green and red, you name it the fish probably comes in that color lol. as for bottom feeders, otto cats make nice additions, they're hard to spot but once you do they're pretty cool, plus they're good for keeping down the algae. One thing that I've been looking for to put into my 25 gallon tank is a crayfish or fresh water lobster... I think they're fascinating, unfortunately for me, I can't find them here in Canada but if you're from the states there are plenty for sale on aquabid and finvillage... The best advice that I can offer you is to have fun with your tank, you have a lot of options. Hope this helped :)
 
Something to consider is how close you will be sitting to the tank. Tiny fish like Endlers and Pygmy Cories could be great if you are up close and personal, like two or three feet away. Further than that I would be inclined to go with something like 10 Harlequins and 6 Cories, maybe a dwarf Gourami as well.
 
aquaparadise10 said:
I know how about a betta.
Click to expand...

I love me some betta. I've kept them for years, and I'm in the process of getting some smaller (1 through 10 gallon tanks) set up around the house. In fact, I had a peach and blue betta that used to rule this 29 gallon. I had some glowlight tetras, some rosy barbs, a few otos, and a hilarious albino red-tailed shark in with him for several years when I was living in England. That was the most peaceful, problem-free tank I've ever owned. I was sad when I had to move back to the US and re-home them all.

I've never kept female bettas before, though I've been enchanted by the challenge of keeping a community of girls. Strangely, there are tons of them in all the LFS here, so it's actually doable. I found a racy, striped female today for the 10 gallon. She'll get a few companions eventually. I might consider starting a larger community in the 29 gallon, except that the filter flow is too high as it currently stands.

About how many platys would I be able to stock, assuming a heavily planted tank and a strong filter (the model escapes me, still in storage)? I'm not too worried about any fry that survive midnight snacking, I've got a good place for them, as fast as they come.

I really enjoy the harlequin rasboras. I've got a selection of corycats in the LFS here, and I like emeralds, bronzes, julii, and the like. I've had good and horrendous experiences with gouramis. I might consider another one, but we'll see.

I'm not really interested in rams. I'm more interested in lots of color and movement. I'll be pretty close, within two or three feet.

And the LFSs stock a very wide range of things, too many to catalog.
 
If you were to do a heavily planted tank with just platies I personally would put about 20 in there. Some people think platies and other livebearers are among some of the dirtier fish, so keep an eye on ammonia levels and such. If you wanted to do a rasboras/platy tank you could probably divide the number equally 10 of each plus your corys or ottos or whatever you chose. Personally, at my LFS' the corys are EXTREMELY expensive, and as these fish are happier in groups, I've tried to stay clear of them for my pockets sake lol.
 
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