Can I have this many fish?

[fishbreeder017]

Yeah I already know the thumb rules and just about all the rules but I need help with what is the MAX number of fish. I will list all the fish I already have and ones I plan to get and tell me if this is okay. I clean my tank every week and wil being adding fish over a period of time so it doesn't mess up my biological filter. Oh yeah and I have a 29 gallon tank. Thanks 4 helping!Here it goes:

I have:
2 lyretail mollies
1 black molly
3 balloon bellied mollies
1 baby balloon bellied molly
4 female guppies
3 red and white spotted platys

I want:
1 female platy
1 female molly
8 guppies

 

[msouth468]

That might be much for a 29g. Not so much in the sense of water quality. But, just that there won't be a lot of room left for the fish to swim around. They will probably get stressed and start picking at each other. I personally wouldn't get the extra fish. Seeing as you have mollies anyway. You will eventually start having babies.

 

[Roan Art]

IMO you are already stocked to the gills, so to speak.

The non-balloon mollies can get to 4" and the platies almost as large. They fish do need room to swim and crowding them can cause aggression.


My 2 cents
Roan

 

[fishbreeder017]

yes but i sell the babies. I plan to sell the mollies and platys when they get big enough to pick on the smaller fish.

 

[Rowangel]

yes but i sell the babies. I plan to sell the mollies and platys when they get big enough to pick on the smaller fish.

You can try to sell them, but those types of fish don't sell for much if they sell at all. When I had livebearers I had to donate all my young to the only fish store that would take them, and we have 5 stores in town. Many of my babies ended up as feeders for other fish because I ran out of room to house them until adulthood. You may also have a hard time selling them because you have many types of mollies that will interbreed and most stores don’t want those. This is one of the reasons I got out of keeping livebearers, I'm too soft and I hated watching the little ones get eaten.

 

[momar]

All your fish are middle to top dwellers. There isn't really room for any more for these levels. If you want something new, get some bottom or lower level fish.

 

[fishcatch22]

All your fish are middle to top dwellers. There isn't really room for any more for these levels. If you want something new, get some bottom or lower level fish.

I agree! a small bottom feeder.

 

[Wishful]

Option 1: realize that maxing out your tank's bioload will be very stressful
on your fish even if you keep the water quality up. This will increase the
chance of aggression and disease and decrease your chances of successful
reproduction. Adapt plans per same.

Option 2: be serious about your breeding and put each species in it's
own tank where you can ensure clean breeding and no crowding.

Option 3: be somewhat serious about having your fish breed at will, and
get a couple satellite tank setups to hold pregnant females and/or fry
as they occur.

Option 4: overcrowd your tank, stress out your fish, produce sub-standard
fry and run the risk of losing the whole tank if you don't manage the
bioload well enough.