Stocking 29gal. aquarium

[Beth]

I have had a 29 gal. aquarium set up for a little over a year. It has live plants and I have the following fish in it:

6 danios
3 lemon tetras
3 cory cats
3 otocinclus

I would like to add some larger fish that are fun to watch. I tried angelfish but had bad luck with them.

Any suggestions??

 

[Roland]

There are some usefull fish stocking 'calculators' at practicalfishkeeping.co.uk - just type in your tanks dimentions and it'll work out how many you can safely keep without overcrowding.

Assuming your tank isnt fully stocked already, why not try a pair of Kribs? They are fantastic looking, but just be wary if a pair try to breed, as they wont tolerate other fish in their territory. Most dwarf gouramis are also peacefull and beautifully coloured.

 

[brianfl]

Beth,
Are you looking for fast swimming fish? If so a few Giant Danios might be fun. If you would rather have something a little slower, you could look at some of the gouramis.

 

[Beth]

Thanks, Roland for your reply--and speedy, too.

Pardon my ignorance, but what are "Kribs"?

I also tried to get on the website you recommended and was not able to access it. I'll try again later.

 

[Speck]

Kribs or Kribensis (Pelvicachromis Pulcher) is a west african cichlid that grows 3 to 4" and can be kept in pairs in a community tanks. Or you could try another kind of dwarf cichlid, I have a 29 gallon with a keyhole cichlid, and a Bolivian Ram. There are also Blue Rams. They are all peaceful community tank cichlids that are not aggressive and stay on the small side and are readily available. Kribs are nice though, and will breed in a community setup.

 

[125gJoe]

Practical Fishkeeping website

Roland, thanks for sharing that website. It looks like there's lots of good info there!!

I did see this, "Maintenance
Peter carries out a weekly 5-6 gal. water change consisting of 80% rainwater mixed with 20% tapwater, treated with Stress Coat before use and brought up to the required temperature."
I've never heard of someone saving rainwater for their aquarium. Must be a reliable source there.... I don't think I could use that technique until the Summer storms start, then again, I'm not sure I'd do it.. I think I'll stick with R/O water.

 

[firetank]

I agree go for a nice pair or trio of dwarf cichlids --
how about laetacara species -(commonly seen as flag cichlid)
also agree with Specks' suggestions-
I too have Keyholes and they are a larger fuller fish, yet peaceful....

other sugestions --
Thomasi cichlid(African Butterfly Cich),
Nannacara Anomala(Golden Eye Cichlid),
some Apistogramma....

hth

 

[Beth]

Okay, so I searched 6 different fish stores and finally found some Kribs after reading up on them on the web. The two that I purchased are quite young and I am reasonably sure that I got a male and a female although it was really hard to tell since they are so young. Well, anyway, I got them home and put them in and the male (or, what I hope is the male) is pretty social and seems happy. The female comes out some but seems to prefer hiding in the smallest cave in the tank (an overturned piece of flowerpot that makes a cave that is only about 1 and a half inches high) My question is this(finally!): Will the female eventually get more brave and quit hiding all the time or should I expect her to continue to be a "phantom" fish?

 

[Beth]

Okay, never mind. The female came out and I discovered a fungus growth on her dorsal. She died quickly. The fish shop allowed me to exchange her for another even though they only offer a 24 hr. guarantee on live fish (that seems very strict to me, I mean, Petsmart has a 14 day guarantee!). Anyway, the new chick seems to be doing okay even though she and the other little guy are not exactly chummy with each other yet. He's such a bully!

 

[irishspy]

Originally posted by Beth
Anyway, the new chick seems to be doing okay even though she and the other little guy are not exactly chummy with each other yet. He's such a bully!

It could be he sees her as an invader. Try rearranging some of the decor. That tends to force territorial fish to set new bounds.

--Anthony