Looking to Add Fish to 29g, need advise.

[BrooklynAngel]

Well, I got a lot of help on my tetra drama, so.....I thought I would pick ya'll brains for adding new emembers to my fishy community :)

Currently in my 29g tank I have:
2 large (older) red-eyed tetras
2 medium Angels
2 female bettas (attitude problems, but not aggressive to others)
1 algae eater (large)
1 High Fin Tetra (grumpy and in isolation tank at the present)


My husband wants to add 1 or 2 rainbow sharks. I want to add a couple of pictus cats. I also like Danios, but I was hoping to add some of the African Chilids (yellow, to compliment my angels). I also have an interest in Ghost fish.

Of the fish I have suggested, which ones will co-habitate with what I have now and what other colorful and (potentially)larger sized fish could you guys reccomend.

I am not completely new to the hobby, but I have only had experiecne with Tetras and am looking for a change. If you haven't read my other thread, the tetras I have left are older and are cranky, especially the HF, thus his isolation.

-BrooklynAngel :)

[BrooklynAngel]

BTW, I won't be able to check back with this until Monday....so if you reply to me, Thanks in Advance!!!

:) :) :) ;)

[Mr. Gardener]

On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 19:16:53 +0000, BrooklynAngel
> wrote:

>
>Well, I got a lot of help on my tetra drama, so.....I thought I would
>pick ya'll brains for adding new emembers to my fishy community :)
>
>Currently in my 29g tank I have:
>2 large (older) red-eyed tetras
>2 medium Angels
>2 female bettas (attitude problems, but not aggressive to others)
>1 algae eater (large)
>1 High Fin Tetra (grumpy and in isolation tank at the present)
>
>
>My husband wants to add 1 or 2 rainbow sharks. I want to add a couple
>of pictus cats. I also like Danios, but I was hoping to add some of
>the African Chilids (yellow, to compliment my angels). I also have an
>interest in Ghost fish.
>
>Of the fish I have suggested, which ones will co-habitate with what I
>have now and what other colorful and (potentially)larger sized fish
>could you guys reccomend.
>
>I am not completely new to the hobby, but I have only had experiecne
>with Tetras and am looking for a change. If you haven't read my other
>thread, the tetras I have left are older and are cranky, especially the
>HF, thus his isolation.
>
>-BrooklynAngel :)

I've got a hunch you're going to see a whole bunch of suggestions to
think about adding a bigger tanks.

-- Mr Gardener

[Altum]

BrooklynAngel wrote:
> Well, I got a lot of help on my tetra drama, so.....I thought I would
> pick ya'll brains for adding new emembers to my fishy community :)
>
> Currently in my 29g tank I have:
> 2 large (older) red-eyed tetras
> 2 medium Angels
> 2 female bettas (attitude problems, but not aggressive to others)
> 1 algae eater (large)
> 1 High Fin Tetra (grumpy and in isolation tank at the present)
>
>
> My husband wants to add 1 or 2 rainbow sharks. I want to add a couple
> of pictus cats. I also like Danios, but I was hoping to add some of
> the African Chilids (yellow, to compliment my angels). I also have an
> interest in Ghost fish.

I'm assuming you are certain you have adequate filtration and are doing
a lot of water changes as your tank is pretty full.

Small danios - zebra, leopard, or pearl - would be a very good choice
for your tank.

Adult rainbow sharks could make your high fin tetra look downright
friendly. They're not QUITE as bad as red-tailed sharks, but close.

Pictus cats might work, but they are quite active and can eventually
reach 6". I think they'd end up short on swimming room and overcrowd
your tank. They also eat anyting that fits into their LARGE mouths.

The only yellow African cichlid that wouldn't beat the snot outta your
other fish is a yellow lab, Labidochromis caeruleus. I don't generally
mix African and South American cichlids in my tanks because they posture
differently and cannot resolve disputes.

A ghost knife (Apteronotus albifrons) will outgrow your tank and
wouldn't appreciate attention from the angels.

> Of the fish I have suggested, which ones will co-habitate with what I
> have now and what other colorful and (potentially)larger sized fish
> could you guys reccomend.

IMO, A 29 gallon tank is not appropriate for anything larger than an
angel. In particular, large, active fish will be pretty short on
swimming room.

> I am not completely new to the hobby, but I have only had experiecne
> with Tetras and am looking for a change. If you haven't read my other
> thread, the tetras I have left are older and are cranky, especially the
> HF, thus his isolation.
>
> -BrooklynAngel :)

If you want something yellow, marigold platies, gold-dust mollies, or
gold barbs come to mind. Cherry barbs are nice to mix with gold barbs.
You might like longfin rosy barbs too - they get about the same size
as your hi-fin tetras and are very attractive, active fish.

I'd choose a few cory cats over pictus cats for a 29 gal. Cories are a
lot of fun when you get a shoal. You could also go with a few of the
cute pygmy chained loaches, Botia sidthimunki.

--
Put the word aquaria in the subject to reply.
Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com

[Richard Sexton]

>The only yellow African cichlid that wouldn't beat the snot outta your
>other fish is a yellow lab, Labidochromis caeruleus. I don't generally
>mix African and South American cichlids in my tanks because they posture
>differently and cannot resolve disputes.

Oy. You aren't even supposed to mix rift cichlids from various lakes,
let alone other cichlids.

You can get away with it, but you're doing just that.

--
Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org
Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home page: http://rs79.vrx.net
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net

[BrooklynAngel]

Yes, I change my filter every 3 weeks and do a 30% water change twice a week. I also test my water daily and in the event I go over 20ppms of nitrate I do a water change right then. I am very concerned about the health and "happiness" of my fish.

I know the tank is nearing capacity, that is why I was asking for advise. The HF tetra might not go back in the tank which would leave me with only 7 fish in the 29g. My goal was to populate to 10.


I appreciate the info on the pictus.....I might go with some cory cats, but I really like the activity of the pictus cats....Are the cory cats as active? I have been eyeing a couple of pictus cats that are only about an inch long at the present. By the time they grow large enough to outgrow my tank I will be upgrading to a larger tank anyway. (I upgrade every Christmas :)

Thanks gain for all the help :)

BrooklynAngel
Put the word aquaria in the subject to reply.
Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com[/QUOTE]

[Mr. Gardener]

On Mon, 27 Feb 2006 15:56:40 +0000, BrooklynAngel
> wrote:

>
>Yes, I change my filter every 3 weeks and do a 30% water change twice a
>week. I also test my water daily and in the event I go over 20ppms of
>nitrate I do a water change right then. I am very concerned about the
>health and "happiness" of my fish.
>
>I know the tank is nearing capacity, that is why I was asking for
>advise. The HF tetra might not go back in the tank which would leave me
>with only 7 fish in the 29g. My goal was to populate to 10.
>
>
>I appreciate the info on the pictus.....I might go with some cory cats,
>but I really like the activity of the pictus cats....Are the cory cats
>as active? I have been eyeing a couple of pictus cats that are only
>about an inch long at the present. By the time they grow large enough
>to outgrow my tank I will be upgrading to a larger tank anyway. (I
>upgrade every Christmas :)
>
>Thanks gain for all the help :)
>
>BrooklynAngel
>Put the word aquaria in the subject to reply.
>Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com

Cory Cats are nonstop machines. They are very busy little guys. The
more you have, the more active they are. They spend most of their time
near the bottom, but they do play in the middle from time to time, and
occasionally shoot for the top, grab a gulp of air, and straight back
down to the bottom. They are shoalers, so a minimum of 4, otherwise
don't bother. Nothing sadder than a couple of bored, loney corydoras.
I haven't been keeping track of your stocking level, but most cories
grow to around 3 inches, give or take a half inch. 8 or 10 in a well
planted, well furnished tank will provide continuous entertainment.



-- Mr Gardener

[Altum]

BrooklynAngel wrote:
<snip>
> I appreciate the info on the pictus.....I might go with some cory cats,
> but I really like the activity of the pictus cats....Are the cory cats
> as active? I have been eyeing a couple of pictus cats that are only
> about an inch long at the present. By the time they grow large enough
> to outgrow my tank I will be upgrading to a larger tank anyway. (I
> upgrade every Christmas :)

Must be nice to upgrade yearly! A 1" pictus sounds reasonable if you
will have a bigger home for it by Christmas.

I agree with Mr. Gardner that cories are fun in groups. They're a
different sort of active. Pictus cats seem to "pace" the tank. Cories
spend more time searching the gravel and sometimes look like they're
playing. Watch a tank full of them at your fish store and you'll
probably see what we're talking about.

--
Put the word aquaria in the subject to reply.
Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com

[BrooklynAngel]

BrooklynAngel wrote:
snip
I appreciate the info on the pictus.....I might go with some cory cats,
but I really like the activity of the pictus cats....Are the cory cats
as active? I have been eyeing a couple of pictus cats that are only
about an inch long at the present. By the time they grow large enough
to outgrow my tank I will be upgrading to a larger tank anyway. (I
upgrade every Christmas :)

Must be nice to upgrade yearly! A 1" pictus sounds reasonable if you
will have a bigger home for it by Christmas.

I agree with Mr. Gardner that cories are fun in groups. They're a
different sort of active. Pictus cats seem to "pace" the tank. Cories
spend more time searching the gravel and sometimes look like they're
playing. Watch a tank full of them at your fish store and you'll
probably see what we're talking about.


Put the word aquaria in the subject to reply.
Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com



---I only am fortunate to get those upgrades because I am insistant on them. Year one it was a 2 gallon, year two a 10 gallon, I skipped a year then got the 29 g this past Christmas.....unfortunately though, the bigger you go, the better it looks!!! AND that makes you want to keep going like the energizer bunny and worse....spend more MONEY!!!!!

I will look into the Cory Cats....they do sound like fun :) I guess I just liked the way the pictus whiskers looked. they are a really cool color and they look so intersting. But, I do want my fishy's to be happy, and outgrowing your space doesn't make for a happy fish :(

Thanks Again for the help :)

-BrooklynAngel

[Mariachi]

Advice on how to get people to support the need to upgrade your tank? I
love it!!


Mr. Gardener wrote:
> If you need some talking points to get into the next bigger tank, you
> can point out that the larger tank is much easier to maintain stable
> water quality, which means fewer dead fish and fewer dead plants and
> fewer medications and additives to treat the unhealthy fish and plants
> and therefore a 55 is cheaper than a 10 or 20 or 29.
>
> With healthier fish, you will not need to rush out to the pet store to
> buy supplements and medications and ask for advice, thereby saving
> mileage on your automobile, which will help to preserve earth's supply
> of oil and decrease air pollution and slow down global warming - in
> short, a bigger tank means you can save the world.
>
> -- Mr Gardener