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Cycled 29gal stocking ideas?

2K views 14 replies 4 participants last post by  JDM 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello all,
I have a 29gal, cycled tank with about 6 female betta and maybe 3-5 amano shrimp. It is heavily planted (plastic plants) with 2 bunches of live java moss. I'm going to be getting rid of all my females and would like to start over in my tank, meaning I want a different species of fish. I have hard water and the pH is about a 7-8 and I've kept the temp at about 80 degrees F (I used to breed my bettas and they prefer the warmer temp for breeding). I've got a sponge filter in my tank. I've not had any experience with any other species besides betta fish. I am looking to stock my tank with colorful tropical community fish but don't know where to start. I do not want guppies because they breed too much. I used to keep a pair in the tank so that they would generate food for the bettas but since their passing, I've lost interest in them. So, I'd like to add some bottom level and mid/top level fish. I am really not interested in aggressive fish anymore. They are too demanding. I do weekly water changes of about 20% and have a gravel bottom. Thanks in advance for the advice.
 
#2 ·
Can you let us know the GH (general hardness) and KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity)? These you can ascertain from the municipal water supply people, who may have a website. The numbers are important as some fish are adaptable somewhat and others are not, and "hard" can mean different things to different people. And narrowing down the pH a bit would help too; from 7 to 8 is a ten-fold increase in alkalinity.

Byron.
 
#5 ·
They might, but getting this from the water supply people is much safer as it is likely to be accurate. This is public information, so they have to be able to tell you. Just make sure you get the numbers, not some vague "moderate hard" or something.
 
#6 ·
Ok according to my city's website, the total alkalinity is 184 for ground water. As far as the hardness goes, its at 19 for ground water. I don't know what the numbers mean at all but hopefully they will help you guys suggest fish acceptable for my tank.
 
#7 ·
Can you indicate the units of measurement they are using? With numbers so far apart, I'm not sure if we can assume ppm [= mg/liter] which the KH at 184 would almost certainly have to be, but the GH at 19ppm is very soft. If you want to post the link to the site, I'll take a look.
 
#10 ·
OK, that is fairly hard water, somewhere in the range of 15 to 18 dGH.

So, to the fish that will suit this. Livebearers obviously. Some of the Rainbowfish (Atherinids). Central American cichlids [not all our aggressive, as you mentioned not wanting aggressive fish]. A few of the Cyprinids and Characins.

Have a browse of our profiles under these categories, narrowing them down by the water parameters and then see what you think might work. Other members may suggest their favourites; I don't really have any, as all my fish are very soft water which is what comes out of my tap so those are my fish.:)

Byron.
 
#14 ·
Yes, there are a couple species. Tank size limits some, and most of the really small gourami are soft water. But two that will fit are the Honey Gourami and the Dwarf Gourami. The latter can be a real health risk as it explains in the profile, so I would go with the Honey. A small group, say 1 male and 2-3 females.

However, with sedate fish you are limiting tankmates to similarly quiet fish.

Byron.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Here is my short list for hard water fish... I already had them linked but I don't know if they transferred.(yep the links transferred fine)

I have water sitting at pH 7.8, 23dGh to start but it drops off to 17 after a week in the planted tank.

Emerald catfish
Bloodfin Tetra
Black Widow Tetra
Flame Tetra
Pristella Tetra
Cherry Barb

These are all community fish suitable for hard water and also aimed at around 2" fully grown sizing due to the numbers I wanted in a 37 gallon tank. The catfish are some of the few bottom feeders that are good at higher temperatures and hard water, they do get to 3.5". I was trying to match up with a male betta that I already had in the tank so these are about as non-aggressive as you can get.

I left out "show fish" or larger fish that are OK in smaller groups due to the betta, There area few gourami that can work I think.

If you just plow through the profiles here and skip right to the bottom first, that gives you the recommended tank minimum sizing, water hardness and pH and temperature ranges. The top gives you the temperament so it only takes about 10 seconds per fish, or less if they don't match one of the water parameters, to come up with your own short list.

I've been through the profiles often enough now I have gotten to know more about fish than I thought I would.

Jeff.
 
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