Nath_Kelly

Hey just got a 29G tank (30"X12"x15") from girlfriend for my birthday. It has a 200w Heater, an AquaOne Internal Filter (103F) gravel, rocks, some fake plants, and a fake bit of hollow wood.

I have been letting the tank cycle now for the last week, feeding it daily etc. Now am getting ready to decide on my fish!

I have been thinking of getting some blue gourami's (prob 1m 2f) either some kissing gouramis or dwarfs still can't decide. I really would love some clown loaches but think that it's a bit selfish due to the size of my tank, I still can't convince my girlfriend that I need a 4 foot tank!!
Can clown loaches be ok in a 29G or is a bigger tank needed especially seeing how big the can get?

Now the catch as well is my girlfriend has taken a liking to a Gold Severum at the LFS so maybe a 4 foot tank will be the go ...

Can anyone please give me a yes or no on the loaches and/or a severum in my sized tank? And whether these fish will even be ok together. As I said i'm new and want to do the right thing by my fish ...

Any help would be fantastic!!

Neville

Hey Nath, welcome to fishlore!!!!!!!!!! i'm Neville
congratulations on your new tank!!

Clown loaches grow up to 1' and need a 55 gallon tank, they like to be in a group of 4 or more. blue gouramis grow up to 6"; they can be aggressive to other males of their own species. but dwarf gouramis r cool and peaceful(size:3"); kissing gouramis can also grow up to 12"/1';
hey u can also try schooling fish like barbs and tetras along with some dwarf gouramis; they will look cool in a 29G!
and don't forget to complete the cycle!
GoodLuck

capekate

Hi Nath.. Welcome to fishlore and fish keeping!
Along with the info that Neville gave you, I would say that yes, those fish can get along together. I would not advice buying them unless you are sure that you are going to upgrade to a larger tank when they get too large for your 29. Even as immature fish your idea of three blue gouramis, a severum and clown loaches is way too much fish for the 29. I have two 29g tanks and I can say that even tho its a nice size tank, its still too small for these larger fish that still need room to swim around in without constantly butting heads with other fish. You can get away with the dwarf gourami's til you get a larger tank and then introduce the other fish you are interested in.
Also, dont forget to complete that nitrogen cycle before you introduce fish to the tank. Do you have a testing kit to keep on top of the cycle process?

~ kate

Nath_Kelly

Hey Guys, thanks for the help!!! Yeah I have a a kit to test for ammonia will test again tonight and report back what my results are. Definitely thought I would need a bigger tank . . .

Also have been testing the pH levels at this stage it's at 7.0 so thats ok i hope . . .

Ok so guess gourami's it is and some tetras for now, and the beginning of plans to get a bigger tank!!!

jsalemi

A pH level of 7.0 is dead neutral, which is fine for most of the tropical fish out there.

Peterpiper

Hello & Welcome
It happens to everyone... setting up the first tank.. then it hits ....MTS..More tanks.. must have more tanks lol

COBettaCouple

welcome to fishlore! great present there!

Nath_Kelly

Ok so its been 12 days now. Since I put water in. I have tested the Ammonia again and tested as 0 again. Also my mum had a Blue Gourami that was being a bit aggressive in her tank. So she went and threw it in my empty tank. So it has been living for the last day and seemed very happy. So this afternoon. I went and bought 1m and 1f Dwarf Gourami's and have put them in. Have moved the Blue Gourami back to mum's tank. At first they were a bit slow and hiding lots but now they are out and about swiming with each other at the top of the tank. I also bought some plants today, but forgot to check what sort they are.

So now to begin thinking about what fish to go with my Dwarf's if all goes well with these two!! Probably will get 2 more females and go from there ...

capekate

Hi Nath
since you have all gourami's in the tank, maybe you should think about some bottom feeders to go with them. The cory cats are pretty cool and they get along fine with all fish. But they are sensitive and I would wait til your tank has cycled before adding them. You can try some tetras as well.
Now that the fish are in the tank you will have to do regular water changes til the tank cycles along with daily water tests.
Good luck with the fish.. sounds like a nice tank!

~ kate

Nath_Kelly

Hey Kate thanks for the help, can you please define "regular water changes" whilst my tank is cycling?

Butterfly

Welcome to FishLore! If you are fishless cycling then you can let the ammonia get as high as it can and will cycle faster. but now that there are fish in it you have to test and be careful that the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates don't get too high. So regular water changes of 25% will need to be done to keep the parameters in tolerable ranges for your fish. will take a little longer but can be done.
Good luck!
Carol

Nath_Kelly

Ok 25% sounds good to me, how often should I be completing these water changes while my tank is cycling. Same as once it has cycled or more often till it has?

Also I am using tank water to fill my tank, I have been using API Stress Coat as my water conditioner is this ok?

Kevin

your water changes should be every 2-3 days since you have fish in there now

stress coat works, but Prime is the best conditioner

a school of 7 cherry barbs would look really nice, i wouldn't add any other types of gouramis, it would be best to get another female dwarf, so the male doesn't stress the other one to death
for bottomfeeders, you could get a school of corydoras cats, a pleco that stays under 6", a small school of loaches that stay under 4" (yoyo loach, angelicus loach, etc.)

let us know what you are thinking so we can help!

Nath_Kelly

ok, thanks again everyone. I was originally think bigger things, but I am in the middle of building a house. So will be stuck with my 29G tank for now. I was thinking maybe just getting some more dwarfs, but not sure. I would love if I could have 2 males and say 5-6 females but not sure if that would be too much. Will need some bottom feeders as well. I recently bought my mum 4 albino cory's which are ok. But havent really thought too much as I want to wait for the tank to mature...

Kevin

if you do get another male, you'll have to watch for aggression, but in a 29 gal. that should be fine...most people recommend 2 females for every male, so you could get away with just 4 females

Tazmiche

Re Cherry Barbs, they look pretty dull young in the store but when mature are a great colour, especially the males. Did you say you had Blue gourami? If so the colour contrast would be great!

Good luck with tank and your house!

Nath_Kelly

So finally, I have some pictures of my tank and my two Dwarf's. They have been in the tank for 4 days and seem pretty happy.

The tank is looking very clean now and am happy with the way it looks for now!!

Thanks Tazmiche, i will try find some Cherry Barbs in town and see if I can get some. We don't have the best range of choices, so will see how I go!

Attached Images

	Male-D-Gourami.JPG (56.3 KB, 5 views)
	Female-D-Gourami.JPG (31.2 KB, 5 views)
	DSC01111.JPG (131.8 KB, 11 views)

Kevin

thats a neat looking tank, i see why your fish are happy!

Nath_Kelly

So now my thoughts are with these Cherry Barbs, so 3 dwarf gournais (1m and 2f's) and say 5-6 cherry barbs and some bottom feeders?

How does that sound to everyone?

Any other ideas please let me know! Thanks

Kevin

sounds okay to me, what were you thinking for bottom feeders?

Nath_Kelly

well we have little corycats everywhere here in Ballarat, and not a lot else. I like the peppered cory's so maybe them?? something a bit bigger may be nice. But not sure if

A) I can get them here or
B) If there is anything suitable?

COBettaCouple

cory cats are great little bottom feeders and really a lot of fun to watch when they're playing or working at finding food.

capekate

Hi Nath
great looking tank! Nice and natural looking. Your d. gourami's look great too. I think you have one male and one female there. I agree that the corycats are a very nice addition for bottom feeders.

~ kate

Tazmiche

Sounds good to me, i like peppered cories and panda cories!

Kevin

corys would be fine...or a small pleco to eat the algae
if you get corys, you could also get a group of otocinclus catfish to control the algae