Narcicius

I'm just getting back into aquariums and bought a 29gal. glass tank. I plan to make freshwater tank out of it. I would really like to get one larger fish complemented with a school of fish. I like neons but they seem to require certain conditions that seem a little difficult right now. I'm really attracted to dwarf gouramis but they aren't big enough for my desired "big fish" selection Other than those two species I figure some ottos would help with algae control. I would really appreciate some experienced input on what inhabitants to pick. Anything that is as attractive as a dwarf gourami is cool (guppies if they weren't the rabbits of the aquarium as far as breeding goes). Sorry for the long post.

sirdarksol

Guppies can work. Just get all males (they're the colorful ones anyway).
What about the larger guoramis? You wouldn't be able to go much larger than that in a 29g, as larger fish need room to swim. I particularly like the looks of the
http://www.fishlore.com/profile-pearlgourami.htm
and
http://www.fishlore.com/profile-bluegourami.htm

john&jen

Look at rainbows. I learned last night as young they aren't as vibrant, but as they mature...look at my avitar.

sirdarksol

The one pictured in John&Jen's avatar only grows to 3", but a few of the other members of the Melanotaenia genus grow to be larger, and they seem to be peaceful. Unfortunately, the larger ones require more space, as well. For example, the Australian ones require a 50g tank.

Narcicius

I really like the idea of all male guppies I just didn't know if they get aggressive at all with no "company" in the tank. But I still would like to know if there might be a larger fish I can put in my tank with a small school. Any fish around 4''-6'' just to be a focal point in viewing my tank. Something as attractive as a dwarf gourami just a little bigger. Any ideas?

COBettaCouple

You could look at a trio of Orange Laser Corys perhaps.. or a fancy dwarf pleco. Rainbows, like SDS suggested, would be more colorful though.

MissMTS

Hi. Here are some ideas for you:
Gourami (Check into the pearl ones. They are so pretty. Much more unique looking than the blue or gold.)
With: Harlequin Rasboras and Zebra Danios
Or
2 Angelfish
With 4 Corys and a larger type of tetra (5)- serpae tetra, black phantom, etc.
Or
You could do a tank with a pair of dwarf cichlids to occupy the bottom levels of the tank and a schooling fish for the top levels.

I hope this gave you some ideas. Unfortunatly most of the larger fish are Cichlids and should not be put in community tanks. You would need to dedicate a tank just to them and forget about having schooling fish.

Narcicius

I'll look into the pearls i think they get up to 5'' but thanks for all the help I really had faith in fishlore and thanks to avid aquarists it comes through.

sirdarksol

Male guppies should do fine. The only time that there would be a problem is if there weren't a high enough female to male ratio if there were females in the tank. In this case, the females would be harassed excessively.
Without females, however, the males will just go on with their lives.

Blub