Allie's 29 Gallon Build

New fish finally!! Got 4 blackskirts to up my school of Tetra glofish to 9. I was going to just get 3, but it was buy 3 get 1 free, so might as well lol so they are in my qt tank. Don't mind the gunk. I suctioned a bunch of it. It is left over pleco wafer I was feeding my cycle with. (Which btw worked very well for keeping my cycle alive)

Now I also got a new betta, so he is going to be needing a name. He is a half moon double tail, definitely very young. I had to baffle the filter even more, as he is a pretty weak swimmer. I am waiting on the sponge filter to seed, and I may just remove the HOB altogether. Planning on frequent waterchanges and high protein foods for a few days.

I ended up taking the rock out of my 29 gallon. I had an ammonia spike, so I spent two days vacuuming and water changing. Boy was that thing dirty. Not sure I am going to put it back in. Haven't decided yet. I did however get Otto this very cool fake plant. Gonna trim it back some, but he already loves it.




Ohhhh and snails!! I got 6, but so far only seen 4 moving around. Gonna give it until morning and see if the other 2 are alive or not..

 

Tons of water changes lately. Cycling issues. All fishies are doing well though. Comet and the blackskirts look pretty great. What a difference a few days makes.

OnTheFly APierce this is how the black skirts look 90% of the time. What do you think? Looking ok color wise?

Comet is definitely regaining his strength.

 

Oh yeah the black skirts are looking good! There is only one with a slight fading of coloring, but it could just be doing that as a sign of submission. They will go pale for awhile when you go to net them out of the qt, and they are fast little things that don't like to be caught lol.

 

Oh yeah the black skirts are looking good! There is only one with a slight fading of coloring, but it could just be doing that as a sign of submission. They will go pale for awhile when you go to net them out of the qt, and they are fast little things that don't like to be caught lol.

They are soooo quick! I am surprised all the time when they start zooming around. (Usually when I am messing with their tank.) The one with the fading of color, does seem to be the more submissive of the other 3. Seems to get more worked up easily. This was the first time the other 3 didn't flip out when I stood in front of the tank. I think they figured out that I am the one who holds the food lol

 

They are soooo quick! I am surprised all the time when they start zooming around. (Usually when I am messing with their tank.) The one with the fading of color, does seem to be the more submissive of the other 3. Seems to get more worked up easily. This was the first time the other 3 didn't flip out when I stood in front of the tank. I think they figured out that I am the one who holds the food lol

Yes they look very nice. If they get stressed or ill the black fades and they look like white tetras if you've ever seen those. And they sure are fast. I've don't like to net them. I uprooted about four plants in my 60G tryng to catch one last week before I just gave up.

 

Well the blackskirts made it through their quarantine. I added them to the 29 gallon today. Plans to purchase false julii's tomorrow! Yay!

 

I visited 2 additional Fish Stores today and no false julii's there either. They confirmed they haven't been able to order any for the last 2 weeks. There are none available. Apparently they are a hot ticket item. Couldn't find any online or in any stores. Guess it isn't meant to be.

I got peppered cories instead!! Aren't they so cute?! In the QT getting all sorts of cozy. Already eating and using the new cave I bought them. Totally loving them. They are way smaller than I expected. But I guess that means they have room to grow

 

They are really cute! When I got mine it said they were "spotted" cories, nope...they are the same as yours and they are super cool! My smallest one is about an inch long! The biggest one is like an inch and a half long. Are yours going up to the surface here and there? Mine were like begging for food this morning I think lol.

 

They are really cute! When I got mine it said they were "spotted" cories, nope...they are the same as yours and they are super cool! My smallest one is about an inch long! The biggest one is like an inch and a half long. Are yours going up to the surface here and there? Mine were like begging for food this morning I think lol.

They were doing that while they were still in the bag. I had the bag open, drip acclimating them, and every time they saw my hand they swam to the top of the bag. They definitely know that humans = food.

Now To keep my 5 new snails alive. That will be the tough part. Only 1 survived my last batch of 6, and he was in the betta tank. I honestly think it had to do with my cycling issues. The betta tank recovered within 3 days so I think the snail was able to survive. I put all 5 in the 29 gallon. So here is to hoping they do ok. Gonna add some zucchinI tonight when I feed everyone else. See what happens.

 

I think if you have more problems with your snails this time, I'd recommend you add more of the crushed coral! I've never had cories before these ones, they are def. growing on me!

 

Just wanted to let everyone know, in case you were up nights worrying. That all 6 of my snails are still alive! Hahahahaha! But no seriously.. last time I had already lost 2 snails at this point. So things are looking pretty good right now. I ended up putting the snail from the betta tank into the 29 gallon. Having some betta tank issues, but he is doing just fine. Yay for snails!

I know you all were waiting with baited breath haha

Oh and the cories are doing fabulously. Bought some sinking shrimp pellets tonight and they devoured them in just a minute or two. Nice big appetites.

 

Nice! I have a Skirt Tetra + Cory tank, as well. Mine is heavily planted, and also 29g. Cool looking tank you have there.

 

Nice! I have a Skirt Tetra + Cory tank, as well. Mine is heavily planted, and also 29g. Cool looking tank you have there.

I want to try my hand at plants, but I seriously kill every plant I touch. Give me almost any animal on the planet and I am fine, but give me a plant and it is dead in a couple weeks.

Once I get my tank stocked, I am going to try my hand at a small planted tank using my QT. I am having knee surgery in about a month, so I want to wait until I am all rehabbed before I take on something new.

I keep rearranging my tank. Right now I have an open space in the center. I took out that big rock I had at first. Gonna get a piece of driftwood I think. I live 30 minutes from the ocean, but just need to get there and take a look around. Maybe I will ask the kids to go looking for my birthday lol

I have the 9 skirts, & a DG in the tank now. I will add the 6 cories. Then I think an apistogramma of some sort. Or a pair of bolivian Rams. Haven't quite decided. Was going to do harlequin raspboras, but now I am not too sure. I will decide once I get these cories though qt. I like the black and silver, but I have enough of that. I want more color. But it will all work out. Once I get my betta tank sorted (it's a bit of a mess right now) I will put 2 of my snails back in there. I think 6 are too many for the 29 gallon.

 

I took the peppered cories back today. I just really wanted something that stood out against the black sand. Since I can't get Julii's at all, I decided on Albinos instead. I thought they would be soooo weird. But honestly I totally love them even more than the peppered ones. I actually think I like them better than the julii's. These guys are definitely smaller than the peppered ones. And also more social. They don't hide when I come to the tank. Totally pleased with their demeanor already. So qt date reset. Had only been 9 days, so didn't set me back too long. I had to do something to make myself happy today. Since my beloved Otto passed away yesterday. This definitely improved my mood.

 

I'm sorry for your loss I'm glad that you were able to do something to cheer you up though!

 

I love my albinos! They blend into my PFS, so I'm thinking of switching to black in the future, but they are always all over the tank! Unless it's their mid-afternoon nap time lol. I'm glad you got some fish that you like!

 

AngelTheGypsy what do you feed them? And how much? I have pleco wafers and shrimp pellets. They go to town on the shrimp. I add 3 pellets but not sure it is enough. One pleco wafer is plenty. They aren't thrilled with it, the peppered only picked at occasionally. Haven't tried with the albinos yet. Since there are 6 of them I am not sure how much to feed them. They eat differently than the other fish.

APierce thank you. I didn't expect to be so sad about it. But I am definitely feeling down in the dumps today.

 

I feel like I've been down in the dumps for the last week now one thing after another, I'm slowly trying to pull myself back up, even simple things that I can do to bring myself some small amount of joy for a short period of time seems to be working. I hate being down in the dumps....it DUMPS!

 

Mine have been eating 2 different kinds of shrimp pellets and flakes that make it to the floor. I sprinkle flakes under the water so more gets down there, and so my other fish have to chase it and don't gulp air. Plus it's more fun to watch. I also feed NLS sinking pellets, but honestly don't know if anyone eats them. My angel and tetras don't, so I figure it's something they'll leave to the cories, since the angel steals the shrimp pellets. He's like a bullet when he sees them, and starts scouting the bottom if he sees a pile of cories .
They also munch on the zucchinI and spinach I feed the snails.

 

Are your nerite snails still going strong AllieSten ?

 

Are your nerite snails still going strong AllieSten ?

Yes! All 6 are doing just fine. I moved 2 of them to the 10 gallon betta tank and they are thriving too. I just did a head count today.

 

That's great! They are neat little things

 

I'm constantly doing head counts! I hate when I can't find snails, but I find the cories hard to count. They are always all over the tank, some are hiding, some are foraging, and just when I'm trying to find the last one or two, three or four start swimming around, so start over! Plus they all look exactly alike, except for Big Papa!

 

My first batch of snails 5 out of 6 died. I had lost my cycle at the same time I added them to the tank though. So we think that is the reason they died. I have had these other 5 for 9 days and they are doing very well. By this point last time I had lost 3 or 4. So I think they are going to make it this time. So far so good anyways.

 

Added the cories to the big tank today. They seem to be doing well. It was about a week early, but I was starting to have an algae issue in the tank. So decided to move them and scrub the tank before the next round of fish.

Going to head over to the fish store and see what they have. Looking for either a DG or possibly a pair of honey gourami's. Going to replace my DG, Otto, that I lost.

 

Looked what I got today! I spent my birthday money (yes I am 44 and still get birthday money from my mommy lol) and have completed my stocking. I decided not to get a big centerpiece fish. I went with 2 Honey Gourami's and 6 harlequin rasboras. I thought the Rasboras were going to be quite a bit bigger. When I saw them today I just had to have them. Sooo cute.

Now I think I have a male/female pair of gourami's. Can anyone tell me for sure. I think the one with the more orange on the fins is the Male and the lighter colored more round one is the female. Who knows if I am right. I failed at sexing our kitten, so Elliot is now Ellie lol

Ohh and my very first live plants arrive tomorrow. I am pretty excited. It isn't much, but I've never done live plants before. So it is a big deal to me. Just got a couple small plants for the betta tank and some moss for the coconut shells.

 

Well I have my first official illness.

The 2 Honey Gourami's definitely have worms. Long stringy white poop. Out of all the fish I have purchased so far, this is the first time I have had to medicate for an actual illness. They haven't eaten anything at all yet. Definitely not feeling well.

The harlies look great though. I would have treated them prophylactically with Prazipro, anyways. So it isn't any big deal to treat them now.

This group will officially finish my stocking. I am pretty excited. I will be moving on to trying to do live plants next. Not sure if that will happen. I just bought my first plants and planted the betta tank today.






I also ordered a Seachem Tidal 110 filter. It was on sale for $52 down from $82, so I had to get it. I was looking at the 75, but it was more expensive. I think I scored getting the bigger one for cheaper. I currently have the 55, but it is only 250gph, and I need around 300gph. The 75 is 350gph and the 110 is 450gph. I figure over filtration isn't a bad thing at all.

 

Great to see you are moving into the planted world. Live plants can not even be compared with live ones. They aren't really hard to keep when you find the right stuff.
How long have you had the Gouramis for? Sometimes fish take a day or so to eat new food and white stringy poo doesn't necessarily mean worms but since you have treated proactively all your fish it just makes sense to proactively treat these ones.

 

Good luck with your tank - I've kept harlequins in the past and love them. As they settle into the tank they'll gain some real nice pink hues - great fish that I'll definitely keep again!

 

I love yellow honeys. Wishing them a speedy recovery!

 

BeanFish I got all the fish just yesterday. This is a very obvious parasite issue. It couldn't be more clear. The female is bigger, to me it looks like a bit of bloat, but I don't know honey's well enough to know for sure. It really looks like it to me though. The male has some clamped fins. I noticed it yesterday, but thought it was because he was stressed by the move. I think it is more illness related now. I know it won't take but a day or two for them to start feeling better. I'm not too worried at all.

JeffK they have already started getting a bit of pink to them. Just started this afternoon. So I think they like it here. Plus I treated them to some brine shrimp earlier. So they are pretty well spoiled lol

Geoff I can't wait to see how their personalities develop. I had a single dwarf gourami that passed away a couple weeks ago. He was my very favorite. Very docile, and would actually try to school with my blackskirts. I was going to just replace him with another DG, but didn't want to risk getting an aggressive one. Plus I think if it was a bad experience, I would be even more sad. Hoping the honeys fill that void for me. They have already paired up in the qt. Never leaving each other's sides. So I think that is a good sign already.

 

**Update on the Honeys.**

So both fish look so good today. The male no longer has clamped fins. He is swimming and eating fine. His fins are more reddish orange, and now that I can see them fully extended, so incredibly beautiful. No more stringy poop either (that I have seen). The female also ate this morning her belly doesn't look near as bloated either. I did see some stringy poop from her today, but overall she looks much much better. So the PraziPro is definitely working. I didn't expect such a quick turn around though. It is literally like night and day.

So things are going very well. Yay!

 

Great news!

 

Awww I lost a Harley this morning. He seemed fine last night, but when I woke up he wasn't. Poor little fishy.

I have a question though. Since I now I have 5 harlies, should I increase them to 8? I was looking at some of their specs again last night and it says they like groups of 8-10. I think 10 would be too many, but 8 might be ok.

Anyone have any advice?

 

I think you can definitely do 10 if not more. You just have the harlequins and 2 honeys, right? You could probably even add another school of something, perhaps corys.

 

I think you can definitely do 10 if not more. You just have the harlequins and 2 honeys, right? You could probably even add another school of something, perhaps corys.

No I have more than that. I have 9 blackskirts, & 6 albino cories in my 29 gallon. Then the 5 harlies and 2 honeys are in the qt. They will go into the 29 gallon once their qt time is over.

Is it going to make a huge difference in the bioload to add 3 more harlies? They are so small. I just got a bigger filter today. One with 450 gph. So I know my filtration is adequate. (Seachem Tidal 110, to upgrade the 55, it wasn't enough gph)

I don't want to overstock, so I am ok if I need to just keep the 5 harlies.

Anders247 TexasDomer what do you guys think?

 

I think 3 more would be ok

 

Here are 3 of my snails. I only have 4 snails left total out of the 12 total that I have purchased in the last 2 months. I am not getting anymore if these ones don't make it. I can't believe I lost 2 more snails. Geesh.

They are certainly loving that carrot though

 

I love harlies too! They are such a fun and peaceful fish. They kinda school too which is nice.