# Problems?



## j-man the skater-man (Apr 4, 2005)

sup im jason i got a 29 gallon tank and have started cycling it with 2 guppies and a rosy red

1. My guppy(male) is hiding under the heater(its at 78) and not eating exsept what tidbits fall near him. whats wrong with him?

2. how would u suggest i stock my 29 gallon tank and do u think the inch per gallon rule is important?

3. if i want cory's do i HAVE to have sand? would gravel hurt them?

4> do u agree with the way i would stock my tank or will the fish i chose have problems with each other like fighting, heat, est.? (listed below)

4-guppy 1 male 3 female
2-tiger barbs 1 male 1 female (if i can tell wich is which)
3-cory cats 
5-zebra danio 
6-neon tetra

5. what live plants would u suggest for my tank? (easy to keep but cool)


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## Pac-Man (Mar 18, 2005)

to answer one of your questions, cory's can also be kept in gravel, not just sand.


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## Thunderkiss (Mar 19, 2005)

1) I'd suspect stress. Is the tank cycling? if so, cut back on the feedings to once every 2-3 days and do some water changes til the cycle is over.

2) Stocking is totally an individual decision which will change over time. The inch of fish rule is a general rule that can be bent under certain circumstances which you will come to know over time. Genereally its used for waste control, so with more water changes and adequate filtration it can be bent, but there are many variables.

3) Gravel will not hurt them.

4) 4-guppy 1 male 3 female ------ breed you out of house and home, so be prepared or just buy males, theyre the nicer looking ones anyway.

2-tiger barbs 1 male 1 female (if i can tell wich is which) ----- 5+ minimum to keep social order and diffuse aggression.

3-cory cats ----- 2-3 more, they school as well.
5-zebra danio --- no sweat
6-neon tetra ----- lots of schoolers, the tank may look jumbled, i'd specialize more in 1-2 types of schoolers.

Also tigers and danios can be nippy, if given a choice i'd dump one and load the other schools up. Those suggestions rith there will make you re-evaluate your stocking plans as you will most ptobably go over that inch/gallon rule. I didn't stop to do the math, but the tigers alone go 3ish inches and a school of just 5=15 inches, well over half your capacity.

5) plants .... go plastic at first til you get the feel of the tank. Plants are a whole different ballgame, and plants dying in your tank will foul the water just as easily as a dead fish. Not that you shouldn't EVER, just get your feet wet with the fish first as it were, worry about live plants later. It will be much better for your sanity


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## UgLy_eLf (Feb 26, 2005)

1. Probably stressed out, how long has he been in the tank? I've had fish hide when I first added them for up to a week, then they slowly come out and start scoping the tank out.

2. The rule is semi-important, I think depending on your maintenence schedule you can break the rule with success. Just keep up on water changes, and regular testing.

3. Keep mine in a tank with large gravel, no problems.

4. Guppies might breed, be cautious, fry can be a pain.
I'd choose either between a school of neons, or barbs. 6+ fish per school. Dont do both.
Cories, a school aswell.
Danio's sound fine.



So either:
6 barbs
6 cories
5 danios

I wouldnt keep guppies in a tank with barbs, bad experiences with them..mean little fish.

Or:
6+ neons you could probably pull off keeping 10 or so because they arent messy fish.
6 cories
5 danios
4 guppies.

^ Pushin the load a bit but like I said, regular maintenance, and it shouldnt be a problem.


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

> 5) plants .... go plastic at first til you get the feel of the tank. Plants are a whole different ballgame, and plants dying in your tank will foul the water just as easily as a dead fish. Not that you shouldn't EVER, just get your feet wet with the fish first as it were, worry about live plants later. It will be much better for your sanity


There is a certain amount of truth to this, but I found that it pays to think about whether you want plants in the tank *before* you even start to set up the tank. You need a good substrate to grow plants. For our first tank we got gravel that's too big to be useful for growing plants (sort of 6mm ovals). I am growing plants successfully in the tank, by using Flourite in pots, but it's not the most elegant solution. My new tank I've set up with a substrate that's perfect for plants (1" plain soil + 1" plain gravel) and it's much less hassle, mainly because I've got the entire floor planted so I don't have to vacuum the gravel!


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## Mery (Mar 9, 2005)

> if i want cory's do i HAVE to have sand? would gravel hurt them?


Yes, you nearly have to. :wink: Corys enjoy sand and it's more natural to them.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Coreis can be kept (and they are) in substrates other than sand. Even in the wild, they are found where there is no sand. Just be sure to keep the substrate as fine as possible. No jagged edges.


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

There is much arguement about corys and sand but mine are in gravel. as are many others in gravel. You decide what you would like and what you want to believe about the corys and sand


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