# Going to Recycle and start a new tank need advice



## JayGTS88 (Oct 16, 2007)

Hi all i am going to start a new tank recycled because i made a BIG mistake on the first one. My first tank had only 5 fish but those 5 are giants... 1 tiger oscar 1 senegal bichir 1 red tail shark 1 rubberlip peco and 1 sun catfish.. all those will grow 5+ in size that is way to big for my 29 gallon so i had to sell them back to petco :sad: . Now with the new tank i want to go with white sand instead of gravel, for 6 white skirt tetra 1 pearl gourami 1 albino rainbow shark and 3 corycats. They are all small fish but only the gourami is medium, the tank wont have any live plants so do i still need a SAE? Also how much pounds of white sand should i use for my 29 gallon? thanks so much. Also will all those fish get along with each other? again thanks so much.


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## neilfishguy (Oct 7, 2007)

Hello,

its a good thing that you relized you cant house thouse other fish, many people refuse to belive it and make fish suffer. Your new plan sounds good and you could add even more than that. Do you know about the nitrogen cycle? thats your first priority.

I have heard 1pb per gallon of sand but i dont know if that is true! My guess is that you would nee like 20ish lbs.

you might also want 5-6 corycats as they are a schooling fish 

pearl gouramis can get kind of mean! If i were you I would go with a more peacful centerpeice fish.


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## Betta1 (Jan 5, 2007)

I was under the impression the rainbow shark got very large, might want to look into that. The general idea about bedding is that you should put enough to cover the bottom up to about 2 inches, since it's sand it'll take more then 1 lb per gallon (though that works in most cases). I got my sand in a 100lb bag so I can't give you any reference of how many pounds it takes. I do know however that in the end it did take about 30 lbs of live sand to cover the bottom of my 29g saltwater to roughly 2 inches.


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## neilfishguy (Oct 7, 2007)

so it took you 1lb per gallon of sand? then why do you say it will take more? you contradict yourself saying it takes mroe than 1lb per gallon but it only took you 1 lb per gallon


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## JayGTS88 (Oct 16, 2007)

hmmm anyone ideas on the the center fold fish? instead of a pearl gourami i would like something white lol trying to make my fish tank look holy lol . i look up on the sharks and they can get up to 4-5 inch.


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## mesapod (Aug 18, 2007)

what about a betta? i dont know if they go with the shark though


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## Betta1 (Jan 5, 2007)

I say it may take more then a pound per gallon because there was a long thread where people debated such a simple topic to no end and technically it should take more sand to fill up to 2 inches as it's more dense and in turn weighs more. My saltwater is 20 lbs sand and 10 lbs coral chips and probably a bit under 2 inches. It's so much easier just to say 1 lb per gallon or 2 inches.

I'm thinking the gouramis won't work to well with the betta but you never know. Plus both of my 29g tanks have more waterflow throughout then any betta would enjoy so this could be an issue.


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## JayGTS88 (Oct 16, 2007)

mesapod said:


> what about a betta? i dont know if they go with the shark though


hmm that is good a betta... a worker at petco told me that i can have up to 3 female bettas in 1 tank.. is that true? He said only males fight with each other...


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## JayGTS88 (Oct 16, 2007)

also got a question if i dont have live plants in the tank do i still need a algie eater fish? like a SAE or a oto


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

It depends on your light and whether you are willing to scrape algae yourself. I would say cycle your tank and put in the other fish and if you find you need an algae eater, add it last.


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## Guest (Oct 18, 2007)

Female bettas can be kept in groups of odd numbers, yes. They do squabble, but not nearly as much as male bettas tend to fight. As long as they, the females, can set up a hierarchy, they should do fine, assuming they get along with your other fish .


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## Guest (Oct 18, 2007)

Albino anything really for the center piece fish. I wouldn't do the rainbowshark. they get too big. same size as red tailed sharks. Try dwarf gouramis, dwarf cichlids, stuff like that. I can't think of anything albino atm. There are also albino prestilla tetras that look pretty cool.


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## Guest (Oct 18, 2007)

IMO you want alot less sand than that. if you only have 1/4 inch sand or less, then there is no chance for anaerobic bacteria to build up in the sand bed. i have 50 pounds of sand, in my 210. it just cuts that little bit of extra worry out of the equation.


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## Betta1 (Jan 5, 2007)

GoodMike said:


> then there is no chance for anaerobic bacteria to build up in the sand bed.


MTS  Mylasian trumpet snails

I have heard of female bettas killing one another but it's nowhere near as common. I've seen far more then 3 females in a 55g at a betta breeders house before, but then again it was a 55g.

If your looking for albino centerpiece, I've got 2 albino kribs. They stay on the bottom though so might not make a great center piece fish. Angels are great center piece and can fit in a 29g, plus I've seen them albino in a friends tank as well.

For algae, I really think that it has something to do with the tap water. I have virtually no algae issues in any of my tanks and I do nothing different then friends who do have issues. I still have algae eaters though just cause I like them.


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## neilfishguy (Oct 7, 2007)

I would do 

2 angels
2 bolivian rams
6 cories
2 schools of small egg layers( such as tetra rasboras and danios)-ex neon tetra, cardinal tetra, rummnose tetra, glo light tetra, harlequin rasbora,zebra danio
or 1 school of small eg layers and some platies or swordtails


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## neilfishguy (Oct 7, 2007)

oh-- I would NOT have skirt tetra (black or white) with angels because they will nip angels fins


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## Betta1 (Jan 5, 2007)

I had white skirt tetras with my angels for a while, I had no problems but I've also heard of problems with skirt tetras. I could be the exception.


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## neilfishguy (Oct 7, 2007)

yeah its deff for diff people but it is taking a chance


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I think an SAE is bit large for that tank, mine are 6" and growing, they do eat hair algae, but I put them in a 55g. Ottos are a better fit, but wait and see if you need them. Only 1 angel for that size tank.


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## Betta1 (Jan 5, 2007)

semi-thread hijack

How are SAE for aggression? Do they make good tank mates? Are they fast growers?

Also I've got 4 small angels in my 29g lol, they'll be culled at some point once I decide which type I like best.


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## bullseye69 (Oct 2, 2007)

the albino rainbow shark would not be a bad choice. they only get to 6" but really only 4-5". yes they can be aggressive but only to really small fish and of course to most fish invading his territory. but for the most part very peacefully. I have 2 one in my 120 gal, and 1 in my 30 gal. now if you want a Betta that you could do but just watch the Betta because they will chase the shark around. the shark will not chase the Betta in my experience. even if the albino rainbow grew to 6" that would be a nice center piece for a 29 and with the white skirts. IMO.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

My SAEs ignore my angels (even the little ones) and go for the food. Sometimes they will chase each other. I think they may have eaten angelfish eggs/wigglers but there were other suspects, too. They can sit still for hours, but when I feed the tank they move really fast and eat more than their share. I got them at 4" so I don't don't how fast the little ones grow.


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