# stocking my 29 Gallon Tank



## MollyDora (Jan 8, 2012)

Hello all,

I just recently got done cycling my 29 gallon tank. So far I have 1 suckerfish I'm assuming a pleco of some kind and 4 Cory's.

I have very limited access to fish. We have 1 Pet Store and they don't seem to have a clue. Even the closest PetSmart or PetCo is about 1 hour away....

so I'm thinking I have 3 Corydoras Paleatus
and 1 Corydoras Julii.

I have Sand and only live plants, also 2 Mopani Roots. at this point I also have a tunnel for the pleco which is not on the picture.

I have very very Hard Water and a ph of 8.2

I would like to find some fish to live in the upper/middle region of my tank, but I don't know what.
I love Neon Tetra's but I'm aware that they won't like my hard water.
How about Glofish? I like them too, but I'm unsure as to what water they like.

Any suggestions are welcome also please let me know how you feel about the tank.

thanks a bunch,
Anna


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

With a ph that high you are limited to African Cichlids, but most get too large for your tank. You got me on this one.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Not true. There are plenty of non-cichlids that thrive in that water. Mollies are a prime candidate. They are brackish fish but with water that hard mollies will do very well with no salt at all.


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## MollyDora (Jan 8, 2012)

do you guys think my corys are going to be ok? I actually would like to add some more over time... 

and how many Mollies do you think for that size?

thank you already!


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## overland54 (Dec 24, 2011)

from what I know a lot of livebearers do well in hard water

But maybe you could do something to lower your ph, I've heard of people putting peat moss under the gravel which is also good for plants, maybe adding some more driftwood?

how long have you had the corys? do they seem active and have they gotten their color back

and 4-5 mollies? I've never owned mollies but based off other livebearers you want more females than males so 1 male 3 females or 2 males 3 females

Danios are also hardy fish that are fun to have because how active they are but that also means they need a lot of room, arguably more than a 29 gallon but alot of people including myself have kept them in tanks under 20 gallons for years (all the glowfish I've seen are danios by the way)


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

MollyDora said:


> and how many Mollies do you think for that size?


Start with a trio (2f 1m). If you have good conditions you will have trouble getting them to stop breeding.


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## lmb (Nov 1, 2011)

First off, I'd remove the bamboo from the tank. The bamboo isn't really a true bamboo at all, instead it's a "Lucky Bamboo". The bamboo will need to be removed because it is not fully aquatic therefore it will eventually sit there, die, then rot and introduce ammonia (NH3) into the aquarium. But, that doesn't mean that the "Lucky Bamboo" can't live in water; It can, as long as the leaves of it are emersed.

You may want to lower the pH a bit (You could add something like Indian almond leaves so that they will leach out tannins into the aquarium. You see, tannins can naturally lower the tank without harming the fish - as long as you don't add too many to the tank. How long has the Driftwood been in the aquarium? From what it looks like, it looks big enough to leach out tannins and lower the pH a bit as well). If not, it should be fine, just as long as you get some fish that have a neutral pH, then if acclimated right, the new fish should do just fine.

As for fish, I'd complete the schools of the two Cory species you have. Make their schools to at least 4 each, then may you focus on other fish. What type of "suckerfish" is it? I don't Neons would like your water too much, so I'd skip them. I believe that the Glofish should do okay though, just acclimate them right.


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## MollyDora (Jan 8, 2012)

as for the Bamboo, when I went to the petstore asking for plants I did have the concern that the bamboo won't last and they told me that it's a certain "aquatic" kind and that it's made to be under water.... do you think think they are full of it? because if so, I will take them back, since I paid $7 for each of them! 

I did end up getting 4 Mollies, 3F 1M and as of this morning I have 4 babies (at least that's the ones I could see and count) and the male seems to like his females very very much (I named him Ron Jeremy  ) he is constantly after his girls mating like crazy, I almost feel bad for the girls... I did order a bunch more plants, so soon they will be able to hide a bit more.

now I do have one more question for the Mollies. Should they be all of one kind/color, or will that not matter? I did get 1 Dalmatian Mollie, 1 Marble Sphenop Molly, 1 Black Lyretail Molly and 1 Silver Lyretail Mollie. 

I am unsure what kind of suckerfish it is, I'm assuming some kind of Pleco... they were not able to tell me in the petstore.

Thank you!


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Look up the types of bamboo online. If you can find a water bamboo and it looks like the one you have then they are probably not lying. Otherwise either take them back of put them in a planter 

Get a picture of the pleco and we can try to help you ID it. Chances are high it's a common pleco, and if that is the case send it back. They get to be 1.5 to 2 feet long.


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## MollyDora (Jan 8, 2012)

will do for the bamboo.

I just spent 30 minutes trying to take pictures, but my camera sucks... I got almost nothing good, but here's what I got.

I also attached 2 pictures of the babies


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

That gives a pretty good look at his Dorsal, which is helpful to have. If you can get a picture of the top of his nose that would help a lot too. Between the two we might be able to get a pretty good idea. The dorsal looks like a common to me, but it's hard to go on just that. It's not a rubber lip (commonly found in stores) and it's not a bristle nosed (other commonly found in stores).


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Its better not to mix different molly species as they will interbreed and hybrid fry can be sickly or deformed. On the other hand, most pet store mollies are already hybrids. Black and silver mollies are the same species and I think the dalmations as well. Do they all have the same body shape? Its fine to mix color varieties. 

You water is ideal for mollies, don't mess with it. You may have trouble with some plants, but you should be able to raise java fern and hornwort. Periodically feel the bamboo's stems. If they get soft, yank it and throw it away. Lucky bamboo is good in tanks, if you let it grow out of them. Same for houseplants like dracenca and pothos. But leave it submerged too long and it will die. 

Floating plant is great for molly fry, likely the hornwort will grow up and do that without you doing anything.


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## PostShawn (Dec 22, 2009)

Mollys will breed like crazy. They usually come already preggers too. I bought two females and within weeks both had babies. They store the male contribution to baby making for up to a few months. So they can have babies every few weeks from the same frolic session/partner. Mollys commonly mix breeds. The one I have the the ones I had were of mixed breeds. Sure they look all marbled and not really the prettiest in color or patterns but they are still fun. I think it's over mentioned that they will breed weird deformed ones. They might but it doesn't mean they do. My mixed mollys had babies and out of the 60 or so babies none appeared to be deformed. I'm not saying they will do so or that they can't. But if they seem happy anyway then oh well. 

The pleco looks like my common plecos. Will get too big for that tank. Some grow quick and some fast so you can wait and see if the store lets you bring it back for some sort of credit or even if they just take it in. Bristlenose and Rubberlip are among the common smaller species that might do ok in a 29g. 

I agree that you should round out your cory cats. At least 3 of each instead of the 1 of the one kind. But 4 or more of each is better. I have the same situation with 2 and 2 of different corys. I'm going to soon pickup another 2 for each kind. 

Also I had the same type of bamboo. At least it looked exactly the same. It died in a few months. Most people thing all bamboo is aquatic. It's true bamboo takes a lot of water but doesn't mean it should or can live completely in water. I'd take it back and get something more water safe. Look for things like Java Fern. It's hardy and easy to grow apparently without needing special plant lights and all that stuff.


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## MollyDora (Jan 8, 2012)

Yay, thank you.

I talked to my pet store today and they said that I can bring the suckerfish back if it gets too big. (for store credit)

they also said that I can bring Molly babies (once bigger) also for store credit, which is awesome!
So tomorrow I'll be picking up a 10 gallon tank (found a used one with everything I need like filter, lights and all that jazz for $20) and will use it for the Mollie babies, so they can grow up in peace and once they are big enough I can bring them to the store!

YAY, plus, what better excuse to get another tank 

I'll check if they have more of the Julii's the one I have was the last one, but I'll ask if they get more in, then I'll get 3 more of those and 1 more of the other kind. I heart Corys! 

I did order a bunch of plants which hopefully will come in the mail tomorrow, one of them was a Java Fern, I also got some Vallisneria for the background, Javamoss and a Anubias that I want to plant on the Mopani Wood. 

I did check the tank a little bit ago while the light was off already and counted 5 Babies! and they are oh so cute!

thanks guys for all the help, I'm lovin it!


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

Good choice on plants. Anubias is an truly amazing plant.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Be sure you keep a couple of those molly babies so you never have to buy more.


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## MollyDora (Jan 8, 2012)

thank you for the good choice on plants, I love Anubias, they are just so beautiful!

And I love using Vallisneria to do a natural background instead of the posters. 

as for keeping a few of the babies I'm planning on always picking out the ones I like best and getting rid of the rest.

I will be picking up that 10 gallon used tank today, and the lady that sells it tells me that she has a few fish that come with it... she says she's not sure what kind it is, her words:

2 are Zebra fish (I'm hoping Zebra Danio and not Cichlids) 1 is a Neon, she said 1 is a Mickey fish (I'm thinking probably Mickey Mouse Platy?) and a Suckerfish....

I was wondering if I can have any fish in the Babytank? I know the neon won't like my water, but I'm sure the lady (which lives 10 minutes from me) that has him now has the same water.... 

I will put the Mickey Mouse Platy in my tank.
Will the Pleco be any harm to the Fry?

----maybe this should be in another Post...

thank ya'll


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Post an ad on Craigslist: Free fish.


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## MollyDora (Jan 8, 2012)

very true!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

neons are likely too small to eat molly fry. danios, too. You'll have to watch and see if everyone gets food.


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