need help with stocking

F

ferderer5

Small Fish
#1
Aug 16, 2005
31
0
0
35
Dickinson, ND
#1
Ok, my fish tank is still cylcing now, 29 gal. Wondering if these fish can successfully coexist together. Ive been reading a lot and for a few of em it says caution required. And as a newbie fish tank owner not quite sure how much "caution" it would actually take. So heres what i ideally want:

5 giant danios, 2-4 tiger barbs, 2 bala sharks, 4 clown loaches and a pleco (those are the ones that suck the algae right?)

so this is what i have in mind so far. There is also a jellybean parrot fish i would like to get in the future or some neat looking fish. Or will the sharks and barbs restrict what i can have so much that its not even worth getting them? So anyways I think the danios and loaches will add some life and energy to the tank, i remember danios my family's tank use to have they were always cruisin around. Anyways so let me kno if this would work and what other fish i could get that are awesome to have too. Thanks all!

Edit:
Still need more help below, thanks!
 

Last edited:
NoDeltaH2O

NoDeltaH2O

Superstar Fish
#2
Feb 17, 2005
1,873
0
0
52
SC
#2
Keep reading.

The bala sharks get to about 12 inches each. Neither of them could exist comfortably in your tank by themselves in a little while when they get big. Clown loaches also get really big. There are a lot of other similar looking loaches that you can get that don't get so huge. Yoyo loaches look similar (minus the pretty orange coloring of course), and only grow to about 2 inches long, give or take an inch. Plecos get BIG as well, so make sure you get a kind that does not get so big. I have a clown pleco, and I believe they only get to about 3 inches at adulthood.

You really have to consider how big your fish will get, not just how big they are now. If you do go with the balas, clown loaches, and an ordinary pleco, you'll be looking for a 200 gallon tank in not too long. Got money for that one, do ya'?
 

F

ferderer5

Small Fish
#3
Aug 16, 2005
31
0
0
35
Dickinson, ND
#3
true, thanks for the info... but if the tank isnt big enough dont the fish adapt and only grow to a certain length suitable for the tank? Or will i have to be selling them cuz they will grow to 1 foot and be too big for my tank? So any other ideas about what fish would be energetic or just look really neat? I thought about the yoyo loaches but keep in mind i live in a very smalll town. The lfs is about the size of my basement, we have very little species of fish to choose from. Thanks again!
 

A

ashleigh

Superstar Fish
#4
Jan 8, 2004
1,888
0
0
46
Missouri
Visit site
#4
That's actually a myth. Well, kind of. the outsides of the fish stop growing at a point, but the internal organs don't.So the fish have all kinds of deformations and die really early. But even after the point where they stop growing, they'll really be too big for your tank.
 

shimmercat

shimmercat

Medium Fish
#5
Jun 8, 2005
63
0
0
41
Southern Maryland
#5
Hmmm, yeah, I can see how finding some fish might be difficult in a small town in North Dakota! Yoyo loaches are wonderful, but they can be difficult to find. You might want to consider cories, which aren't as cool as loaches, but still cool, and much easier to find without getting too large.

Instead of a pleco, an oto might be the way to go for you. Yet again, they are small, and easy to find. The problem with otos is that they are very fragile. You have to add them to a completely cycled tank.

I would get at least 6-8 tiger barbs, if you go with them. While they are cool fish, they get fin-nippy and mean in small groups.
 

F

ferderer5

Small Fish
#7
Aug 16, 2005
31
0
0
35
Dickinson, ND
#7
ok thanks again, learning a lot! So if i couldnt really have any sharks is it even worth getting barbs that are semi-aggressive or should i just have a peaceful tank? Because other than the barbs theres nothing else that would really be semi-aggressive towards other fish in the tank that i can buy in my town. Or will the barbs for sure be fine if i get 6-8 of them? Also i kno for sure that they have the otos at wal-mart. I shouldnt buy them from there tho right cuz who knows how their health is? Thanks again
 

F

ferderer5

Small Fish
#8
Aug 16, 2005
31
0
0
35
Dickinson, ND
#8
Come to think of it, i will go with the smaller schooling fish for sure now. Just let me kno what i should look in to. I kno i want 5 giant danios. Other than that corys possibly? Plus like 2 ottos. That leaves bout 15 gallons left to use, give or take a few on the 1" per gallon rule. I think thats about right so far but im probly wrong so please correct me.
 

Chazwick

Chazwick

Large Fish
#9
Aug 4, 2005
935
0
0
33
I currently lodge in a house with my Jack Russell
#9
Personally? I'd have a peaceful tank - then theres no need to risk having to take any of the fish back / seperate them, etc... Please though! Before you buy the fish, ask if you can take them back if theres any problems, otherwise.. if something goes wrong! Damn! There's gonna be trouble! lol - i always make sure i ask.. and luckily both of my LFS's said that was fine!

PS: Wow.. I'd love to stock up that baby.. i'd have some schooling fish and corys! oh - and some snails.. but hey - thats me! lol
 

Chazwick

Chazwick

Large Fish
#10
Aug 4, 2005
935
0
0
33
I currently lodge in a house with my Jack Russell
#10
Hmmmmmmm - Ottos are pretty good - i'd go for Corys if i was you though. They have better personalities, are more peaceful (yet active!) and eat all of the leftover flakes from the bottom of the tank! They're like hoovers! Get a few of those and your tank will be cleeeeeeeaner! lol.
Tetras and danios are great schooling fish. Zebra Danios are what i'd go for (i might get them.. not sure) They are so active and wild! They're known to do crazy.. un fishy things! lol - but that's if you want active ones! Tetras are peaceful and elegant.. and are known to play 'tag' lol! But i think thats a schooling thing! lol
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

Forum Manager
Moderator
#11
May 16, 2003
8,589
10
38
42
Colorado
#11
Tiger Barbs and Danios would be a wonderful active and semi-aggressive tank. I would advise against giant danios in a 29...just because they will overtake the tank...by the time you get 6 of them full grown there wont be room for them. I would suggest a good size school of normal danios, and a good size school of tiger barbs. They can hold their own against each other. If you wanted to get an apple snail and some cory's for the bottom I think that'd be great...or if you could find a pleco that will stay small enough for the tank (rubbernose, clown, bushynose/bristlenose etc) then he would be a good addition. As long as you have some plants and some hiding spaces for the fish...ottos would also do well...I'd get 2 or 3 for a 29 if you dont have any plecos...but you also dont need to add ottos until you start getting an algae issue otherwise they might starve...so they'd be a good addition to the tank a few months down the road after you've gotten the tank cycled stocked and stabilized.
 

NoDeltaH2O

NoDeltaH2O

Superstar Fish
#13
Feb 17, 2005
1,873
0
0
52
SC
#13
African butterfly fish look absolutely awesome, but they are not exactly the best fish to start out with early in the hobby as they require a lot of special attention. It is best to start out with easy fish, and then after you learn from all of your mistakes, (and have likely killed off several fish as I did and many do), then,...go on to the more difficult fish to keep.
 

F

ferderer5

Small Fish
#14
Aug 16, 2005
31
0
0
35
Dickinson, ND
#14
ok thanks everyone.... So what fish should i get to start off with then? I really want at least one shark... they have a few species of sharks at the lfs. They are Bala, rainbow, and redtail. Although there are some other sweet fish too there in your opinions should i just forget about the sharks totally? Lookin at the tiger barbs they look nice and look active, however if i decide not to get sharks, they would be the only semi-aggresive species in my tank so should i just forget about them too if i forget about the sharks? Thanks again, hope im making sense, trying my best.
 

shimmercat

shimmercat

Medium Fish
#17
Jun 8, 2005
63
0
0
41
Southern Maryland
#17
Rainbow and redtail sharks can both get VERY agressive in the right situation. I wouldn't recommend buying either of those fish unless you are sure that you can return them if they start attacking your other fish. They can be very mean and I've heard stories of them killing more peaceful fish. :c I'm really not sure that cories would stand a chance against them.

Really, none of the fish labeled "sharks" are really sharks, anyway. The balas are related to minnows, and the rainbow/redtails are ... well, they look almost like loaches, but I seem to remember that they are related to barbs. They are all just called sharks because of their body shape and pointy fins.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.