29 gallon

[Matt724]

Very nice fish!

oh, and thank you they're great fish and a 29 is a perfect size for a breeding pair. But rams would also look nice in a planted tank like apistos or something along those lines. a breeding pair of cryptoheros cutteri or even maybe firemouths might be happy in a 29 gallon and you'll be able to breed them and see if you can trade the fry for store credit at your LFS or even try to sel them online (even though those are pretty common fish), but that's what I plan to do with the first batch of fry that I got from my pair of rainbows. they're still in a growing tank and its been about a month and a half and they're already about 1/4-1/2" so once they hit the 1-1.25" i'll probably either sell them here on MFK or on aquabid. just a thought for you to think upon. Breeding fish is one of the most fun aspects about this hobby, IMHO; and I didn't even realize this until my first batch, but since then I get super excited when my rainbow female gets super jet black and the male starts digging out the pit. It makes my day everyday.

 

[thedarkone]

Yeah I was thinking about breeding them. I have not seen any around here where I live so I think I should be able to descent store credit for the fry. Plus they are a really cool looking fish and I would really love to get a pair.

 

[Toby_H]

Adding old tank water from a mature tank is not a sufficient way to cycle a tank... I suggest you read up on that topic before stocking this tank.



Back to your question though...

What is your local water like? If you have a fairly low PH, SA Dwarves like Apistos or Rams are a great choice for a 29 gal. A breeing pair of either along with a small group of middle dwellign non Cichlids like Tetras and a few top dwelling fish like Hatchets or maybe even an African Butterfly fish...

If your water is more neitral, a pair of Rainbow fish would be wonderful. They get a little bigger than the SA Dwarves mentioned above so keepign non Cichlids with them may be less likely to work, but it is still possible.

If your local water has a bit higher of a PH I'm sure there are Rift Lake Africans you could consider. I'm not fluent on the Rift Lake species though...

You could also consider any number of West African fish such as Jewel Cichlids if your water is slightly acidic to neutral...

 

[thedarkone]

Adding old tank water from a mature tank is not a sufficient way to cycle a tank... I suggest you read up on that topic before stocking this tank.



Back to your question though...

What is your local water like? If you have a fairly low PH, SA Dwarves like Apistos or Rams are a great choice for a 29 gal. A breeing pair of either along with a small group of middle dwellign non Cichlids like Tetras and a few top dwelling fish like Hatchets or maybe even an African Butterfly fish...

If your water is more neitral, a pair of Rainbow fish would be wonderful. They get a little bigger than the SA Dwarves mentioned above so keepign non Cichlids with them may be less likely to work, but it is still possible.

If your local water has a bit higher of a PH I'm sure there are Rift Lake Africans you could consider. I'm not fluent on the Rift Lake species though...

You could also consider any number of West African fish such as Jewel Cichlids if your water is slightly acidic to neutral...

I understand that adding water from a previously established tank is not a sufficient way to cycle a tank, but it is a good start and speeds up the cycling process. Like I said before in an earlier post I am adding guppies to the tank and at this point I already have. I’ve read and researched quite a bit about cycling, and have cycled over 10 tanks since I started keeping fish. (I have never lost a fish other than a guppy either) As far as the water quality we have very high PH around here. tap water is at about a 7.

 

[fishfobia]

Ya I always recomend rams because they are awesome for 30 gallons and under

 

[fishfobia]

Ya I have around 7 for my ph also I cycle brand new tanks in 24 hours then they are good to go .

 

[thedarkone]

Just to update everyone my 29 gallon now houses a single female convict. I had her in my 75 gal but after developing extreme aggression issues I had to move her into the 29 gallon.

Thanks for all the suggestions though!

 

[dent20]

Yeah, sometimes it doesn't work out like you'd prefer. Rainbows are a great fish though if you ever get the chance to raise them. And I've used established filters and tank water to start up several tanks with absolutely no problems.

 

[thedarkone]

Yeah, sometimes it doesn't work out like you'd prefer. Rainbows are a great fish though if you ever get the chance to raise them. And I've used established filters and tank water to start up several tanks with absolutely no problems.

Yeah, I will probably still get some rainbows, I will just have wait for a little while though. I just started a fish room and right now it only has the 29, and a 10 in it, so lots of room to grow. I think I will eventually get on of those 37 gallons with the eclipse hoods to put rainbows in, just gotta save up some cash.

 

[TrikkyMakk]

ummm.... fishless cycling??? the method that is supported 100% by this forum. Fishless cycling is actually pretty much looked down upon for many reasons. There are tons of threads about fishless cycling too, so there's not really any reason not to do it and save an innocent fish from the stresses of cycling a tank on its own.

I have never read anyone talk about fishless cycling on these forums until now. Doesn't mean they haven't.

I have always cycled my tanks with fish and never had any issues however. If you the ratio of water to fish is decent there should be nothing to worry about.