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I am new to this hobby and have a 29 gallon tank (36x12) and have been looking over fish types to stock with. I like harlequin rasboras, black phantoms, Emporer tetras just from looking them over in books but wasn't sure if my tank would be too small to keep any combination of them or if they would all clash.

I bought a hood for my tank already so I don't want to scrap the 29 and go to a 55 (even though i actually do wish i could....maybe someone will hand me a 55). What does anyone suggest about anything for my situation. I would like to be able to take my tank to college but don't know if that is realistic with anything over a 29g.

I suppose I could always upgrade to a 45 and retain the same dimensions of the hood...would this give me enough room to get more fish?

Welcome to FP. Yes your tank could handle a school of any of the fish you mentioned and possibly a small school of each, however the black skirts can be a bit nippy at time. The harlequins a very lovely fish and look very good in a school. You could place a school of say 8 to 10 of them along with 6 of a smaller cory species as well as a center piece fish of some type. Possibly a gourami of the smaller varieties.

Make sure to check out the compatability of each.

Again welcome.

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

what was your opinion on the emporer tetra? Would be possible to have tetras and rasboras?

Welcome to FP Phoenix

I have a 29 and it is a nice tank to start out with so don't go scrapping it, especially after getting a hood

I too have found the Black Skirt Tetras to be nippy, and I even still think of them as mean old bullies, and I would avoid them unless that is all you want in the tank

Now as far as the Harlequin Rasboras go, they are beautiful, active and hardy little guys. The Emperor Tetras I also have but found that they were not as hardy as I was hoping or told maybe it was just my luck but I lost most of mine because of a bad heat wave :#(

What I would do is try this
~~6-8 Harlequin Rasboras
~~6-8 Neon Tetras
~~6-8 Smaller Corries (I recommend Corydora Hasbrosus, they are awesome and stay rather small also)

Then if you would like to have a center piece fish, see about getting maybe a really pretty female betta, or if you can luck out and find a young, less agressive male betta (but males, are really luck of the draw, as most fish are).

I find the combination is really nice, and for a 29 it would be nice to watch...

much better than my 29, currently loaded with guppy fry, that makes it look like an ant bed that's been stirred up by the class bully:%)

Just my suggestion, no matter what enjoy it, it's just the beginning of an insane but fun hobby...heidi michelle

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Have to agree with Heidi that the emperor's can be a bit more tempermental to water quality and/or tank fluctuations so may not be the best for a beginner's tank. The rasbora's would go good with neons as suggested.

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain