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hey guys,in a few weeks i will have a 29 gal long tank freed up,well have any of you seen the movie a fish called wanda,at the very start,there is a 55 gal long tank,absolutely chock a block full,of all different sorts of tetras,silver dollars,clown loaches,up side down catfish,bristle noses,black ghost knife,asorted sharks,corys,and of course the centrepeace,wanda,the angle fishwell i wanted to do a setup like this for my daughter(she fell in love with all the different fish in that tank at the start of wanda)except in a 29gal,and instead of the angle for a centerpeace,i was thinking a pair of rams or a couple of gouramis,do you guys think this combo of fish in this tank will be ok?obviously i cant put as many fish in this as a 55gal,but the same fish just not as many of them.....oh and id probly have to skip on the sharks,i rekon a 29 gal isnt big enuff for sharks a?

ditch the silver dollars too, i have heatrd they get rather large. get stuff that will generally stay pretty small. but yes that stock does sound pretty good!

wish i could do this too.

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

The silver dollars, clown loaches, black ghost knifes, and quite a few of the common sharks would be too large for a 29 gallon tank. You may be able to keep a rainbow shark or SAE in there but they both can get a decent size and are pretty active. The upside down cats can also get 4-5 inches but mine seem to be slow growers and hide all day. Rams or gourami's would be a good choice as a centerpiece fish. I haven't seen the movie, but tetras are best in larger schools but a few smaller schools of different ones may work. A list of the tetra's you would like to keep would help in picking out which ones and how many.

What does that mean, Bob? "Till the cows come home." Where have the cows been?

The rainbow sharks would be OK in there, until they outgrow the tanks. They become really agressive if kept with too many bottom feeders in such a small tank. I suggest you just leave em be. A larger species of gourami will do wonderful as the centerpiece! I suggest the Pearl Gouramis. They are beautiful, stunning, and are decently sized, enough to be a centerpiece for a 29g. You probably wont have more than 2 properly sized schools, or 3 smaller schools. Like AO, i think that a list would help indefinatley. Other than the Tetras, cories, upsidedown cats, gouramis, and BNs there really isnt much else you can do for now.

Good luck, and have fun!

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ok well my daughter and i are still throwing some ideas around,so ill go throo my atlas and get her to pic out what tetras she wants,i was thinking like 5-6 in each school,and ill go from there,then get back to yous with the stocklist thats guna be put in,even i would like to see a tank similar to the 1 on wanda,i cant remember how long its been since ive had peacefull setup like this,i cant waitim also thinking maybe i should sell the 29gal and upsize to the 55 gal,it would open up the choices of fish i could put in,mmmmmm,anyway just tossing ideas around

i think a 55g will give you mich more leeway as to what you can get. i would definatley upsize if the money and space is available!

sounds good please post before and after pics!!!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

well, 1 55 gallon is completely better in all ways. You wouldnt be able to achieve more than 2 properly sized schools of tetras in the 29. In a 55, you could achieve 3-4 properly sized schools, and maybe even 5-6 below average sized schools. 3 larger schools will look really nice, especially if they are all different shapes. Then you could add the sharks and keep them there for good, as long as you have enough territories and not long flowy finned fish. The cories and the BN wont be bothered by the shark as long as it goes into its own territory. Then you could have about 3-5 of the Pearl Gouramis, or 6-7 Opaline Gouramis. And if you get a 55 gallon, the angel fish could be your centerpiece instead!

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mmmm,im at a crossroads,i really want the 55gal,and they have a second hand 1 at my lfs,so i was thinking i could trade in the 29gal,for the 55gal,then the only bad thing is,to sqeeze it in,(the 55gal)i will have to move 3 tanks,this is the only place left,(some of you mite have red my post about my tank outside in the pergola,it has my fh pair in it,thats how strapped for room we are),and these 3 tanks are the biggest i have,so a small job can just turn into a huge jobbut seing a 55gal with heaps of nice active fish,im leaning towards the 55gal,(i cant wait to tell the mrs this 1)well for now ill just go with the 55gal,that way im not so restricted on fish,this will take longer to get setup,but my daughter will be happier having more fish,then i dont have to worrie about upgrading later,ok so now were stocking a 55gal,my mind is madeup,so now ill have schools of 10 tetras in each,ill still go with the gouramis as a centrepiece,because my daughter loves neon tetras,(so id say they will be goong in)and ive read somewhere that angle fish are the natral predator of neons.
so far wev got
2 pearl gouramis-centerpeice
5 clown loaches
2 upside down catfish
10 noens tetras
10 redeye tetras,more tetras to come,still havent decided.
1 black ghost knife
6 corys
2 silver sharks
1 pictus catfish
well thats wev got so far,want do you think about this combo.

be warned clown loaches get really big... be prepared to have another jome ready for them!!! but another thing is 6 clown loaches will be much happier and will form a better school. i totally understand why clown loaches are so cool. i had one for a while. he was amazing! plus be sure to have some snails in there for them to graze on. and don't worry they will keep the snail population down, they just love to eat them!

and another thing is that tank already sounds fully stocked to the brim... remember 1inch of fish per gallon of water. if you actually use this many fish you will need heavy aeration and i really do not reccomend this!!!
if you loose the clown loaches i would say it will be fine, but still good aeration will be needed and also lots of plant life...

sorry that this post was really scatter brained and hopefully you can make some sense out of it!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

yeah i know,this is the part where i try explane to my daughter,that we will have to make ANOTHER change to the stocklist.
anyone got any ideas yet.

maybe instead of tetras get some random barbs... then get some tiger barbs. they look atlot like clown loaches in manyways. then get some cherry barbs, some gold barbs and maybe some danios. but if you do this you will loose a gourami and an angel fish... maybe get a tingoil barb or something similar to be the centerpeice???

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

You have to watch out for the black ghost knife as well. Though they grow painstakingly slow, they will eventually get HUGE. A 55 gallon will suffice for a ghost for quite a while, but when it gets big I'd be worried about your cories and other small fish.

2 pearl gouramis-centerpeice
5 clown loaches
2 upside down catfish
10 noens tetras
10 redeye tetras,more tetras to come,still havent decided.
1 black ghost knife
6 corys
2 silver sharks
1 pictus catfish
well thats wev got so far,want do you think about this combo.

Ok, Heres my suggestions

5x Clown Loaches--I think that these will grow waay too big for a really crowded tank. You might get away with it for awhile, but a 75g tank is the best minimum tank for them.

2x Pearl Gourami--Nice choice! They are the perfect size for the tank, and they look nice!

2x Upside Down Cats--I dunno what to think of them. Never had em. Id ask around if they are good for the tank or not.....

10x Neon Tetras--I would suggest cardinal tetras instead, because they are hardier and display better colors.

10x Redeyes--Would look nice. If you are getting more than 1 more school, i would lowering the numbers of each tetra by two.

1x BGK--Gets really large, and will eat the smaller fish if it can get it. Watch for the corys and the tetras

6x Corys--Good Bottom Feeders. It probably wouldnt matter too much which one you get....

2x Silver Sharks--Otherwise known as Bala Sharks, i really like this fish! It does grow to 13" though, and im not sure if it is ok or not for a 55 gallon. They do like to school i think, and i think that they appreciate 3-5 more.

1x Pictus Cat--I think that these are predatory cats, and you might have to watch over the smaller ones, as i heard that they can eat them. Im not a catfish expert, so i would get a second Opinion first!

That pretty much covers it. Have fun and remember to go slowly!

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there is a guy in another thread who added two sailfin miollies twice the size of his pictus cat and it tormented and killed them. drop the pictus and the balas unless you do the barbs tank, but eventually an upgrade will be necessary for the tinfoils and the bala/silver sharks. the pictus will be bad new no matter what i think.

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

mmmmmmmm,what to do,this would have to be the hardset part of setting up a new mixed tank,well ill take all the great helpfull things you guys said,and make up a new stocklist,also now youve all got me thinking should my daughter and i push for a little more and go up to a 75 gal,then we can get all the fish she wants,plus then we wont havt to worry about these fish outgrowing the tank,ive tryed to explain to my daughter about,fish getting to big,but she is only 6,so sometimes she dosent understand,she picks fish on there looks,not what is compatable,so this is the problem,so ill talk to the mrs,jeeze last time was bad enuff asking to go from a 20gal to a 55gal,now ive gotta ask AGAIN about the 75gal,(wish me luck)and see what she says(THE UNDISPUTED BOSS)about getting a 75gal,then yous can help me with the stocking for this tank,that will be even better.

Goodluck on the 75

Explain it'll be easier to maintain (wont have to do as frequent water changes) makes a better visual statement in the house, will look so much more impressive, and will be a great father daughter activity!

I think a 6 year old will understand about fish getting too large. Ask the Mrs's for one of your daughters old dresses from when she was a baby (preferably one she's got a photo in) sit down with your girl and explain about how people grow. Then compare what would have happened if you kept her in her dress for the past 6 years to what would happen to the fish in the same "house". You could also try with her old crib (cot) or playpen if she had one. Even the high chair might seem a bit tiny to her now. I think she might understand .

^_^

ok thanx i think she understands now,i ended using my huge fh as a example,i sadi to her imagine if dad put him in there,and i pointed to a old 6 gal tank under 1 of my other tanks,yeah so shes on point now..and ive spoken to the mrs,and she said i just have to wait untill around mid jan,xmas is close so she said after that its okso now i need some ideas on a 75 gal,man this is guna look great.so guys hit me with some ideas,now room is no problem....