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a school of corys and cherry barbs in a 29 gallon?

i am in the middle of completely re modeling my 29 gallon tank, but i am tinkering around with stocking ideas right now, i have plenty of time to come up with a plan.

the tank will be overfiltered, it will at least have java moss, not sure about any other plants because the tank is a little on the low light side.

now, i currently have a pair of cherry barbs, and i enjoy watching them. i did some research and found even though they dont really school you need 5+ of them. i have had some corys for quite some time and i want to increase the school to 5+.

for now, when my ten gallon is cycled, the 4 fish will take up temporary home. the question on my mind is what to drop in the tank with them, and if 5 is a big enough school for the corys.

im thinking of a few differant ideas, i will pop a few out there and see what everyone thinks.

5+ peppered corys
5 cherry barbs (2m 3f)
(?) tetras or danios or harlequin rasboras

or

5+ peppered corys
5 cherry barbs
7ish ember tetras (.75 inches max, very small)
1 male dwarf gourami

now, i was kind of thinking DG as a centerpiece fish, i had one in the 10 gallon for several years and he was very fun to watch and i enjoyed the morning feeding being greeted with a bubble nest covering half the tank. i am just not sure if that many fish would overcrowd my 29 gallon.


also, water stats ect.

PH 7.8
Dh 9
Kh 120ppm

30% water changes weekly when i gravel vac, using sand substrate, and the tank will be over filtered. still unsure about planting as i dont have a green thumb, and i hate junk snails.

so, thoughts and suggestions welcome! looking for any good ideas involving cherry barbs and corys!

You should go for at least 6 of the Cories, that would be a big enough school for them. 5 Cherry Barbs sounds good too, I think they enjoy being in a school more than a pair, but that's just my opinion.

As for what to put with them, you could always do a Betta. I have had a couple of tanks with Bettas as a centerpiece fish. They'd look good with a medium sized school (8-10) of Harlequin Rasboras or Cardinal Tetras, plus the small group of Cherry Barbs. Or you could swap the Betta for a Dwarf Gourami.

As for plants, I had an Amazon Sword growing in .75 WPG without fertilizer or CO2 and it did fine. Not a ton of growth, but it certainly didn't die. Java Fern and Anubis work too, especially when tied to rocks and wood. Hornwort or Water Wisteria is a good floating plant, although Hornwort does tend to lose it's needles quite often in lower lighting, at least in my experience. What kind of lighting do you have? How many watts? If you wanted to upgrade you could go with the 55 Watt Bright-Kit from AH Supply. It works great for me, and would give you just under 2 WPG. Hope this helps.

ok, so, 6 corys then. im still looking at 5 cherry barbs, which leaves the rest open.

so, the question is, should i go with a very small schooling fish and then a centerpiece, or a larger schooling fish like a rasbora or danio or other type of tetra and no centerpiece?

how bout this load out:

5 cherry barb
6 cory
1 DG
(?) ember or neon tetra

i am leaning no betta cause its hit and miss, i dont want a agressive specimen that will terrorize the tank mates, and i hate returning fish. also those fins might get nibbled on by any of the schooling fish. also, i am thinking more small tetras cause i can get a bigger school and because they are a bit more docile than danios and wouldnt scare the barbs as much.


as far as plants, i am using DIY dual 14w bulb full spectrum lighting. under the hood on the right and left there are 4w bulbs to help broaden the reach of the lamps. its about 2000 lumens,and just over 1 WPG. the full spectrum should help plants grow better than a standard flourescent tube though. if that isnt enough light, there are higher wattage bulbs available in this size to get it over 2 WPG...its just that neither the corys or barbs like alot of light, could just be because of the lack of a full school.

so, keep suggestions comming!

Yeah, it is kind of hit or miss with Bettas. My first one terrorized my German Rams, and the second one didn't eat if it was by itself! Aren't fish complex little creatures

6 Cories, 5 Barbs, a DG, and a school of smaller tetras sounds good. That should give you action in about every level of the tank.

With your lighting I'd suggest Java Fern, Java Moss, Anubis, maybe an Amazon Sword. If you want a floating plant to create some shade for the Barbs, Tetras, and DG, you could try Hornwort or Water Wisteria. Good luck!

ok, thanks! i need to find a good de snail treatment to soak the plants in before i even get java moss. after that i will start looking. i may even try dropping in higher wattage bulbs after i get a proper school of fish and go from there.

i do have fertalizer, but i dont have CO2 injection and not certain i wish to mess with it yet...i will be going over pros and cons of planting and see what will be involved to keep healthy plants.

i was also considering this stocking, opinions anyone?

6 cherry barbs
6 cory
1 BN pleco

would that be overstocking my tank?

i had also thought about a school of ottos, but wasnt sure if they would need a large group, i have heard compared to BN pleco's they were very tidey...i have heard rumours about plecos being VERY messy.