FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Ok, so I decided on my stocking for my 29 gallon a couple weeks ago and now I am questioning something about it haha.

I am pretty set in stone about it, and I know it is overstocked but my fish tanks are just about the single thing that I take impeccable care of hahahaha. I have a penguin 330 filter and keep on maintenance and cleaning quite well. I think that this stocking plan will be fine since I stay on top of water changes etc... But anyway, here is my current plan.

6 corys (spotted trilineatus)
6 harlequin rasboras
6 cardinal tetras
2 pineapple swortails
1 pearl gourami

Now, what I was wondering is, should I drop the harlequin rasboras and increase the number of cardinals? or should I just slightly increase the number of cardinals (to like 8) and add like 2 more mid sized fish? (by mid sized i mean smaller than a swordail but larger than a cardinal) is there something else that is silvery and pinkish like a harlequin but is slightly larger so I could add like a pair or something instead of the 6 rasboras?

and here is another option: I have 4 harlequin rasboras in my 10 gallon fish tank right now that have been together for a long time now as just a school of 4. they do seem to school very well, would leaving them as a school of 4 and increasing the cardinals to 8 work out? or should it be either 6 harleys or no harleys at all?

thanks

I don't like the idea of swordtails. Firstly, they get fairly large, and well, you need the space for the cardinals and harleys. Furthermore, your stocking in that respect is limited to two females, as males will quarrel and a pair will likely result in the male pursuing the female to the point where his lust driven instincts could be mistaken for bullying. Did I mention female swordies can grow in excess of 5"? You're best off increasing the size of your schools to maybe 10 each (or 8 and throw in a BN).

welll here the deal with the swordtails, hehe, just to clear it up there are 3 main reasons why I want to keep them. (oh btw I only have females anyway, I keep them for the color not really for the swords haha)

1. I don't have any other orange fish and they're so bright
3. they were my first fish
4. I have an unlimited supply of fry from the same descendants at my school so I can trade in mine for smaller ones at any time I want hahaha. this means I can keep eternally juvenile sized swordtails (i plan on trading them when they get to be more than 3", mine are about 6 months old now and about that size) and this counts even after I graduate, all alumni are welcome at school even if they just want to swap their fish

oh btw I know the tank at school is well taken care of because my best friend and I are the ones who maintain it

Well then, power to you.

Although, unless you enjoy scrubbing down the tank every other week, I'd keep the schools at six, as you'll want something to keep the algae at bay.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 26-Sep-2004 16:40

hehe... actually this tank doesn't get a whole lot of sun, its my upstairs tank that is always green and slimy which is why I am going to get some otos in there as soon as I finish moving my upstairs fish around.