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Hi guys. I'm trying to figure out what kind of bottom feeder would work well with my Platy tank.

29g "Sunset Tank"
1 red wag platy
1 sunset wag platy
2 sunset platys
2 rainbow platys
6 dwarf coral platys
2 tequila sunrise guppies
1 powder blue dwarf gourami

I was really trying to go with a red/orange/yellow color theme, but I don't think i have as much choices with bottom feeders. I was considering these options:

Kuhli Loaches
Panda Corys (not with the theme, but cute and small!)
Cherry Shrimp
More sunset platys
some sort of "show" fish to offset all the platys?

any other ideas? What kinds work well with Platys?

The pottery that growls!

Viciouschiapet,
I am new to this hobby, so take my opinion for what it is worth! Your tank seems to be pretty full to me so I wouldn't add a bottom feeder. If I was going to add one I would add a couple of corys and move some of your platys to another home, just my opinion though. I bet your tank looks pretty awesome with all the platys, I am a big fan of the red wags. Good Luck!

Justin

Colts Fan For Life
30g platy tank: 2 sunburst wag platys, 2 redtailed white calico platys, 2 red wag platys, 1 fry(not sure who it belongs to), 1 Golden CAE.
Bettas:1 VT male

Seems to be pretty tight in there 0-0, but ghost shrimp are 8 per gallon, so you could throw a couple of those in there, or take out 1 or 2 platys and throw like 20 of them in there O_O' kuhli loaches won't be seen unless your a night owel, who can see in the dark. 0,o pandas im afriad wont fit :[

i was bamboozled! The guy at the fish store said i'd still have room for a few bottomfeeders ={ boooooo! what about cherry shrimp though? still not even room for any of those?

The pottery that growls!

Hi there,
Ok, first of all, how long has this tank been set up?
Do you know anything at all about the Nitrogen Cycle?
I read your other post about heater/light/air pump, and it seems this tank is relatively new.
You have A LOT of fish in a brand new tank.

Platys, are a large robust fish achieving 3 inches commonly in females. Males usually reach half that size.
When stocking a tank, you need to take inches of fish into account.
The 6 Dwarf platys, will grow to be 2 inches each, so that is 12 inches of fish.
the other 4 platys will reach about 3 inches each, so another 12 inches of fish.
2 Guppies at 2 inches each, another 4 inches.
1 Dwarf gourami at 3 inches.
Thats a total of 31 inches of fish in a 29g tank. Id call that totally and completely fully stocked.

If your tank isnt cycled yet, please be aware that many of these fish could die before the cycling period is over.
Pls dont listen to pet store people, they dont know anything often about fish at all.
I certainly dont think you have any room for bottom feeders, as many of these need groups of 6 or more, and some, like kuhli loaches, reach 4 inches in length.

If you removed some of the platies, you could have some bottom feeders.

Platis, guppies, and gouramis will all devour small shrimp such as ghosts and cherries with ease. An awfully expensive treat for your fish.



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Hi. The tank is new to me, but the previous owners had it running for a long time. I thought dwarf platys were smaller than 2"!!! I saw that online somewhere, but I can't find the link now of course. FP's own profile for Platys lists it's size as 2.4", not 3"! Either way, I won't add any more fish. I had so many people recommend that fish store and it's workers...

The pottery that growls!

I have kept and raised thousands of platies.
While many stay around 2.5 inches (mostly males), many older larger females are more than capable of reaching 3 inches or even more.
Dwarf platies arent that much smaller honestly.

Also, what are you going to do with the thousands of fry you may have in the future?

You should definitely not trust the LFS.
My first tank was a 25g tall tank, stocked with lots of fish, including three Bala Sharks that many different LFS' assured me would be fine to maturity in my tank.
Only after I started doing research online did I find out my "yes theyre suitable for a 25g tank" fish would grow to be 14 inches long and needed 150g!
So take what pet stores say with a grain of salt.


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Providing you have good filtration and keep a good water change routine, you have room for a small pleco. Maybe a bristlenose, they max at 6" and eat algea in the tank and veggies. Or a panther pleco, same size, but a meat eater.

As soon as all of those live bearers start breeding which they have possibly started already you are going to have a "MASSIVE" over load and please dont forget as mentioned by a breeder they will get a lot bigger.

I have not had live bearers for a long time and no matter how good your filtration is this will not stop them breeding or getting bigger.

I would start by removing the Dwarf Gourami and the Guppies.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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I'm not going to get rid of any of my fishies. I love them! I'll just set up another tank when the fishies grow up! Right now they shouldn't be overstocked. The dwarves are barely 1" and only 3 of the platys look like they may even be 2" so there is time. I keep seeing even better deals on tanks now that I finally bought mine, so it shoulnd't even be too expensive if I save up for a bit. Good excuse to set up another tank anyway =D

The pottery that growls!

i have khuli loaches in my 35g and i see them all the time and they are very active and they don't take up much space. probably depends on the type of substrate thats in the tank whether they would bury themselves or not

hi
woot woot woot woot woot woot

Chiapet,
when you stock a tank, the biggest mistake you can make is stocking it by the size of tiny little baby fish.
You always need to stock by Adult size.
Its simple enough to swap female fish in for males.
This prevents fry problems.
I have kept tons of fish, and No, Ive never liked giving any of them up either. I love my fish too, but that means doing the right thing for them.
They live in confined spaces where only how well we care for them, giving them what THEY Need over what we want, will determine if they live and thrive or if they suffer and die.
Its hard to put what you want aside in favor of what the fish need, but what they need will keep them alive, and if that means more space, less companions, and more work on our part, its worth it, I think.


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I love them! I'll just set up another tank when the fishies grow up!

That's the spirit!

There's always room for one more tank....

Sneaky... i'm going to get another tank for the fishies. I said that up above! stocking the tank does indeed take into account the adult sizes of the fish, but mine aren't adults yet. Doesn't that mean that as of RIGHT NOW, they are not overstocked? How is that not doing the best thing for them if I don't give any of them up but instead set up another tank for them before they fully mature and DO become a problem with overstocking? I really wish i didn't have to be treated like an animal abuser or criminal or something before anything bad has really happened, and none of it was even intentional. I don't see how setting up a separate tank to split up the fishies would really be so inconsiderate to the fishes needs.

Thanks for the support, Beardude. I've already been looking for new tanks and am waiting on a good deal. My boyfriend and I are moving out of our house soon though, so once we get the new place I will decide what tank to get and where to put it. I could even cycle it with some of the platys and filtration media from the current tank. Setting up a second tank is so much easier than the first!

The pottery that growls!

Chiapet,
pls dont take internet posts so seriously.
Im not treating you "like a criminal", im just providing my honest opinion.
Many new aquariasts come here and demand help but then refuse to acknowledge good advice.
Ive found its better to be blunt than careful when it comes to aquarium newbies.
I wish someone had been that way for me when I started,
I would have lost a lot less fish, and wouldnt have had to give so many away.


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Sneaky - I've had fish before. I'm not a total newbie. I just put too much faith into the people at this LFS because everyone recommended them and their employees so highly. Obviously I made a mistake and will not do that again. I did make a post here on FP for suggestions in stocking the tank, but barely got any replies. As soon as I posted the fish I had bought, everyone was super fast to say it was overstocked. I was exaggerating when i said criminal, but look, I made a mistake, I was quick to decide to do what was necessary to fix the mistake, the mistake is not even urgent at this point in time... I don't think it's necessary to still in that case treat me like a newbie that won't listen. You made a comment about how we have to do what's right for the fishes... aren't I doing that? The flag has been waved! No need for more shots, know what I mean? I'm sure you've just become hardened to this after years of people actually making mistakes and refusing to do anything about them, but there's still a person behind the screenname. You may prefer people to be overly harsh, but I don't.

The pottery that growls!