New tank and old tank

[freshwaterfishlover]

old tank First. I may have over stocked my 29g and that maybe why my fish keep geeting Ick. I woundering If I put 4 Giant/bannded Gouramis, 4 Small Silver Dollars and 3 Corys in the 29g is that still over stocked?

New Tank. I wont to buy another 29g, but have to go with a 20g. Would 4 Ghost Catfish, 3 4'' max sized Pleco and a few shrimp be to much for a 20g?


if I go with a 29g would 5 Ghost Catfish and 5 4'' maxed sized Pleco be over stocked?

[Fishguy2727]

I think the gouramis and silver dollars should both be in a bigger tank. Other than that it all sounds good.

[gm72]

Old tank: Still way too overstocked. Those silver dollars will get about 6", so the 4 of them alone is enough stocking. Not to mention they won't like being cramped in such a small tank. They might survive, but will not likely be happy.

New tank: Ghost catfish can be hard to keep, please make sure you research them before buying. There is no guarantee that a given pleco, even the small ones, will only get 4".

As you are just getting started, I would recommend you to get some smaller schooling fish like tetras that are easier to take care of. Understock a little bit, get used to maintaining and testing water parameters, then slowly grow your stocking as you continue to learn. I also recommend that you try to stay away from thinking of fish in inches vs. learning what the fish need as far as space, current, water parameters, etc. is concerned.

Glad to have you continue to ask questions, good job!

[freshwaterfishlover]

As you see I already have 5 tanks. Every tank does well except my 29g.

[Drumachine09]

Lol, you spellt redoing wrong in your sig.

[cocoa_pleco]

Lol, you spellt redoing wrong in your sig.

lol, you just spelt spelt wrong!

[Drumachine09]

lol, you just spelt spelt wrong!

Dang the quote button.

[cocoa_pleco]

i love the quote button!

Yeah, the silver dollars get too big for the 29g

[Fishguy2727]

There are a few different species silver dollars, even the smallest is too big to be comfortable in a 29.

There are a number of plecos that will max at around 4".

spelled

[Lady Hobbs]

I currently have 6 dollars in my 29 but this will be for only 2 weeks. They ain't liking it either!!!! Too nervous of a fish and too many walls to slam into. They need room as the others have stated.

[2manyfish]

You already have heard about the silver dollars being too big, but if you mean the actual giant gourami then even one will be way too huge for your tank! They get really big (2 feet) and really ugly as they grow. Even the smaller gouramis like the pearl may have a problem with a 29g. Not because of the size of the fish or tank, but the amount of gouramis you want to have. The males will often fight with each other. The same is true for plecos. Unless you get a male and a female there is a good chance that they will fight among themselves.

So in the old tank (29g)...instead of silver dollars why not get some black skirt tetras (aka black widow tetras). They have the same overall shape and you can get the albino form if it suits you. Theres also a long finned variety. You could have some of each if that's what you want! A nice school of 6 or 7 would look great in a tank. Instead of giant gouramis, maybe a single pearl, or dwarf gourami (if you can find a male/female pair you could go that route too). For a pleco, go with a bristlenose pleco as they stay small. Another good thing about bristlenoses is they are sexually dimorphic so you can tell the sexes apart. The males will have more bristles on their snout. That way you can have a pair in there and they may even breed!

In the new tank (20g), you could keep maybe 7 or 8 of the glass cats and one bristlenose or bulldog pleco. Shrimp would be a nice addition to this tank!

There are tons of other fish that would do well in your tanks, and I think it's great that you are researching all this before you buy any!! thumbs2:

[freshwaterfishlover]

I am going to buy a 20g tank tomorrow. There is a slite chance it maybe a 29g I buy. I was wonder If these 3 Pleco get along with 4 Ghost catfish and shrimp. Hairy Tiger,Gold Banded and Golden Stripes.