# Looking for Stocking Advice



## gamergirl010 (Feb 16, 2014)

I have a 29 gallon community tank with schooling fish, but it looks empty. What can I add to it to make it healthy and pretty to look at?

My tank is stocked with the following fish:
4 male fancy guppies
6 neon tetras
5 zebra danios
1 albino cory
2 Storba cory

I have been told by several people that since the Cory's stick to the bottom and are cleaners that they do not really count towards the inch per gallon rule. If that's true then I have about 8 - 12 inches of space - gallon ration remaining to fill. I love my tank and the fish can be pretty sometimes but a lot of the time it looks really empty. The only time the colorful fish are active is during feeding and when the light is off it looks totally empty. 

Is there a centerpiece fish or two that is compatible with my stock fish or another small school that is colorful and active that I can add? I would really like something to look at when I look at the tank instead of a bunch of empty space. If I could find a large centerpiece fish that would not eat my other fish and would be happy in this tank then that would be perfect but I could settle with a few more small fish if need be. I just want something lively, pretty, and interesting to look at. 

Any ideas? 
Thanks!


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## gamergirl010 (Feb 16, 2014)

I am doing a lot of research and according to AqAdvisor my aquarium filtration capacity for above mentioned species is 174% and my aquarium stocking level is 70%. Would a drawf gourami or two be a good idea maybe? Maybe I can add 2 or 3 since my filtration is high and even with 3 dwarf gourami I am only at 80% stocking level. Will these fish get along with the other fish in my tank?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

our tank is pretty well stocked. And yes cories do count. throw the inch per gal out the window


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## gamergirl010 (Feb 16, 2014)

susankat said:


> our tank is pretty well stocked. And yes cories do count. throw the inch per gal out the window


So the AqAdvisor is not calculating correctly? Even with the Cory's counting I am only at 70% stocking capacity according to AqAdvisor. Do you think that it would be a bad idea to add 2 dwarf gouramis?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

If you feel the need to add anything you need to add a couple more albino cories and leave it at that.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I agree, the cories are schooling fish and you're pretty much up to your max on mid swimmers. You could *maybe* throw in a female betta, but I'd check with Beverly (majerah1) on that one, she's our resident betta expert and would be able to tell you if it would work with your current setup.

You could always add live plants to spruce things up...


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## gamergirl010 (Feb 16, 2014)

Thanks for all the help!


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## gamergirl010 (Feb 16, 2014)

Here's what it looks like, maybe you can see up to 4 fish but there are fifteen in there. It just looks so empty! Normally the danios are on the top though, you cant see them in this photo but even then they are black and white and thats not very eye catching.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Aesthetically (if I may critique your setup), there are 3 things I see wrong with your tank:

1. Bright substrate. It makes everything else look washed out.
2. Bad light. You're using a standard T8 fluorescent hood. To show off your fish more, I would look into something like Finnex's MonsterRay LED and an all glass Versa-Top. Shouldn't be more than $50-$80 total.
3. Fish selection. Your neons, if healthy and happy, will really stand out but guppies and zebra danios aren't the brightest-colored fish out there.

The biggest issue is the substrate. I'd look into something neutral like clay-colored gravel, or dark like black onyx sand, that will show off your fish more. Nothing will look brilliant compared to the red in your substrate.

That's all my opinion though. I don't mean to diminish your setup. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a solid 7 as it is right now


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

Gizmo said:


> I agree, the cories are schooling fish and you're pretty much up to your max on mid swimmers. You could *maybe* throw in a female betta, but I'd check with Beverly (majerah1) on that one, she's our resident betta expert and would be able to tell you if it would work with your current setup.
> 
> You could always add live plants to spruce things up...




majerah1 is a girl???I always thought she was a boy.............


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I have to agree that the bright gravel is taking away from the fish.
I also think that a couple more cories is a good idea and even if your stocking increases you can increase your water changes hopefully to make things workout.
Oh yea and a big no on more than one dwarf gourami unless you yourself are 100% certain you have a female.99.9% of DG are males!
If you got a pair(M&F) you may end up upsetting balance in the tank also so I would skip the DG completely.Although they are pretty fish and almost anywhere will have them I really don't think ANYONE should purchase or own DG.There are many issues with in all reality.
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f2/dwarf-gouramis-39451.html?highlight=dwarf+gourami
both Ben and Gary did a great job explaining the "outs" of the DG.

This may explain some of the reasons,search dwarf gourami disease also!
And AQadvisor said nothing about having more then 1 DG?


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

if they get them from a good breeder then i dont see why not.
But gamergirl i would listen to coral bandit.i would not get 1.they are a hit or miss,mostly miss.


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