So, as I said in my intro, I'm new to keeping a larger aquarium, and really new to having a heater and what not. Right now I have a 29 gallon set up, it currently has 3 fruit tetras, 3 platys, and i just bought 3 fancy male guppies but 2 of them arent looking very good :( and I have a common pleco also.So to begin my question asking, I've heard all sorts of variations on what temp is good to be at. Petco told me anywhere up to 80 degrees, our local pet store told me that 76 is better, and a friend of mine said no, keep it at 72. So, opinions? I'm sure it varies depending on what types of fish?

Second question. ALong with Mr. pleco in there, what else should I get to assist with scavenging off the floor of the tank to keep it tidy?

Third question, suggestions for future additions to the tank? This is mostly for my kids (aint gunna lie, I'm loving it too) so I want stuff that they can see easily and are pleasant on the eyes, but also do not cost an arm and a leg so that if things go awry and bad things happen, I'm not in the poor house because of it. At least til I get a handle on what I'm doing.

Common mistakes, or knowledge I NEED to know?

Thanks in advance for your help, and for hopefully not making me feel like a total idiot.

__________________
"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

Welcome to the forum and the hobby

1. Depends. 80 is high for a tropical community, in my opinion. 72 is tolerable for many species and might save you a little on your electric bill, but I would do 76 if I were you. Do you have a thermometer to measure exactly what temp is in the tank? I put a thermometer in one corner and the heater in the other corner and almost always get cooler water in the thermometer corner, furthest from the heater.

2. You'll want to trade that pleco in for something smaller. Common plecos grow to about 24" long and a fully grown common pleco needs about 55 gallons all to himself to be comfortable. I like rubber-lip or bristle-nose plecos, because they only get up to about 4"-6". Plecos are great at cleaning algae off the walls but do little in the substrate - I would suggest getting some Malaysian Trumpet Snails. They are commonly thought of as pests at local pet stores so they might give you a bag for free. MTS burrow into the substrate so you won't have to vacuum the gravel as much.

3. With tropical communities, many fish enjoy bigger schools. I'm pretty sure the guppies and platys will be fine on their own, but the first you listed (fruit fish?) might be schooling fish. Look them up on the internet to see. Otherwise, you could add a nice centerpiece fish like a gourami or a betta. They can both be had for cheap.

__________________
Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

I had no idea plecos got that big, holy cow! I thought they were an essential to keep the tank clean. See what I know? lol I have a thermometer that is on the opposite side as the heater, and right now I'm at 76 degrees. The tetras I have, I kind of feel bad for because I got them at walmart while we still had the 5 gallon, i thought they were fun looking--one is pink, one greem, and one blue. It wasnt til I looked them up that i learned that they are tattooed that color :( poor fishies, that seems so mean! They seem ok for right now though just the 3 of them but ive already noticed they like to nip at the tails of the guppies. It's not looking good for the guppies, two of them are now just hanging out at the top of the tank not moving much, I'm hoping they perk up but if not I have 24 hours to bring back the dead and get an exchange.

I do want to get something that is a little bit bigger to stand out, I guess that's what you mean by centerpiece? I was thinking a parrot fish...or kissing fish. Not sure if that is their "real" names....

__________________
"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

1. Yeah, I always read the name plates over the tank because they won't lie, while many clerks at big stores like WalMart, PetCo and PetsMart don't know what they're talking about.

2. One of my steadfast rules is I do NOT buy fish from WalMart, they really mistreat their fish.

3. You might have to find a place that takes fish on donation or you risk killing your guppies.

4. Kissing fish are also called kissing gouramis so you're good there, but a parrot fish is usually a blood parrot cichlid which are fairly aggressive fish that get big and need lots of space as well. Look up their profiles on Google to get a better idea.

I would stop shopping for fish at WalMart if possible. Do you have any mom&pop local pet stores near you? They might be a little pricier ($1 or $2 more per fish, except for the common ones which are about evenly priced), but you run much less risk of bringing home a sick or injured fish.

__________________
Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Yea I have not and will not buy any more wal mart fish. The tetras i'm talking about brough home ich. I was able to cure it pretty easily but that was the end of my walmart days. I got the platys at petco, and the 3 guppies and pleco from a local shop. So far the platys have been the healthiest fish I have EVER bought. I'm pretty sure I caught two of them doing the nasty the other day, so they must be happy! Now i'm just kind of hoping they don't spawn because I'm still learning so much and having to deal with babies isnt really something I had planned on. I didnt even know they were live bearers til after I bought them.

now, obviously i'm not going to go and get all these fish at once, but over time, but how many fish are acceptable in the 29 gallon? I've looked this one up and get pretty varied answers. . . I was hoping to be able to have 20 or so fish in there so that something is always moving and looking fun.

Oh...and I thought bettas had to be kept alone?

__________________
"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

How long has your tank been up and going with fish in it? Why are some of your fish not looking so well?

Hi: As you see on my sig. I got almost the same fishes and my tank is always at 76 degrees and all my fishes handle it very well

__________________
55 Gals. Plants Anubias,Amazon Swords and more. Tetras: 6 Sarpaes.4 Red Eyes,5 Black Skirts,4 Giant Danios,2 Lemons, 2 Emerald Cory,4 German Blue.
10 gals. tank : Plants, Full of Guppies; 20 Gals. Tank planted Full of Guppies: 1 gal tank filled with Guppies

Agree'd with everyone on here so far. (Did you let your tank go through the Nitrogen Cycle before you added fish?)

__________________
20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

It really depends on their attitude. Some will work well in communities with fish that don't look like bettas... Some will go postal on everything. With the guppies.. I don't suggest a betta since they're long fins will remind them of bettas, plus they prefer the warmer temperatures or 80.

I would wait for your tank to cycle before adding any more fish. You don't really need a "scavengers"

Nothing is truly a scavenger except the pest snails that Gizmo mentioned, other types are Pond & Ramshorn snails.

Plecos get big and don't just feed on algae, they need driftwood to rasp on, they get a lot of nutrients from that, a lot of Plecos get malnourished if there is no real driftwood. So you should definitely return it.

Plus as long as you don't over feed, those fish you have should be able to eat all the food you give them because it hits the bottom of the tank.

Here's how you can tell the difference between your male and female Guppies and Platys





As for a centerpiece fish, a Dwarf Gourami or two female Honey/Honey-flame Gouramis would look nice. But like I said first... you should wait before you add more fish.

Do you have a water test kit? Don't trust Petco, or Petsmart on testing your water, they either don't test it at all or just use test strips. Don't waste your money on strips because they're inaccurate. I suggest buying the API Freshwater Test Kit, it's $25 dollars online, it's definitely worth your money especially since most in-stores sell it at $40.

__________________

The tank has been set up for about a week, I had no idea about cycling (honestly, still don't quite understand it) I left it just filter for 3 days while using a water purifier liquid and then added the 3 platys and 3 tetras I already had. Then I added the pleco and the guppies today. One guppie did die, and I don't think it had anything to do w/ the tank, i think he was just not well to begin with because he was obviously ill from the moment I put him in there. The other two are doing quite well.

I had already figured out how to sex the platys and it turns out that I have 2 males and a female. Both guppies are male. I have no clue what the fruit tetras are though.

I don't have a test kit, I must be even more duh than I originally thought i was haha...but I will be picking one of those up on pay day.

As far as drift wood goes....is that something I can buy at a pet store?

Thank you all for your advice! I really do appreciate it!

__________________
"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

Your tank is going through the Nitrogen Cycle at this point then. Search "Nitrogen Cycle" on the forum and you'll find many good threads to help you out.

When you get a test kit, get a liquid one, as the strips are not very accurate.

You can find drift wood at pet/fish stores usually.

__________________
20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

I searched it and I'm overwhelmed with questions from other newbies...is there a simple step by step dummies guide to cycling you can reccomend or link me to?

__________________
"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

From what I can find, I did do a few things right (YAY ME) but i didnt know they were right at the time haha. I added gravel, ornaments, and water from the old 5 gallon directly into the 29 gallon. And also used the filter cartridge taht was in there (the tank i'm using is second hand from a friend) for the first 5 days til I got out to get a new one. So hopefully that assisted with seeding the tank (Is that the right term? I'm learning, i think!)

__________________
"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

I thought your tank was fairly new.....

Just do a search for the nitrogen cycle and read the article on the process. Every tank has to go through it.

You have added way too much fish to get your tank through the cycle and adding more will just end up in misery. You absolutely need a test kit, liquid type (not strips), in order to track the progress of the tank. The results will tell you whether or not to do a water change, which is what is going to save your fish. Do not let them sell you any chemicals to put in your tank, no matter how much the fish store person says you need it.

Until you get a test kit and know what the ammonia values are in your tank, you need to be doing at least 25% water changes everyday or you will start loosing all of your fish. You need to start this now, before you read up and understand all of this. If you want to wait, you're fish will be dead by then.

I'll get one first thing tomorrow from the pet store assuming it isnt outrageously priced. Otherwise I'll order one tomorrow online. I'm trying , I really am. I really want this to work out or I wouldnt be here asking questions and trying to learn. I apologize if I've offended you, I guess they will sell any idiot a fish :(

__________________
"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

While my bristlenose pleco is fun, she's not that great at keeping algae off the walls in my 20 gallon tank - I think some (all?) varieties of pleco slack off a great deal on their algae-eating once they are adults.

If you have platies of both sexies (or females who have been in a tank with males recently), you will almost certainly have babies. If you just ignore them, most will likely get eaten, especially if you don't have a lot of hiding places for them (plants work well), so that's one method of population control. The only other thing you can really do is only have one sex. If you do end up with too many as a result of breeding, most non-chain stores will at least take them from you, though in my experience they don't tend to pay or give store credit for something so common. But definitely check *before* that becomes an issue.

If you do decide to keep both sexes of any livebearers (which includes guppies too), I believe the general rule of thumb is to have at least two females per male - otherwise the females can get too stressed from being constantly harassed by horny males.

All that said, baby platies are REALLY cute.

Also, you might find this aquarium stocking calculator useful, though you shouldn't go by this (or any single source) alone:
AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor

Good luck!

thanks Suzanne. I'm actually kind of excited at the prospect of having babies in there eventually, but i'm in no way ready for it right now so my only hope is that little miss platy at least wasnt already pregnant when i bought her and that I have a month or so before babies come. I do have a lot of "stuff" in the bottom of the tank so if it happens they should have a good chance to survive, but yea at this point it'll be left to good old darwin's law--survival of the fittest.

__________________
"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

We have all been there to some extent. We can help you get through it.

Summer,

Sorry it's taken me so long to continue on the thread.

The API Master Freshwater Test Kit is a good kit we all recommend on here. It's about $35 at PetCo and comes in handy during the establishment of a nitrogen cycle and during times of sickness or other tank emergencies.

Here's a great link for the aquarium nitrogen cycle:
The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

To be sure, starting into the hobby of keeping aquariums there is a bit of a steep learning curve, but once you get the hang of the basics you'll be able to have a spectacular aquarium. And until you do, we will be here to help

__________________
Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Thank you, thank you, and THANK YOU. I actually bought the API kit yesterday, it cost me 30 at the local store. So not bad! I actually updated w/ my levels in the other post I titled "guidance please" but to recap, Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate were all 0, and the ph is at 8.6

__________________
"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin