29g recomendations

I have an empty 29g and am considering some different fish options. I had wanted a puffer but do not want to deal with its food requirements to keep its little beak in check. I love sa/ca cichlids but do not want rams, apistogrammas, or convicts...

So here I am turning to the dark side asking about small Africans...

The tank is a stranded 29g, filtered with a Penguin 350 just sitting empty... Suggestions?

Forgot to mention, its a blank slate. I have no background or gravel/sand so I can adapt it to whatever I decide.

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I think those are pretty neat.

Those are pretty fish. The research Ive done suggests just a slightly bigger tank than mine, more around a 40g to maintain a small colony.

Where are all the African cichlid guys when you need them?

Found this cookie cutter idea [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Well, it's hard to recommend anything when we already know you find them dull and boring.

Twenty nine gallons is pretty small for Africans. I can't think of any Malawi species that I would suggest keeping in that size tank long-term. I've seen demasoni and saulosi recommended by some, but having kept both of those species, I wouldn't house them in anything smaller that 3 ft minimum. They are just too aggressive when they are mature. Cynotilapia species might be a possibility, but I've never kept them, so not sure on those.

There are some Tanganyika species that will work.

Are you looking for color, or interesting behavior, breeding, etc.?

Betty wrote:Well, it's hard to recommend anything when we already know you find them dull and boring.

Hey wait a minute, where am I? How did I end up in the African forums?

I posted the dull and boring to get some action going and it worked! Ive even have posted about the "Holy Grail" of centrals.. yep Festae, whats the big deal? So I like to have some fun around here.

Betty wrote: Are you looking for color, or interesting behavior, breeding, etc.?

Not looking to breed. Dont want to raise any kids right now. Wow that came out sounding weird
Not looking to raise any young fish I should say. I kind of wanted something "different", thats why I had thought about a lurker type puffer like a Mekong or Congo. I just want something easier, not the constant live foods or worrying about keeping its teeth in check. I want a fish that will eat pellets, and fit in the 29g for life.

The small shell dwellers are kind of intriguing to me, so I guess interesting behavior in a small package is what I am looking for.

There's this one fish with the common name "poormans tropheus", neetropolus nematopus. Ever heard of them. There really cool...... lol, sorry couldent resist. Shellies are cool, there's a whole shell dweller forum somewher here on the interweb. Lots of cool shellies. Betty has some nice calvus, as I'm sure you have seen in the posts in this topic. I hear there good for a 29. So far from what I have seen for a 29 is calvus, shellies (there's like 10 diffrent species), leulpi, several of the small jullies, or a colony of something from the brichardi complex (the african version of midas, only because there several varients of a very similar fish nothing to do with size, shape, behaviour, or care). Good luck.

Actually the tank you just started up made me think about this.... All your fault fish_n_vw, that I would even consider Africans!

I like the idea of kind of a nano. I guess a 29 is not really a nano but the effect of a larger environment in a scaled down version if that makes any sense. This was why I chose to set up my betta in a 2.5g instead of a 5g. I wanted that smaller look. When it comes to the little/dwarf cichlids I dont like the typical SA choices. I think the calvus are awesome.

Then do calvus. Occies are really cool fro shell dwellers, I heard of them working with calvus in a 29 before.

And sorry for inspiring....lol. its a fun hobby.

I keep five growing calvus in a 20 gallon -- waiting for a pair to form, a breeding pair of leleupi in another 20 gallon, and a breeding pair of Julidochromis marlieri along with several of their offspring in a 29 gallon.

The calvus are still not mature so it's too soon to know how that will work out. The leleupi and the marlieri tanks have been running about two years and are stable without problems. As the offspring grow, I remove them as needed.

Those cookie cutter combos don't always work, at least not when the fish mature. I started out following one of those recipes and had the leleupi, julies and a few shellies in the same tank. They were okay while small juvies, but as they started to mature, things got ugly. I had some deaths from aggression and ended up giving the leleupi their own tank. The julies and shellies did okay together.

I will say that keeping just a pair of fish in the tank is not exactly the most entertaining or interesting way to do it, but watching the raising of the fry is pretty cool.

I have been trying to research the calvus and then read a whole bunch of stuff on the compressiceps and the differences. I think I would lean more toward the calvus. Maybe a single pair in the 29g along with a upside-down cat.

29g is enough for the dwarf comps that you want, just make sure that you have enough hiding places for them, how many are you planning to put in there? are you just gonna put dwarfs comps there? are you putting different fish there? if you are, make sure that they dont get big too much.

I am leaning more toward a pair of black calvus with an upside-down cat as my stock. The dwarf comps are cool but I like the elongated look the the calvus. The males can get 6" and the females 4", right? Would this combo work in the 29g?

From the reading that I did and questions asked before I got my calvus, I would say that a pair in a 29 should work. For my 29, I bought six juvies with the plan to raise them until a pair formed and then rehome the rest.

They are such slow growers that by the time they might outgrow the tank, you might be hooked and want a bigger African tank.

Betty wrote:From the reading that I did and questions asked before I got my calvus, I would say that a pair in a 29 should work. For my 29, I bought six juvies with the plan to raise them until a pair formed and then rehome the rest.

They are such slow growers that by the time they might outgrow the tank, you might be hooked and want a bigger African tank.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I am a SA/CA cichlid guy. I cant like African cichlids....

Okay, maybe before they outgrow the tank, you will be bored with them and will have gotten rid of them.

Betty wrote:Okay, maybe before they outgrow the tank, you will be bored with them and will have gotten rid of them.

Very doubtful, I tend to keep my fish, I do not change out stock unless there are extreme aggression issues. I find all fish enjoyable to watch, even something as dull a a lurker type puffer which is pretty much a lump. This was my original idea for the 29g but I want a little more interesting behavior than 'look, I can bury myself and look like a rock for days'. And as I mentioned before I like that scaled down look of a full size bio scape. I always research before I buy so there are no surprises and I can take care of the fish properly.

That's awesome. I'm pretty much the same way. I'll give away fry that I have no room for, but rarely rehome the fish I started with. They are like pets to me.