Stocking a 29 Gallon Planted Tank

Fisker · Jun 13, 2019

Hello! I just finished cutting apart a 29 gallon that I got for basically free, and am waiting on supplies to arrive for me to rebuild and repair it. This tank will become my macroalgae display, which is currently housed in a 10 gallon. I have a brand new Valentini Puffer who's basically QT'ing in that 10 gallon, and will be added to the 29. None of the rock will be added to the 29 (so medications shouldn't be an issue), but surprisingly enough, I think I have a healthy fish. I've seen no signs of internal parasites or otherwise, which is pretty great considering the luck I've had in the past!

With that Valentini Puffer, I was wondering if I could get away with a dwarf angel. Maybe a Pygmy, or perhaps a Coral Beauty. I'd like to explore non-reef-safe options, as I won't be housing any coral in this tank, nor will I be adding any inverts that I want to keep. Anything that goes in there will probably be food. If not, an angel, does anyone have other suggestions?

Coralreefer1 · Jun 13, 2019

Pygmy may be a little too small so I would go with one of the many larger Centropyge Angelfish. Other suitable choices would be Clownfish, Eel, Small Wrasses, Damsels, Gobies and Blennies.

Big G · Jun 13, 2019

Dwarf angels do much better in a well established tank. They need algae to forage upon. In many new tanks you can see them searching around, pecking at barren rock, almost to the point where the exhaust themselves. Many do not make it.

Fisker · Jun 13, 2019

Thanks to both of you.

I've chosen to steer away from dwarf angels, as I feel a 29 would probably be bare minimum on space and I don't really want to be feeling as if I need to upgrade immediately after I upgrade (especially seeing as I'm pushing it with room as it is). So, with that in mind, I'd like to find something short-finned, fast, and hardy that the puffer hopefully won't be able to pick on too much. That said, I don't want the other fish to be able to inflict much damage, so aggressive fish are out of the question. This will be a puffer tank, after all. If I can't find something that suits my liking, I'll probably stay with just a puffer.

Any ideas?