29 gallon stocking plan

[Fishionista]

I've got a 29 gallon that is cycling now, and I've narrowed down 2 stocking plans for it. The tank has a decent number of live plants in it and I may add more. There's some driftwood and I'm going to make at least 1 river rock cave.

Plan 1 (South American biotype):
* Redbreast Acara pair, Laetacara dorsigera (2) (centerpiece fish)
* Rummynose tetras (8) (midwater dither)
* Marbled Hatchetfish (6) (surface dither)
* Pygmy Corydoras or maybe normal corydoras (6) (bottom dither)

Plan 2 (loosely a West African biotype):
* Kribensis pair (2) (centerpiece fish)
* Upside-down catfish, Synodontis nigriventris (3-4) (mostly surface dither)
* Cuckoo catfish, Synodontis petricola (3-4) (mostly bottom dither)
* African Red-Eyed Tetra (6) (midwater dither)
* African butterfly fish (1) (surface dither) (would only add this later if the nitrates are staying under control)

Anyway, thoughts on either of these plans? The redbreast acara plan is my first choice but having a hard time sourcing the acaras.

Also, alternative plans if these stocking plans don't seem good? Basically wanting a colorful centerpiece pair and some dithers that will fill out different parts of the tank and not mess up my plants too much.

 

[Deadeye]

Either one would work. I personally like #2 the best (but I’m also a big kribensis fan).
For other variations of the first one, look into nannacara anomala - they look similar to EBA, but much smaller. Probably harder to source though.

 

[Fishionista]

Thanks Deadeye! Nannacara anomala looks good too, and might actually be easier to find than redbreast acara.