29 gallon community -fin issues

[animallover]

Ok, I mentioned Petsmart on mixing a Betta and other fish saying forums were wrong. So I have 3 of each- Black Skirt Tetras, Serpe Tetra,Glofish and (2) Black Mollies. I researched the Mollie and Glofish first but not the others. So Petsmart said 3 of each is fine,but they are schooling fish.So when I thought of adding it to 5 each and adding one more mollie,I realized I would be over the "one inch per gallon" rule. All fins are torn now which before I thought was bad water. The water is clear,the tank is about 4/5 years old in all. They are all active and eating. So my fear is they are fighting, if so, do I have to buy another tank so I can make proper schools? I do not have any more room if I had too! I have my 4 Fish tanks with gerbils and a hamster cage taking up all other space! Oh I use the API Master test Kit. I have 3 hidey ornaments with the one being a large "branch style" with holes to go in, fake plants and regular small gravel. Ideas?
Housing
What size is your tank? 29gallon
What temperature is your tank? 78f
Does your tank have a filter? yes-Top Fin 30
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Bubble wand
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Not a betta in it see above list:

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Tetra Flakes/Brine Shrimp Frozen once in a while
How often do you feed your betta fish? Almost Daily

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? About 25-30%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:10-20ppm
pH:7.6
highph 8.0
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? FINS TORN
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? NO
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Started about 5 months ago with a Black Skirt Tetra( well the white one of those who is a loner fish and the worst off)
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I have used Jungle Clear Fin and Tail Rot a few times and then Melafix once
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? 1 year

[LittleBettaFish]

Tetras and danios (glofish) are renowned fin nippers so I'm not surprised you are having issues with torn fins.

Ideally, schooling fish should be kept in groups of at least 5-6 individuals. Any smaller, and it can be quite stressful for them even if it doesn't appear to be the case. I would definitely bump up the number of tetras and danios as three really isn't enough for a good-sized school and may be causing the issue with torn fins.

[animallover]

Thanks LittleBettaFish, I really feel that would be best as well. But if I add more to the tank, then I will be over stalked - That would be 41 inches of fish for a 29 gallon tank? Hmm, guess I will have to figure this one out. Oh, I forgot to add my Chlorine Remover I do use weakly in my answers. :P

[animallover]

Ok, I got 1 more fish for everything but the Mollies! So in a few weeks we will see how that goes,and if I need to bring it up to 5 each. I will be keeping an eye on the water quality, and if need be, transfer some to another tank if it seems to be overcrowded. :)

[MaisyDawgThirteen]

The i inch per gallon rule isn't entirely accurate. :P
Aqadvisor.com is very accurate and says your tank is at 63% stocking level and you can go a bit over 100%. I'd take your betta out of there, give him a 2.5g or a 5g, and add 3 more black skirts, 3 more serpaes, and 3 more glofish.http://aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php?A...rchMode=simple
Tetras are notorious for fin-nipping.
Good Luck!

[animallover]

MaisyDawgThirteen,
Yeah, I guess I'm being over careful! My Betta is not in there with them. He his in a Critter Keeper right now waiting to be put in one of my 10gallons with 4 Julli Catfish.(Im trying to upload a pic to show to get advice for hidey places but it says my kb is to high!) Right now,
In the 29 gallon tank I was asking for help in I now have:
4 Serpae Tetras
4 Blackskirts Tetras
4 Glofish
2 Black Mollies

Thanks for going to the extra trouble and putting in all my fish in the adviser :). Also, in your avatar you have a pic of a Teddy Bear (or Syrian-depends what they call them now :)) My sons hamster "Kat" actually just died on Sunday, she looked EXACTLY like yours!!! She was about 21/2 -3 years old.

[Sena Hansler]

-totally saving that site- I've always asked people about what to go by, since the inch per gallon is bogus.

Here is a good example why the inch per gallon is nonsense: "a five inch goldfish could easily fit in a 5 gallon tank because it's an inch per gallon"

[animallover]

Sena Hansler,
Haha that's true!

[Sena Hansler]

yeah, it's hard to find a proper way to calculate, especially when you end up asking around about your tan set up and you get 12 different views. I think your tan sounds pretty!!! But I agree tetras and danios can be nippy I've had no problems with 6 danios and a betta... they often played "chicken or go" with him, and always chickened out.

[animallover]

Thank you! I will post all my tanks on photo Bucket for a short time soon.Now I have my "in progress" 10 gallon Betta and catfish tank there for setup advice! Thats cute about your fish and glad they get along!