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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| What fish should I get?
Im new to the forums so HELLOOO 
My brother recently brought home from Uni a fish tank that is about 25 liters or 5/6 gallons. I have been looking about and I am not sure what fish we should get that would be suitable for that size tank, we have a filter (im not sure if that makes a diffrence) and we would like freshwater tropical fish.
Ive looked at Cardinal Tetra fish and they are my favorite so far but i read they need 10 gallons to live in groups of 6, is this true?
Would appreciate and help and advice 
Kay  | 
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| welcome to fishlore kay!!!!
yes that is true...cardinals are great fish and do like to be in schools of 5 or more...that tank would be pushing it as far as swimming space 
how about a nice betta, or a group of ottos or a shrimp colony? | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Welcome to fishlore! A 5-6 gallon tank would be perfect for a betta or a dwarf puffer | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Oh i do like the Betta ones how many of them do you think would be best to keep in the tank? and would they be ok with the ottos ones too? | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Just one. Bettas don't play nice together 
Some bettas will tolerate otos while some won't. I personally wouldn't try it in anything less than a 10g. | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| what about some male guppies. Or maybe some platys(make sure they are all female or all males unless you want to breed them same goes for guppies and all fish) And you really should get some otocinclus catfish(exellent suckerfish)they get to be about and inch long. DONT get the plecos they get to be 2 feet long! unless you see a small breed of them like snowball plecos but they are expensive,but i do not recomend them but that is just me plus they poop alot. And as for the cardnal tetras if you really want them and you want more then 1 breed of fish you could get a small school of 3, if all you want is cardnal tetras then you could get 5 of them plus a few ottos. what i have in my 6 gallon tank is 2 male guppies, 3 neon tetras,2 ottos and 1 male platy. I do have three platys now because my male and female where in the same tank so now my female is in a separate tank and had 1 baby but she still pregnant.
Hope this helps! good luck  | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Sydney:D  what about some male guppies. Or maybe some platys(make sure they are all female or all males unless you want to breed them same goes for guppies and all fish) And you really should get some otocinclus catfish(exellent suckerfish)they get to be about and inch long. DONT get the plecos they get to be 2 feet long! unless you see a small breed of them like snowball plecos but they are expensive,but i do not recomend them but that is just me plus they poop alot. And as for the cardnal tetras if you really want them and you want more then 1 breed of fish you could get a small school of 3, if all you want is cardnal tetras then you could get 5 of them plus a few ottos. what i have in my 6 gallon tank is 2 male guppies, 3 neon tetras,2 ottos and 1 male platy. I do have three platys now because my male and female where in the same tank so now my female is in a separate tank and had 1 baby but she still pregnant.
Hope this helps! good luck | Im going to respectfully disagree...guppies and platies do not belong in a 5/6 gal tank ..unless you go 1 or 2 3 at max..theres not much swimming space and the smaller tanks are so much harder to keep the parimeters under control..the 5 tetras and maybe 3 ottos would work tho with extra water changes.....and that sounds like a fun tank... | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| I'd have to respectfully disagree with what was said above....
No species of plecos should go in such a small tank. And I wouldn't ever get tetras unless I could give them enough friends to make a school.
EDIT: Ninja'd by Shawnie! | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Oh i do like the male Guppies i think i will get 2 of these and some tetras would 6 and 2 guppys be to much? The otocinclus catfish are also very lovely so maybe 2 of them too ore is that to many?
Really appreciate all the help a very friendly forum you have here i will post some pictures when i get the little fishys Is it right we need to leave the tank full of water for a week before we introduce them? | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by kaystar Oh i do like the male Guppies i think i will get 2 of these and some tetras would 6 and 2 guppys be to much? The otocinclus catfish are also very lovely so maybe 2 of them too ore is that to many?
Really appreciate all the help a very friendly forum you have here i will post some pictures when i get the little fishys Is it right we need to leave the tank full of water for a week before we introduce them? | If you want guppies, I suggest 3 males and nothing else. (Maybe a few shrimps though). I honestly would never put any tetras in anything less than a 10g. | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by kaystar Oh i do like the male Guppies i think i will get 2 of these and some tetras would 6 and 2 guppys be to much? The otocinclus catfish are also very lovely so maybe 2 of them too ore is that to many?
Really appreciate all the help a very friendly forum you have here i will post some pictures when i get the little fishys Is it right we need to leave the tank full of water for a week before we introduce them? | 3 male guppies in that size tank, will probably end up with tail shredding and nipping..not enough room for them to not run into one another...
and as far as the tank, it NEEDS to be cycled first..heres a link to help you understand that process..otherwise, you could have fish die in the process http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm please read this link before getting any fish it will help you in the long run | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| in my tank i have 2 male guppies,1 male platy, 2 ottos, and 3 neon tetras they all get along great and i dont think they are overcrowded because the guppies and platy like to stay close to the sides and look at themselves and my ottos are always eating aglae and my neon tetras like to stay in the just swim freely. And I know they are all happy. | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Sydney:D in my tank i have 2 male guppies,1 male platy, 2 ottos, and 3 neon tetras they all get along great and i dont think they are overcrowded because the guppies and platy like to stay close to the sides and look at themselves and my ottos are always eating aglae and my neon tetras like to stay in the just swim freely. And I know they are all happy. | surviving and thriving are two different things...im glad its working for you and your fish and im glad you are happy with the tank.....but its overstocked and crowded as of those fish you have in that tank, they love to swim horizontally and do thrive with more space | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| I respect your opinion and im not trying to be rude but Shawie could you please stop disagreeing with what I say, nothing is perfect. I know you are trying to help. | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Sydney:D I respect your opinion and im not trying to be rude but Shawie could you please stop disagreeing with what I say, nothing is perfect. I know you are trying to help. | She has the right to disagree and correct information that she knows to be wrong. You are welcome to your opinion of course, but she has a duty to tell the OP that the generally accepted 'rules' of fishkeeping are contrary to your opinion. | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Sydney:D I respect your opinion and im not trying to be rude but Shawie could you please stop disagreeing with what I say, nothing is perfect. I know you are trying to help. |
and I repsect yours also but I wont agree with the type of stocking you suggested because its too overstocked for a tank her size...if it works for you, thats great and again, I hope it continues to...but it IS overstocked and thats not something any new fish keeper should try when starting out agreeing and disagreeing is part of the forum and thats the greatness of learning each day about all kinds of ways to keep fish | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| I know that but Im Just saying and I dont want to get in a spat with any one hear
And i know you are rite
Last edited by Shawnie; July 17th, 2009 at 04:45 PM.
Reason: please use the edit button for back to back posts | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Im not spatting with you ..nor is there a right or wrong but its whats best for the fish...again we all learn this daily from the forum and you will see plenty of disagreements and agreements...but dont take it like someone is after you because they disagree ...its just how life works and its part of what makes us a great human race | |
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July 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| i know | |
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July 18th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Oh dont want to start an argument here i looked this morning and 25 liters in uk is 6.6 gallons in us so does this mean its better for more fish? 2 guppys and 7 tetar? | |
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July 18th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
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July 18th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| ONLY, generally three guppies max in there. The best rule of thumb is an inch per gallon. If you have three guppies, (male) you'll have six inches. There may be aggression issues. If you get the tetras you will have no room, and they will becopme stressed as they need a lot of room to school, they tank won't be able to cope with them unfortunately.
You'll need a heater as well, and make sure you read up on this first: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
Good luck! | |
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July 18th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Hi Kaystar, and Welcome to Fishlore! You were given some excellent advice from Shawnie and ABC. With smaller tanks, it is much more difficult to keep your water parameters under control so the last thing you want to do is be overstocked. I have never kept tetras or guppies but I have kept platies. They LOVE to swim. Where your tank is taller rather than long, others may have a few more ideas of what to keep. Whatever you decide, don't add any fish until you have fully cycled your tank. You will need a heater and perhaps lighting of some kind. I would suggest getting a good test kit to keep track of your cycle. The API Master kit is well worth the investment. Good luck with whatever you chooose! | |
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July 18th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| All the advice has been so helpfull We filled the tank with water today and got a Fresh Water Starter Kit which we added to the water, how long do we wait now before adding the fish? A week? In the tank we have a heater light and a themometer just taken some pics some with flash some without it   
We went to Pets at home today (where we would be getting the fish from) and i saw some lovely male guppys with leapard patten tails they are lovely and i would love one of them with another one, but my brother wants some tetra would putting maybe 4 tetra in be to much? I think a school would be crowded even though they are best in them. He wants 7 tetra. | |
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July 18th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Hi Kaystar, your tank looks very nice. BEFORE adding any fish you must cycle the tank. I assume the 'freshwater starter" you added is some sort of water conditioner. If you read up on the nitrogen cycle, and the fishless cycling links, you will see what your next step should be. The only way you can add fish right away is if you use a product called Tetra Safe Start. This is the only product I know of that contains the proper bacteria needed to cycle a tank. Otherwise, you are looking a probably a month (maybe more, maybe a little less)for it to fully cycle, then you can begin to slowly add fish. Adding them prior to cycling will create an unhealthy tank for the fish and lots of work (water changes for you). I think in one of Shawnies posts linked the nitrogen cycle for you. Good luck | |
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July 18th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| My thoughts on the matter are that tanks under 10g are really only good for bettas (and I prefer 10g for them), dwarf puffers, and a handful of other small fish. I think that fish like guppies and tetras are just too active to really be happy in such a small tank.
My opinion, of course, is not law. I tend to err on the side of understocked. | |
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July 18th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| wow that is coming along great!!!!!!!!
awesome advice from kim (as always) and see if you can find some tetra safestart,,if you can, you can add fish with it...if you cant, (some stores dont carrry it) you MUST cycle the tank first...heres a few ways to do it .. Four Methods of Fish Less Cycling
as far as stocking, if you are set on the tetras, that would be it...but 7 would be too much id go for like 5 .. have you checked out glo light tetras? those are really cool fish and would do great in there glofish.jpg | |
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July 18th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| I really like your tank
kaystar, you didn't start an argument, you asked a very good question and being a forum, you'll get differing opinions. Not everyone is going agree with everyone and it shouldn't be taken personally.
With that said, I had thought a few guppies would be happy in a 5g until I bought some and put them in a 5g for quarantine time. The longer I observed them, the more I came to realize they needed more room and would be much happier with more horizontal swim space.
Tetras are the same way, they like more horizontal swim space than your type of tank allows.
If it were me, I'd look into a single betta and maybe a couple a few pygmy cories. Cories like to be in groups for at least 3 but again, the horizontal swim space isn't there for them abd your tank would be overcrowded. That's why I suggest pygmies. They're super cute and stay small.
However, if you decided to go this route, have a back up plan for the cories, not all betta will accept them.
As the other have advised, please cycle your tank before getting any fish
Good luck whatever you decide to do. | |
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July 18th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnie as far as stocking, if you are set on the tetras, that would be it...but 7 would be too much id go for like 5 .. have you checked out glo light tetras? those are really cool fish and would do great in there Attachment 30361 | Very pretty fish, and super-hardy, but the pictured fish aren't glowlight tetras. They're glofish or glo danios.
Glowlight tetras can be seen on this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemigrammus_erythrozonus
(also a beautiful, small, fish, but probably not as hardy as the danios) | |
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July 18th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by sirdarksol Very pretty fish, and super-hardy, but the pictured fish aren't glowlight tetras. They're glofish or glo danios.
Glowlight tetras can be seen on this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemigrammus_erythrozonus
(also a beautiful, small, fish, but probably not as hardy as the danios) |  ty sir!!!!! LOL glofish is what I meant ...not tetras ...always got my back you do | |
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