12L (3ish Gallon) Tank Ideas

[Somethingsfishy001]

Following this thread because I have a 3.7 gallon (15litre).
I didn't see any recommendations for water changes. Can anyone recommend? Should it be higher since it is tinier?

 

[threecharacters]

There are some small fish, such as Dario sp. or Hara sp., that might work in a tank that small, provided that you can maintain the water quality. It's not really advised though.

 

[itiwhetu]

Clown killifish are really cool and will breed in a system like that

 

[Naughts]

Following this thread because I have a 3.7 gallon (15litre).
I didn't see any recommendations for water changes. Can anyone recommend? Should it be higher since it is tinier?

Yes, water changes need to be more frequent as it is much harder to keep parameters stable in a tiny tank.
If unfiltered I recommend 100% daily. If it has an established (cycled) filter, 50% every 2 days.

Be aware that the temperature will fluctuate quickly too.

 

[itiwhetu]

I would maintain this system differently I would plant it to 50% filter it and then do 25% water changes weekly. We all have different ideas, my approach is to keep as natural as possible. A neutral base medium and an active carbon filter.

 

[eatyourpeas]

I am preparing a 3 gal. planted tank for a pea puffer (single) and in the meantime have a mystery snail, a colony of bladder snails (to be fed to the puffer) and two cherry shrimp. Doing water changes twice a week and running an internal filter and a small sponge filter. I was told if I keep up with the cleaning, it should be ok for the little pea puffer.
It has been cycled, params:
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0
PH: 6.8

 

[eatyourpeas]

Thanks for the advice everyone , I think I'm going to go for some shrimp, but it will be my first time keeping such animals, does anybody have any advice for a first timer/species recommendations?

They are easy, and little (RCS) but make sure you add nothing with copper, and keep track of parameters as they are sensitive to Ammonia.

 

[itiwhetu]

How about don't heat it and put White cloud mountain minnows in it. They will spawn in a system like this as well

 

[Somethingsfishy001]

Yes, water changes need to be more frequent as it is much harder to keep parameters stable in a tiny tank.
If unfiltered I recommend 100% daily. If it has an established (cycled) filter, 50% every 2 days.

Be aware that the temperature will fluctuate quickly too.

It has a small sponge filter, and a heater. Temperature stays pretty consistent at 78.
Right now it has one cherry shrimp, two nerite snails and two baby guppies. One guppy is .75 inches and the other is maybe .3 inches. The nitrates never get over 5ppm with 0 nitrites and 0 ammonia. It also has some live plants. I have been changing 50% per week, but was gonna change to 50% 2x per week. Was hoping to plant the entire tank.
Every other day seems like a lot. Does it need to be that often even if the nitrates are so low?

 

[eatyourpeas]

I do 30% water change with gravel vacuum twice per week and am vigilant about Ammonia spikes. I have a pothos and a peace lily to help with nitrates and algae, and that seems to work. The tank is heavily planted as well. My snails are big pooping machines, so it is good training before I put the pea puffer in. With a small tank, if anything goes wrong you have very little opportunity to correct and avoid a disaster. Also, invest in a good heater.

 

[eatyourpeas]

The pea puffer arrived today!
Inquisitive, checking out the whole tank, eating a few bladder snails. I am so happy to welcome Nicodemus!
Question: Should I take some of the bladder snails out so he does not overfeed?
First time pea puffer owner, so I am over the moon over this little guy!

 

[LordHappy]

I second the opinion of an earlier poster who mentioned the pygmy sunfish. Either the Okefenokee Pygmy Sunfish or Gilberti would do well. I found them at Sachs and put five in a 5g tank. Ended up with two males and three females. You could also do an endler or two.

 

[Somethingsfishy001]

The pea puffer arrived today!
Inquisitive, checking out the whole tank, eating a few bladder snails. I am so happy to welcome Nicodemus!
Question: Should I take some of the bladder snails out so he does not overfeed?
First time pea puffer owner, so I am over the moon over this little guy!

This is so exciting! I have a 3.6 gallon tank with a tiny heater and a small filter. I am putting driftwood, sand, and plants in. Currently planting it up and letting it get balanced. It has a couple baby guppies in it right now, one cherry shrimp and a nerite snail. I want to make sure I can get the parameters stable and right and then I was considering a pea puffer.
I was just wondering, the filter is internal and sucks water through a sponge. Is a sponge enough for the bacterial or should I see if I can also put some filter media in there as well, maybe inside the sponge?
I have a small 2.5 gallon tank that I throw any snails I find in my tanks into. How much should I feed him of these small snails?
I do 50 percent water changes every week since its such a small tank. Would this be ok for a puffer? or do they need 2 weekly smaller changes?

 

[ClownLurch]

How about don't heat it and put White cloud mountain minnows in it. They will spawn in a system like this as well

I’ve been thinking of possibly using a little tank for breeding-hatching-grow out for WCMMs/Medaka in the future.
There’s a couple of different 15Ls available five mins walk from home. 310x230x230mm for definite. 340x170x230mm iirc or similar. I’d opt for the longer one myself. They’re about £15-£20 with nonsense extras fit only for collecting algae on.
Would they be good for breeding-hatching-growing out 30-35mm fish?

 

[ClownLurch]

The pea puffer arrived today!
Inquisitive, checking out the whole tank, eating a few bladder snails. I am so happy to welcome Nicodemus!
Question: Should I take some of the bladder snails out so he does not overfeed?
First time pea puffer owner, so I am over the moon over this little guy!

I’d maybe start a separate thread for pp questions. Plus put peapuffer in the search box and there’ll be 20yrs or so worth of peapuffer questions answered or argued over. It’s very educational.