16 Gal Stocking Advice

[dawgbeach]

Hey,

I I would love some advice in stocking a new 16 gallon planted tank.

Currently, I have two male fancy guppies swimming among some anachris, anubias & similar plants in a cycled tank. I would love to find a variety (or at least cosmetic variety) of small fish & invertebrates to fill out the tank. Since I already have two male fancy guppies, I was thinking of adding four females. From there, I'm wondering how I can get a nice little bit of variety and keep everyone happy.

I was thinking about sparkling gourami, American flag fish, various tetras, harlequin rasboras, and similar. One thing I have been trying to understand is a good group size for each of these, since that will affect my decisions.

Along with everyone's suggestions, I'm wondering what catfish I could include (I know most cory's want a little more area, or a group of six or more), and how cory's or other cats might fare if there are invertebrates in the tank as well. Along a similar vein, I'd love suggestions for more ideas for tank cleaners, algae eaters, waste recyclers, and other animals to help keep things clean.

I'd like a nice little system here in which each species has it's purpose and ideally it's own area of the (admittedly small) tank.

All advice, help and suggestions are appreciated.

thanks!

 

[Boxer_Gaz]

Sorry for being an absolute noob and Hyjacking your thread.

When you say 16 Gallon. Is that US Gallon or Imperial, everyone on here seems to use Gallon except me who uses litres. Lol.

Thanks

Gaz

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum dawgbeach.
A tank that size can easily accommodate a small group, say 6, of the smaller cories. With 6 of them, they tend to play together and can be quite entertaining. Almost any of the small schooling fish can be kept in groups as small as 5, although more is always better. If you intend to add other fish, why add female guppies? They will just give you potential population problems with little added color.

 

[Cazgar]

Welcome to the forum dawgbeach.
A tank that size can easily accommodate a small group, say 6, of the smaller cories. With 6 of them, they tend to play together and can be quite entertaining. Almost any of the small schooling fish can be kept in groups as small as 5, although more is always better. If you intend to add other fish, why add female guppies? They will just give you potential population problems with little added color.

+1 female guppies are quite drab, maybe add a couple more males

 

[dawgbeach]

Welcome to the forum dawgbeach.
A tank that size can easily accommodate a small group, say 6, of the smaller cories. With 6 of them, they tend to play together and can be quite entertaining. Almost any of the small schooling fish can be kept in groups as small as 5, although more is always better. If you intend to add other fish, why add female guppies? They will just give you potential population problems with little added color.

+1 female guppies are quite drab, maybe add a couple more males

Thanks for the replies.

The tank is a 16 US gallons, which is about 60.57 liters

Will a male-only guppy tank lead to any aggressive behavior?

Will cory's coexist well with shrimp? Or will they compete for the same space, food, etc?

thanks!

 

[phoenixgsd]

Sorry for being an absolute noob and Hyjacking your thread.

When you say 16 Gallon. Is that US Gallon or Imperial, everyone on here seems to use Gallon except me who uses litres. Lol.

Thanks

Gaz

its not just you, i havnt the foggiest what a gallon is either, i work in litres

 

[OldMan47]

I am flexible but buy my tanks marked in US gallons because I live in the US. (3.79 litres per US gallon) I think of it as a bit less than 4 litres to the gallon and quickly convert your litres to something that I can easily visualize.
Male only guppy tanks are maintained by all serious guppy breeders. They select the one male they want from that tank of brothers when they are ready to start breeding with a particular female. 2 or 3 males should be no problem at all.