50 Litre Aquarium, How Many Fish

[snue]

Hi everyone, I have a 50 litre aquarium for my apartment and was wondering how many neon tetras I could fit in there and if they like being by themselfs.

Or what should I put in there with the neon tetras and how many of each.

Thank you for your replys in advanced.

 

[waterdrop]

You could put about 16 cardinals in a 13G tank since they are really a bit smaller bodied for their inch length. The tank is a bit small for their ideal environment but not terrible. There are various smaller rasboras talked about here sometimes that might be good, not sure of the names (micro rasboras?)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Katty]

Assuming the tank has proper filtration and has a functioning nitrogen cycle and you are doing weekly water changes and maintenance and all that good stuff (is it, or are you planning on doing so?), I'd say 10 normal neon tetras.

You could put a couple more than 10 I'm sure, but it's better to stay on the low side of stocking, and you'd also have the option of adding one or two other fish, rather than cramming it full of neons then deciding you also want a betta or something in there and not having enough room to add it.

With my experience with green neons (cousins of normal neon tetras), they seem to come out more if there is another type of bigger, bolder fish in there. They see it is safe to come out if there is someone else swimming around with them. Something like a betta or a small gourami, one with a very very calm attitude, could be a good choice.

Neon tetras are rumored to be sensitive to water quality and can die off or get sick if added too quickly to a newer tank. You may want to watch out for that and make sure your tank is fully cycled for a few weeks before adding any neons.

 

[snue]

My tanks been empty for 1 week now. Ive used Strees Zyme in it every third day, haven't done the tests yet but have a API freshwater master test kit. When I do the tests and they are good, does that mean the tank is fully cycled?. There is a filter with bio rings bioballs and activated carbon. i dont know if I need a air pump, is that important for the fish ?
Thank you for your reply.

 

[Katty]

As much as we'd all love if leaving your tank alone for a week was enough to prepare it for fish, it's sadly not. Cycling requires adding an ammonia source of some kind, be it fish, bottled ammonia, or food, and usually takes 1-2 months. Basically, yes, when cycling when the tests are "good" that means it's fully cycled, but there's a little more to it than that.

What I reccomend you do is read the links here, particularly under cycling. The "Fishless Cycling" is what you want to do, not the "Fish-in Cycling". "Fish-in" is more for emergencies.

You don't need an air pump unless the filter doesn't really move around the water around. If you like the look of bubbles as decoration though, feel free to get an air pump, it won't hurt.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

Maybe i mis-read. I got the improession your tank has been empty for a week, but had fish in it before. If thats not the case (well, even if that IS the case) then you need to cycle as mentioned above.
Also, as previously mentioned Neon's aren't your best choice for a newly set up fish tank. But in theory, i would go with 10 Neons and maybe 2 BN pleco's