50 Litre Stocking. Help

[TheAquariumGuy]

I will soon have a 50 litre aquarium with one or two shrimp in it. I am unsure of what to do with this tank. Do I add more shrimp or do I start from scratch and just leave the shrimp in.

I have black gravel lots of wood and the tank is lightly planted.

All suggestions welcome.

Thanks, TheAquariumGuy

 

[fluttermoth]

What are the dimensions of the tank, is your water hard or soft and from how far away will you mostly be viewing the tank?

 

[TheAquariumGuy]

The tank is 50 cm wide 45 cm high and 25 cm deep. We have medium hard water and it's a bedside tank.

 

[TheAquariumGuy]

It's viewable from nearly all angles

 

[fluttermoth]

Loads of options then

A small shoal/group (eight to ten) of any one of these; celestial pearl danios, dwarf emerald danios, ember tetras, chili rasboras, sparkling gouramis, threadfin rainbows, dwarf corydoras (habrosus, hastatus or pygmeus), male guppies or Endlers would be good.

If your tap water is fairly low in nitrate, and you stay well on top of your water changes, you might be able to get away with two groups of eight, as all these fish are very small with a very light bioload.

They're all small and pretty peaceful, so you could have more shrimps as well.

 

[TheAquariumGuy]

Would the corydoras need a sand substrate and are they safe with a few shrimp

 

[fluttermoth]

All cories are best on a sand substrate, even though the dwarf species tend more towards mid-water swimming rather than being exclusively bottom dwellers.
 
They are all shrimp safe.

 

[TheAquariumGuy]

My lfs has some fish that are about 1 inch long at the moment. (they're not fully grown)  i think they're demasoni cichlids. would these be ok in a 10 gal with shrimp

 

[fluttermoth]

Oh, lord no!
 
Demasoni are a Rift Valley cichlid; not only will they grow far too large for a 10g, they're also very aggressive. Your shrimp's lifespans would be measured in seconds with those in the tank!

 

[TheAquariumGuy]

Ah I see.
What are the most colourful but not very well known fish that I could put in there. I have a young cousin who likes very colourful spfish you see

 

[fluttermoth]

Hmm, colourful, not well known and shrimp safe...now you're making things difficult!
 
Guppies are colourful, but common.
 
A betta might suit, very colourful and great for kids, as they're so interactive, but they are common, and not all are shrimp safe.
 
Celestial pearl danios are colourful and not common, but they're very small and quite shy, although they are shrimp safe.
 
There are a lot of dwarf cichlids; apistogrammas, rams and the like, but some will get a bit big for your tank, and not all are safe with shrimps.
 
A shoal of chili rasboras might be your best bet. They're not that common, very bright and will be shrimp safe.

 

[TheAquariumGuy]

What about a few dwarf cockatoo cichlids

 

[fluttermoth]

Your tank's a bit on the small side, tbh.
 
You could only have a pair, for sure. Most cichlids are quite territorial, and a tank of that size doesn't give a lot of room

 

[TheAquariumGuy]

ah i see the fishes wellbeing is priority in my eyes so i will give cichlids a miss then.
 
what about some dwarf gourami and amano shrimp or maybe a bleeding heart tetra breeding tank.
 
i really want to have the rewarding experience of breeding fish that aren't guppies. could you recommend anything here.
 
i know I'm very particular and picky so thank you for all of your help fluttermoth