6 gallon stocking

[Lcc86]

I recently had to euthanise my betta (bacterial infection that was resistant to treatment) and have broken the tank down to clean everything and start again. It will be a good few weeks before I am ready to consider stocking again and just wanted some ideas on what I can realistically consider other than another betta. I know size will limit me but I'm also not that knowledgeable on what's appropriate. Happy to stick to another betta if that's best.

My tap water is really hard but I also have access to RO water, so in theory I'm not as limited by my water as I can adjust to suit the fish. I was using the RO water in this tank to make soft water for my betta and still use it in my other tank.

Have attached a pic of the tank as I was breaking it down, will probably look to keep it quite similar in appearance.

 

[Jinx_]

There are soft water and hard water fish. Knowing your water hardness either in ppm or hardness degrees will be very helpful.

 

[Lcc86]

There are soft water and hard water fish. Knowing your water hardness either in ppm or hardness degrees will be very helpful.

From the tap it is 9.2°dH, as I say I have easy access to RO water so am able to adjust for a soft water fish if needed, which is what I did for my betta.

 

[Circus]

You could do a small group sparkling gourami, maybe. They are a small labyrinth fish, very fun to watch. I find pea puffers very entertaining, they have a lot of personality.

 

[Colin_T]

The tap water is only 160ppm, which is at the top end of soft and the bottom of medium hardness. It's suitable for a wide range of fishes from soft water.

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

 

[Lcc86]

You could do a small group sparkling gourami, maybe. They are a small labyrinth fish, very fun to watch. I find pea puffers very entertaining, they have a lot of personality.

I was looking at dwarf pea puffers but wasn't sure about them as read some conflicting information, some sites said you can keep a single one, others say they should be in a group, so I wasn't sure. Same with scarlet badis, wasn't sure if a solo one of those would work.

 

[Lcc86]

The tap water is only 160ppm, which is at the top end of soft and the bottom of medium hardness. It's suitable for a wide range of fishes from soft water.

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

Well that's what my water company website says, I'm sure when I did a proper test it was actually harder than that but I did that test over a year ago now, I should probably check!

Tank dimensions are 30cm long x 22cm depth x 40cm height so bit of an awkward shape and probably limits my options.

 

[Essjay]

I'd go by the numbers on your water company's website as they use expensive testing equipment rather than home testers.

And ignore whatever words they use to describe it, they always make it sound harder than fishkeepers would think from the number. My water company says my hardness is says 6.53 dH/115 ppm yet they call that 'slightly hard'.

 

[Jinx_]

I used to have a group of sparkling gouramis, they're very fun to keep in that size of a tank. You'd need more females than males, they can get pretty rowdy. Females too, but not as often. They'd need bit of a densely planted tank to break up the line of sight. They need to be kept at 25-26 Celsius, they won't do well in higher temperatures. I don't recommend keeping shrimps with them, not even amanos as they're good hunters and will harass shrimps to death. Since they're tiny, they'll eat mysis shrimp, occassional blood worms, daphnia, flakes and small pellets. They're carnivores.

 

[Essjay]

Sparking gouramis (Trichopsis pumila) really need a bigger footprint than this tank has. It is indeed an awkward shape for stocking

Tank dimensions are 30cm long x 22cm depth x 40cm height so bit of an awkward shape and probably limits my options.

 

[AJ356]

6 gallons uk is 27 litres yes? These are more novelty/gimmick tanks i think. Snails and shrimps and some nice plants? Could look attractive and relaxing. I wouldn't keep any fish other than new born fry in a tank that size, not even a betta. Although I know you are a very diligent and conscientious Fish keeper.

 

[Lcc86]

For some reason I always think sparkling gourami are really big, I think I always oversize fish in my head.

 

[Lcc86]

6 gallons uk is 27 litres yes? These are more novelty/gimmick tanks i think. Snails and shrimps and some nice plants? Could look attractive and relaxing. I wouldn't keep any fish other than new born fry in a tank that size, not even a betta. Although I know you are a very diligent and conscientious Fish keeper.

Yeah I know it's a bit on the small side, I do also have a 9 gallon but that's got my ADF's and shrimp and don't really want to add anything further.

 

[MaloK]

With just a little RO added to your water to bring it's hardness a little lower. And a good modification of the landcape.

You can have different small Rasboras; Harlequin, Pygmy, Ember Tetra, Celestial Pearl and pygmy cories.

All these are lots of fun, if you can have between 6-8 of them in a single or two species setup, if you want to try, Pygmy Cories are so cool in addition of any nano middle dwelling fish is a good combination.

 

[Essjay]

Would any cories be OK with a footprint of 30 x 22 cm/12 x 8.5 inches?