Fluval Edge Stocking Help

[diabloNL]

I'm thinking to buy the Fluval Edge 6 gallon aquarium and I'm already researching for 3 weeks how aquariums work. It's all very interesting and I've learned a lot. I also read up on cycling a new tank and currently I'm reading more on chemistry.

I would like to create a nano tank and I already chose the fish and shrimp I would like to have in it. You probably wonder why I'm here asking for help. Well, this forum should have a lot of experts and I trust those much more than any pet store, period.

I would like to have the following in my tank. My questions to the experts here is, how many of each species and will these 3 species get along?

Tank information

• Aquarium Capacity: 23 L (6 US).
• Aquarium dimensions (L x W x H): 16.88 x 10.25 x 8.75 inch.
• Heated.
• Medium planted.
• Spiderwood.
• Some rocks.
• Sand substrate.
• No feeding base, I will be using clay balls for the plants nutricians.
• No CO2.

What I would like

• Microrasbora kubotai
• Rasbora maculata
• Crystal Red Shrimp​

If you have other recomendations they are welcome as well! My wishes are.

• Colorful fish.
• Very small fish.
• At least two fish species and at least one shrimp specie.
• They need to be happy with eachother and the tank.

Thanks for all the help I get!

An online stock advisor says I can have 7 of each fish (14 total) and 8 shrimp for a stocking level of 95%. Not sure if this is right. According to Advert for another forum removed the Kubotai are not suitable because they could get up to 0.8 inch. I don't understand that advise, I mean, 0.8 inch is pretty small!

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi there, welcome to the forum

Are you sure you couldn't get a lightly larger tank? There's nothing wrong with the Edge (I have one myself, although it's not running atm), but it's not the easiest tank for beginners.

Choosing fish for a tank is not only about their size; some are more active than others and need more swimming space than other, more sedate fish of the same size.

Also, we'd need to know the hardness and pH of your water before we could recommend fish species. It's much easier to match the fish to your water than try and change your water's parameters.

 

[diabloNL]

Hi there, welcome to the forum

Are you sure you couldn't get a lightly larger tank? There's nothing wrong with the Edge (I have one myself, although it's not running atm), but it's not the easiest tank for beginners.

Choosing fish for a tank is not only about their size; some are more active than others and need more swimming space than other, more sedate fish of the same size.

Also, we'd need to know the hardness and pH of your water before we could recommend fish species. It's much easier to match the fish to your water than try and change your water's parameters.

Thanks fluttermoth! Not sure what happened with the name of the topic but it should be "Fluval Edge Stocking Help". Can you please change it for me?
 
I'm really set on the Edge so I would like to find some fish for it. The water hardness is 8.4 and pH is 8. I understand that the size doesn't mean that they can be in a small tank. I have read many stories on internet of people having neon tetras in their small tank and how that is not a good thing.
 
I think I changed my mind and would like to have Chili Rasboras with Crystal Red shrimp. Would that work? Maybe another fish specie? I really like the Kubotai.
 
Thanks for your help!

 

[fluttermoth]

The water hardness is 8.4 and pH is 8.

That water hardness reading doesn't make sense; it looks more like another pH measure?

You should be able to look at your supplier's website and get info on hardness. While natural water that is high in pH tends to be hard, that's not true of domestic water supplies, which can have their pH and hardness modified.

You also need to let you water stand for 24 hours before testing the pH, as a lot of water has it's pH temporarily adjusted.

 

[diabloNL]

I took the water hardness and pH from the website of the water supplier, It's 8.4 dH(8.75 gpg) for the hardness. Are you expecting another unit, maybe?

 

[diabloNL]

Water report from my supplier.
 
https/www.waternet.nl/media/788193/wn_bwk_1l_2w.eff.krt.kw0315.pdf
 
Converted mmol/l with a value of 1.37 for where I live. Values are a bit different than the ones in the above post.
 
7.6826 °dH (German degree of hardness, 10 mg CaO/l)
13.712 °TH (French degree of hardness, 10 mg CaCO3/l)
9.6199 °e (English degree of hardness, grain CaCO3/gal(UK))
137.12 ppm (mg CaCO3/l)
1.37 mmol/l (millimol per litre) My home
2.74 mval/l (millival per litre)
8.0102 gr/gal(US) (grain CaCO3/gal(US))
76.826 mg CaO/l
137.12 mg CaCO3/l
54.907 mg Ca2+/l

 

[StevenF]

I would strongly recommend adding at least one Nerite snail to your stocking list.  They don't reproduce in fresh water and do an excellent job on keeping the glass clean.  Another fish you might want to consider is the celestial pearl Danio.
 
I would strongly suggest starting with one fish for a few months to see how it goes.  And then if everything is working great consider ading the second or more of the first.  

 

[diabloNL]

I would strongly recommend adding at least one Nerite snail to your stocking list.  They don't reproduce in fresh water and do an excellent job on keeping the glass clean.  Another fish you might want to consider is the celestial pearl Danio.
 
I would strongly suggest starting with one fish for a few months to see how it goes.  And then if everything is working great consider ading the second or more of the first.  

 
Thanks for your help. I was already looking at the Nerite snail so I'm thinking to add it. I keep reading on the internet that the Kubotai is too active for 6 gallon and that they could bully the Chili Rasboras.
 
Currently I'm thinking to have the following and I would like to know what you think.
 
6 Chili Rasboras
6 Rasboras Axelrodi Blue
4 Crystal Red shrimp
4 Yellow shrimp (I checked and they go well with the Crystal Red shrimp)
1 Nerite snail
 
Is this too much? 

 

[Byron]

To your water hardness, as you can see there are several measurement scales used.  The more common for the hobby are ppm (parts per million) and dGH.  You can convert from one to the other by using 17.9, multiply this by dGH to get the equivalent ppm, or divide ppm by 17.9 to get the equivalent dGH.
 
Bottom line here is that you have moderately hard water at 8.4 dGH which is roughly 140-150 ppm (close enough to your 137 number).  BTW, mg/l (milligrams per litre) is basically the same as ppm, just so you know.
 
Shrimp should have no issues, as there will be some calcium for their exoskeletons.  With fish you need to be careful; most of the "nano" type fish will be wild caught, and thus have less adaptability when it comes to water parameters, and the hardness is the more important over pH.  I'll comment on the mentioned species.
 
Sundadanio axelrodi (blue axelrod rasbora) needs very soft and acidic water, so this may not be a good choice here.  More info:
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/sundadanio-axelrodi/
 
Boraras brigittae (chilli rasbora, among other common names) is also a soft and acidic water fish but this species would be more likely to manage.  Its parameters are a bit more flexible:
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boraras-brigittae/
I realize the pH is still off, but your GH is better and with lots of wood and dried leaves the pH may drop naturally, and wood and leaves are very good with these fish anyway.
 
I have a group of the B. brigittae, a nice little fish.  I would get a larger group for your tank, at least 12, up to 20.  Plus whatever shrimp.  No other fish.
 
Byron.

 

[diabloNL]

To your water hardness, as you can see there are several measurement scales used.  The more common for the hobby are ppm (parts per million) and dGH.  You can convert from one to the other by using 17.9, multiply this by dGH to get the equivalent ppm, or divide ppm by 17.9 to get the equivalent dGH.
 
Bottom line here is that you have moderately hard water at 8.4 dGH which is roughly 140-150 ppm (close enough to your 137 number).  BTW, mg/l (milligrams per litre) is basically the same as ppm, just so you know.
 
Shrimp should have no issues, as there will be some calcium for their exoskeletons.  With fish you need to be careful; most of the "nano" type fish will be wild caught, and thus have less adaptability when it comes to water parameters, and the hardness is the more important over pH.  I'll comment on the mentioned species.
 
Sundadanio axelrodi (blue axelrod rasbora) needs very soft and acidic water, so this may not be a good choice here.  More info:
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/sundadanio-axelrodi/
 
Boraras brigittae (chilli rasbora, among other common names) is also a soft and acidic water fish but this species would be more likely to manage.  Its parameters are a bit more flexible:
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boraras-brigittae/
I realize the pH is still off, but your GH is better and with lots of wood and dried leaves the pH may drop naturally, and wood and leaves are very good with these fish anyway.
 
I have a group of the B. brigittae, a nice little fish.  I would get a larger group for your tank, at least 12, up to 20.  Plus whatever shrimp.  No other fish.
 
Byron.

 
Hi Byron,
 
Thanks for taking the time to explain so much to me, it's very appreciated!
 
I'm planning to have some leaves in the tank next to the spiderwood. There will be plenty of moss and plants. I also read that the lighting of the Fluval Edge 6g is not so great but that's actually a good thing because I know the rasboras don't like bright light.
 
I'm also considering having only the B. brigittae and no other fish. I would love to have some other fish for the beauty of the tank but the fish needs to be happy. I realize very well that my choice for this tank is limiting me very much in my choices and variety but I'm ok with that.
 
20 B. brigittae in that tank, wow! Seems so much! 

 
So, If I would get the following would that be good for the fish, shrimp and snail? Also, will the B. brigittae eat their own eggs and fry? What about the shrimp eggs, will they be eaten by the fish?
 
12 B. brigittae
4 Crystal Red shrimp
4 Yellow shrimp
1 Nerite snail
 
Thanks again!

 

[Byron]

Now that you are honing in on specifics, I really would up the number of the B. brigittae.  These are very small fish; I have had this species twice, including my present group of 17, and I have also had B. maculatus.  My B. brigittae have tended to stay fairly close together, whereas the B.maculatus tended to spread out a bit.  But I have the B. brigittae in with other fish which may make a difference.
 
I've only once had shrimp, and that was by accident when two grey-coloured shrimp arrived in the bag of pygmy corys.  I wouldn't think the Boraras would be much good at eating shrimp or their eggs; the fish tend to stay in the upper level.  As for their own eggs/fry, I am not aware that my fish have spawned, but even if they did, they are in a tank with many other fish that would easily find the eggs/fry, so hard to say.  According to the SF link I posted previously, in their own environment without other fish, and with lots of plants (the moss is ideal for this) some fry are likely to appear.  I don't know how effective the shrimp would be at eating them.
 
Byron.

 

[diabloNL]

Thanks Byron. From the link you posted I found out that the brigittae lays eggs everyday. I'm completely new to all this and I'm getting a bit worried that within no time the 6 gallon will be a bit too crowded. Does that mean I will reguarly be looking for people who wants some brigittaes for their aquarium?
 
Sorry for the many questions but I want to make sure I'm making the right choices. I'm good at buying gadgets, but getting into this hobby requires a lot more thinking and planning.

 

[Byron]

As with most of the very small fish, spawning may occur more frequently because the eggs will be fewer.  To survive, the eggs must escape predation which is not always easy, then the fry must find food and while a mature planted tank will have plenty of micro-organisms for fry, there still isn't likely to be a lot unless you start adding micro foods as you would if you wanted to raise fry.  Even beyond all this, I doubt you would have much trouble finding aquarists to buy/take the fry, as these dwarf species in Boraras are very popular, and when available at least over here tend not to be inexpesive.

 

[StevenF]

Does that mean I will reguarly be looking for people who wants some brigittaes for their aquarium?
 

 
many fish retailers will accept fish provided they have an empty tank to put them in.  Just ask them and when you have some call them to verify they have a tank available.  They probably will not pay you for the fish.

 

[diabloNL]

As with most of the very small fish, spawning may occur more frequently because the eggs will be fewer.  To survive, the eggs must escape predation which is not always easy, then the fry must find food and while a mature planted tank will have plenty of micro-organisms for fry, there still isn't likely to be a lot unless you start adding micro foods as you would if you wanted to raise fry.  Even beyond all this, I doubt you would have much trouble finding aquarists to buy/take the fry, as these dwarf species in Boraras are very popular, and when available at least over here tend not to be inexpesive.

 
Here is The Netherlands I can find them in many online shops. Of course it could be that they all buy at the same supplier.
 
 

 

Does that mean I will reguarly be looking for people who wants some brigittaes for their aquarium?
 

 
many fish retailers will accept fish provided they have an empty tank to put them in.  Just ask them and when you have some call them to verify they have a tank available.  They probably will not pay you for the fish.
 

 
That's a very good idea, thanks. For me it's a hobby and I would be glad giving them away for free.