Fluval Flex 9 Gallon Aquarium with Fake Plants (Beginner) - Stocking Suggestions?

[ogelthorpe]

Hello all,
At long last, I am nearing the end of my cycle process. Ammonia at 0, Nitrites are at 0.5ppm and falling! My tank is a 9 gallon fluval flex with dark gravel substrate, spider wood, blue seiryu stone and a massive fake bamboo plant that makes it look like a jungle but with some clear swimming space in front as well (see picture attached!) I may eventually put in some live plants but wanted to get started as easy as possible. Hardness is 4-26 mg/l, PH is right around 6.8-7. Any stocking suggestions? Thinking of having some bottom dwellers/cleanup crew, a school of something and maybe a showcase fish? Would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on what might work well together in this setup.

 

[Rocky998]

Well... Its a 9 gallon so you could probably only do one school of something... Or you could do a "larger" fish or two with no other fish... BUT, maybe there are others who can guide you better and have been able to keep quite a bit in a 10g. But I still think the space is a bit small for a community type setup. I love your aquarium it does look nice! All the plants are great for top to mid dwellers!

 

[Essjay]

A 9 gallon tank cannot hold many fish. Really no more than a betta or a shoal of one of the nano fish species, and maybe shrimps.

Hardness is 4-26 mg/l,

Is this 4 to 26 mg/l calcium carbonate? And is that measured by a test strip or from your water provider's website? If it is mg/l calcium carbonate, it is very soft water so a shoal of something like chili rasboras (Boraras brigittae) would work well. As these small fish need big shoals, you could easily accommodate 20 of them.

 

[ogelthorpe]

A 9 gallon tank cannot hold many fish. Really no more than a betta or a shoal of one of the nano fish species, and maybe shrimps.


Is this 4 to 26 mg/l calcium carbonate? And is that measured by a test strip or from your water provider's website? If it is mg/l calcium carbonate, it is very soft water so a shoal of something like chili rasboras (Boraras brigittae) would work well. As these small fish need big shoals, you could easily accommodate 20 of them.

Thanks for this. I got the hardness information from my water provider and it is mg/l. I like the idea of a large chili rasbora shoal - do you think I could do either pygmy cories or kuhli loaches on the bottom with the chili rasboras in this tank?

 

[ogelthorpe]

Well... Its a 9 gallon so you could probably only do one school of something... Or you could do a "larger" fish or two with no other fish... BUT, maybe there are others who can guide you better and have been able to keep quite a bit in a 10g. But I still think the space is a bit small for a community type setup. I love your aquarium it does look nice! All the plants are great for top to mid dwellers!

Thanks for this. Do you think I could do some bottom dwellers with the shoal? ie: kuhli loaches or pygmy cories?

 

[Essjay]

What is the substrate? In the photo it looks like quite large particles. Cories, especially the dwarf species like pygmies, do better with sand. I don't think the tank is big enough for a shoal of kuhli loaches though.

 

[ogelthorpe]

Substrate is Topfin black gravel.

 

[Rocky998]

View attachment 155620Substrate is Topfin black gravel.

I wouldn't house anything like cories or catfish in the tank... They may injure themselves onthe gravel and cut barbels... BUT, you still have many options that hang out near the top or middle... A school of lambchop rasboras would look stunninginthat type if tank if you like them... If you like red fish there are ember tetras as well... There are many other options these are just a few ideas

 

[Essjay]

The reason a Flex is tricky to stock is the dimensions. It's almost a cube rather than a typical rectangular tank. The 9 gallon version is 14 x 13 x 13 inches/35 x 33 x 33 cm L x W x H. There are very few fish suitable for a tank with a swimming length of 14 inches/35 cm.

Fish such as lambchop rasboras (Trigonostigma espei) need at least 24 inches/60 cm swimming room, and even the smaller ember tetra really needs 18 inches/45 cm.

 

[Rocky998]

The reason a Flex is tricky to stock is the dimensions. It's almost a cube rather than a typical rectangular tank. The 9 gallon version is 14 x 13 x 13 inches/35 x 33 x 33 cm L x W x H. There are very few fish suitable for a tank with a swimming length of 14 inches/35 cm.

Fish such as lambchop rasboras (Trigonostigma espei) need at least 24 inches/60 cm swimming room, and even the smaller ember tetra really needs 18 inches/45 cm.

Oh whoops... I forgot to ask dimensions.... Sadly the list will have to narrow... A betta may be able to live in that but im unsure... Do you think any killis would be ok in that tank?

 

[Essjay]

I know little about killis - we need @GaryE to give an opinion.

 

[ogelthorpe]

Thanks guys. Sounds like maybe a school of chili or some other micro rasbora and a snail might be the way to go. Do you a few pea puffers would work instead?

 

[Rocky998]

Thanks guys. Sounds like maybe a school of chili or some other micro rasbora and a snail might be the way to go. Do you a few pea puffers would work instead?

I was going to recommend pea puffers but wasnt sure for some reason... Chili rasboras are very beautiful fish! What is your PH again? They do prefer a PH of 4-6. I do always say that a stable PH is better than a fluctuating one BUT I also wouldnt house a fish in more than a 1.5+ difference with PH...

I also have to keep remembering that thid isn't the average mearuements for a 10g... Usually their 20 inches long and 12 inches wide... But you have a 14×13×13 which is a kinda strange tank size imo... But you MAY be able to do a pea puffer. Not totally sure on those rasboras but they may work... I think I would wait for someone with more experience on these particular fish to give some more advice...

 

[ogelthorpe]

Thanks! PH is 7.

 

[ogelthorpe]

Thanks for all the help. Heading to the LFS today so looking forward to it!!