Need stocking advice for 30 Litre Tank

[meezazee]

Hi all,
I am hoping for some advice on what other fish (if any) I can put in a fish tank that has 2 small Platies in it already. I was hoping to introduce something else in there but not sure if this is possible in such a small tank ? Can someone please give me some advice? I would highly appreciate it. Thanks so much in advance - Mia

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

The general rule of thumb is to stock your tank using the idea that you should aim for 1 litre per 1cm of the adult size of the fish you plan on stocking. That being said, it's also important to not just cram as many fish in there as possible.

For example, assuming that your platies will both grow to their maximum possible size (which is unlikely but not unheard of), you would need around 6-7 litres for each platy as they can grow up to 2.5"/6.35cm each. Maybe you could have a tank of platys, or a tank of livebearers like mollies and guppies along with it. Alternatively you could put a betta in, but they can be aggressive fish so just choose carefully.

Definitely not an expert on this, would be best to get others' opinions on this lol.

 

[Aquavulpes8]

Hi all,
I am hoping for some advice on what other fish (if any) I can put in a fish tank that has 2 small Platies in it already. I was hoping to introduce something else in there but not sure if this is possible in such a small tank ? Can someone please give me some advice? I would highly appreciate it. Thanks so much in advance - Mia

I've been told that platys like to have about 4 to be happy so mabey put a few more platys before anything else but I'm no expert

 

[P J]

Hi all,
I am hoping for some advice on what other fish (if any) I can put in a fish tank that has 2 small Platies in it already. I was hoping to introduce something else in there but not sure if this is possible in such a small tank ? Can someone please give me some advice? I would highly appreciate it. Thanks so much in advance - Mia

Hi Mia you do have a smallish tank make sure it is properly mature with plenty of filtration and aeration, normally wait four weeks before the tank has fully cycled, before adding more fish. Buy some test strips to make sure the nitrite levels are down to zero and the water is clear, stage adding new fish every two weeks. Probably up to a maximum of six platy, and beware of over feeding, there are some great looking platies, try adding four female and two males, two one week then another two. Check online to identify the difference between males a females, your local fish shop will help. Happy platies. PJ

 

[meezazee]

The general rule of thumb is to stock your tank using the idea that you should aim for 1 litre per 1cm of the adult size of the fish you plan on stocking. That being said, it's also important to not just cram as many fish in there as possible.

For example, assuming that your platies will both grow to their maximum possible size (which is unlikely but not unheard of), you would need around 6-7 litres for each platy as they can grow up to 2.5"/6.35cm each. Maybe you could have a tank of platys, or a tank of livebearers like mollies and guppies along with it. Alternatively you could put a betta in, but they can be aggressive fish so just choose carefully.

Definitely not an expert on this, would be best to get others' opinions on this lol.

Thank you so much, that is extremely helpful !!!!

 

[meezazee]

I've been told that platys like to have about 4 to be happy so mabey put a few more platys before anything else but I'm no expert

Oooooh okay thanks so much!

 

[meezazee]

Hi Mia you do have a smallish tank make sure it is properly mature with plenty of filtration and aeration, normally wait four weeks before the tank has fully cycled, before adding more fish. Buy some test strips to make sure the nitrite levels are down to zero and the water is clear, stage adding new fish every two weeks. Probably up to a maximum of six platy, and beware of over feeding, there are some great looking platies, try adding four female and two males, two one week then another two. Check online to identify the difference between males a females, your local fish shop will help. Happy platies. PJ

Thanks so much! The two I have now are females and yep I have been cycling the tank and testing water. Ill look into it, thanks so much for all your help! really appreciate it Mia

 

[Aquavulpes8]

no problem always happy to help
just make sure not to overstock the tank

 

[Wills]

I have a 30 litre too they are small tanks but there are options for them. I would probably have said platies are a bit big for this size tank but you should be ok. I like to use inch per gallon to tot up numbers - someone else mentioned cms and litres and it comes to roughly the same point.

Depending on if you have hard or soft water is often a good way to determine what fish you should keep? But small fish like Galaxy Rasobra, Endlers, Chill Rasbora, Badis, Clown Killi Fish, Dwarf Anchor Cats, Rosy Loaches are the type of fish I'd keep in there.

My tank is quite long and shallow for the volume of water so I'm going to do a shell dweller cichlid tank with a pair of Lamprologus Ocelatus Gold

Wills

 

[meezazee]

I have a 30 litre too they are small tanks but there are options for them. I would probably have said platies are a bit big for this size tank but you should be ok. I like to use inch per gallon to tot up numbers - someone else mentioned cms and litres and it comes to roughly the same point.

Depending on if you have hard or soft water is often a good way to determine what fish you should keep? But small fish like Galaxy Rasobra, Endlers, Chill Rasbora, Badis, Clown Killi Fish, Dwarf Anchor Cats, Rosy Loaches are the type of fish I'd keep in there.

My tank is quite long and shallow for the volume of water so I'm going to do a shell dweller cichlid tank with a pair of Lamprologus Ocelatus Gold

Wills

Thanks so much Wills, that's great info, I will do research Much appreciated - Mia

 

[Slaphppy7]

The general rule of thumb is to stock your tank using the idea that you should aim for 1 litre per 1cm of the adult size of the fish you plan on stocking. That being said, it's also important to not just cram as many fish in there as possible.

For example, assuming that your platies will both grow to their maximum possible size (which is unlikely but not unheard of), you would need around 6-7 litres for each platy as they can grow up to 2.5"/6.35cm each. Maybe you could have a tank of platys, or a tank of livebearers like mollies and guppies along with it. Alternatively you could put a betta in, but they can be aggressive fish so just choose carefully.

Definitely not an expert on this, would be best to get others' opinions on this lol.

That "rule" is hogwash, IMO.....would you put a 50 cm fish in a 50L tank?

This is a much better guide: http://www.aqadvisor.com/

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

That "rule" is hogwash, IMO.....would you put a 50 cm fish in a 50L tank?

This is a much better guide: http://www.aqadvisor.com/

Oh wow, I appreciate that but I think that just overloaded my brain.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Oh wow, I appreciate that but I think that just overloaded my brain.

LOL, it looks intimidating a bit at first, but it's just data entry...enter your tank and filter(s), the begin adding fish, and note the advice given...it's a bit conservative, IMO, but that is better than overstocking

 

[Wills]

That "rule" is hogwash, IMO.....would you put a 50 cm fish in a 50L tank?

This is a much better guide: http://www.aqadvisor.com/

I dont think the rules are truely useless - my guide is inch per gallon, make sure the fish have a tank length a minimum of 6x their length and width x2 their length. Then look at compatibility and water chemistry.

 

[Slaphppy7]

I dont think the rules are truely useless - my guide is inch per gallon, make sure the fish have a tank length a minimum of 6x their length and width x2 their length. Then look at compatibility and water chemistry.

AqAdvisor is simpler, just in my opinion