Searching for a tank mate

[galacticfern]

Upgraded my shrimp tank from a janky 3.5 gallon from Petsmart to a just over 7 gallon rimless UNS tank. Don't mind the messy scape, things are still settling in plant wise. Low tech, with an air stone on the way as the new filter is not moving as much water as I had hoped. When considering tank mates I had my heart set on a killi, but I know they need lids and I am planning on keeping this without a lid. I am wondering what you guys think I should add (if anything at all). This is a mixed neo tank with about 15 total shrimp. Maybe a small school of endlers? Or some small danios or tetras?

 

[HoldenOn]

View attachment 123967Upgraded my shrimp tank from a janky 3.5 gallon from Petsmart to a just over 7 gallon rimless UNS tank. Don't mind the messy scape, things are still settling in plant wise. Low tech, with an air stone on the way as the new filter is not moving as much water as I had hoped. When considering tank mates I had my heart set on a killi, but I know they need lids and I am planning on keeping this without a lid. I am wondering what you guys think I should add (if anything at all). This is a mixed neo tank with about 15 total shrimp. Maybe a small school of endlers? Or some small danios or tetras?

GH? What is the footprint?

 

[Ellie Potts]

Super pretty tank! Tank mates is going to depend on your gH

 

[mcordelia]

you say:

Don't mind the messy scape

I say: omg if I managed to get my tank to look that good I would be happy for the next month (until I decided it needed tweaking again... )

Regarding fish, 7g is awfully small, but there is a thread on the forums by @NCaquatics where she was looking into tank mates for a 10gal, it could give you some ideas. I don't know if your water parameters are similar or not, but figured it's a start.

Looking for 1-2 fish for a 10g

Okay, so I got a baby grow out tank, which has been actively used but I know there will come a time that there won't be baby fish in it. The babies added to it are moved from a nursery once they're too big and moved to the 10 where they learn to eat adult foods. But I am thinking of adding a...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Fishmanic]

Fantastic looking tank. Our March 2021 Tank of the Month contest will feature tanks sized at 16 US gallons and smaller. Hope you enter that contest. Meanwhile please vote in the present Tank of the Month contest.

Vote Now - December 2020 Tank of the Month contest (16 US gallons and smaller)

PLEASE VOTE! ................. We have 4 nice tank setups for Fishforums' December 2020 Tank of the Month contest featuring tanks sized at 16 US gallons and smaller. View all the tanks and descriptions below and then go to top of this thread and click on your choice for TOTM and then click...

www.fishforums.net

 

[galacticfern]

GH? What is the footprint?

Consistently hard water, the footprint is 11.8x11.8

 

[galacticfern]

you say:


I say: omg if I managed to get my tank to look that good I would be happy for the next month (until I decided it needed tweaking again... )

Regarding fish, 7g is awfully small, but there is a thread on the forums by @NCaquatics where she was looking into tank mates for a 10gal, it could give you some ideas. I don't know if your water parameters are similar or not, but figured it's a start.

Looking for 1-2 fish for a 10g

Okay, so I got a baby grow out tank, which has been actively used but I know there will come a time that there won't be baby fish in it. The babies added to it are moved from a nursery once they're too big and moved to the 10 where they learn to eat adult foods. But I am thinking of adding a...

www.fishforums.net

Thanks so much! You’re too kind! Thanks for your suggestion

 

[galacticfern]

Super pretty tank! Tank mates is going to depend on your gH

Pretty consistently hard water, no matter how I try to tweak it the tap prevails haha

 

[mrsjoannh13]

Beautiful tank! I'm getting the 20g UNS rimless for Christmas. Soooooo excited. Love it!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

You say messy aquascape; I say natural-looking. Really, really nice.

In a tank this size, hard-water generally means live-bearers. Endlers or gambusia could do OK, but I'd recommend keeping only a few males to avoid over-populating. You might also research some of the smaller Lake Inle fish, but I seem to remember that most of them are pretty active. Rainbows/threadfins/blue eyes enjoy hard water, but none of them would be happy in such a constrained space, I'm afraid.

Dwarf anchor/stone catfish (Hara jerdoni) are tiny, adaptable, fine with hard water (be sure and acclimate them!), shrimp-safe, and content in a small space, so a small school, or even an individual, would probably do well in this tank. They would love hiding out in all that moss.

I'm sure you already know this, but small tanks tend to be subject to unstable water parameters, so I advise keeping stocking on the low side. Honestly, it's lovely with just the shrimp. Maybe just add a few ramshorn snails, mystery snails, or amano shrimp for variety and call it good!

 

[galacticfern]

Beautiful tank! I'm getting the 20g UNS rimless for Christmas. Soooooo excited. Love it!

Awesome! You’re going to love it, it really provides such an awesome space to work with

 

[galacticfern]

You say messy aquascape; I say natural-looking. Really, really nice.

In a tank this size, hard-water generally means live-bearers. Endlers or gambusia could do OK, but I'd recommend keeping only a few males to avoid over-populating. You might also research some of the smaller Lake Inle fish. Rainbows/threadfins/blue eyes enjoy hard water, but none of them would be happy in such a constrained space, I'm afraid.

I'm sure you already know this, but small tanks tend to be subject to unstable water parameters, so I advise keeping stocking on the low side. Honestly, it's lovely with just the shrimp. Maybe add a few ramshorn or mystery snails for variety and call it good!

Thanks so much for the reply! I was thinking of transferring over a part of my large male endler school from my 20g into this tank... but I really liked your suggestion about the catfish! To go even smaller, what do you think about possibly a small school of pygmy (habrosus) corys? And yes, I watch my parameters very carefully. I had a few baby magenta mystery snails in there for a few days, but they’re little escape artists since I don’t have a lid! They got swapped into the 20g as well, haha!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Habrosus are cool and tend to hang out more in mid water than on the bottom. Not sure how they do with hard water--check the seriouslyfish oracle.

 

[galacticfern]

Habrosus are cool and tend to hang out more in mid water than on the bottom. Not sure how they do with hard water--check the seriouslyfish oracle.

Awesome, thank you so much for your input! I appreciate your help

 

[Essjay]

This is the same size as my shrimp tank - mine is an Aqua One which measures 30 x 30 x 30 cm. I would not keep any fish in a tank this size with a footprint of just 11.8 x 11.8 inches (30 x 30 cm). Even habrosus cories need a bigger tank.

I have just cherry shrimp and a nerite snail in mine. I have soft water and did try chili rasoboras, a tiny fish, but even they were not suitable and I had to move them to my main tank.