stocking ideas ?

[Newguy122]

hi i have a new 50 l tank and i was watching aquraim coop and he said i could have a dwaf gurami 6 to 8 ember tetra and a couple of bottom dwellers with i like the look of albino cory cats will this be ok ?

 

[Rocky998]

hi i have a new 50 l tank and i was watching aquraim coop and he said i could have a dwaf gurami 6 to 8 ember tetra and a couple of bottom dwellers with i like the look of albino cory cats will this be ok ?

50 liter tank or 50 gallons?

 

[Newguy122]

50 lirtes

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Before you start thinking about what fish to put into your empty tank, you need to know about the chemistry of your water, from the tap.
How hard or soft is it? GH/KH readings?
What is the pH?

You'll need a basic test kit for this, or look it up on your water suppliers website.
(You'll still need a test kit, if you're going to be keeping fish).

Once you know the pH and hardness/softness of your water, you can then start to see what fish would thrive in that water.
Whilst you can artificially alter the water's pH and hardness, it's a pain and you'll have to do it every single time you add fresh water to the tank, which you'll need to do often.

Next, you'll be limited by the small size of your tank.
50 litres is roughly 10 gallons and it'd be helpful to know the tank dimensions.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Hey, Newguy. I think that, depending on a few variables, that stocking should mostly work. Albino cories need to be in a group, and a 10g is pretty small for them. I'd recommend looking into amano shrimp for some good action at the bottom. Asian stone catfish are good for small tanks, too, if you can find them. AqAdvisor.com is a good resource for beginners; plug in your tank's size and the fish you want to keep, and it will give you a vague idea of whether you're OK.

However, it will only give you a vague idea, because there are many factors that AqAdvisor can not take in to account. You will, at very least, want to know how hard your water is. Some fish are quite adaptable for water hardness, but some have specialized needs. Your water company can give you the range of hardness, or you can buy a test kit.

Once you know that, look up your desired species on seriouslyfish.com and read up on their needs.

Before you buy those fish, read up on cycling your tank. Our very own Essjay wrote up an excellent overview that will get you started. There are several different ways to do it, but you don't want to just plop fish into a tank that doesn't have a good biological cleaning system (plants and/or bacteria) in place. That's probably the number one reason beginners' fish don't live for very long. Take the time to understand the nitrogen cycle and you will save yourself a lot of frustration and heartache, not to mention saving your fish a lot of death.

All that said, I like the sound of your setup. A well-planted 50l with a dwarf gourami, and nice school of embers, and a good pack of amano shrimp would look great. Good luck and let us know if you have any other questions.

 

[Newguy122]

Could I have any Cory cats species ?

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Could I have any Cory cats species ?

Before you start thinking about what fish to put into your empty tank, you need to know about the chemistry of your water, from the tap.
How hard or soft is it? GH/KH readings?
What is the pH?

Once you know the pH and hardness/softness of your water, you can then start to see what fish would thrive in that water.
Whilst you can artificially alter the water's pH and hardness, it's a pain and you'll have to do it every single time you add fresh water to the tank, which you'll need to do often.

 

[Playsander]

Could I have any Cory cats species ?

Cory's need to be in a group and need quite a bit of space so not really a viable option in a smallish tank.

I like whistlingbadgers idea of a group of Embers, if you don't like embers then maybe even 6 neon tetras (not cardinals as they get a bit chunky). Shrimp are a great idea, I prefer wood shrimp over amanos but that's just my opinion.