Stocking Q

[Lenna]

I have 8 neon tetras in a 55L tank and was wondering if this is overstocked as they are a schooling fish. However, if this isn't overstocked what tetra tankmates could you suggest. TIA

 

[Lenna]

Oh come on, surely someone has a suggestion, anyone?

 

[Tenko]

I have a 40l tank which was originally bought to treat some injuries. I'll stock this when the fish are recovered.

The lfs told me I could have 20 fish in there, I interpret that to mean 20 inches of fish. If I stock to this level I will have to do regular water changes, but with a small tank that's not much of a hardship.

I was going to have 5 guppies, a bristlenose catfish, and perhaps 5-6 neons.

I'm fairly new to this fish business so don't know for sure whether this is too much or not, but I have heavily planted the tank which I think will help too.

 

[modernhamlet]

I have 8 neon tetras in a 55L tank and was wondering if this is overstocked as they are a schooling fish. However, if this isn't overstocked what tetra tankmates could you suggest. TIA

It's certainly not overstocked.

55L = 12UK gallons = 14.5US gallons

Assuming it's not one of those annoying high/hex tanks, you could probably add more fish. What kind do you like? Corys are an obvious choice, as the will stay at the bottom and are interesting and active. But there are many small (<2") fish that would work with neons in your tank.

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> as they are a schooling fish

That doesn't really make much difference. The fish have the same requirements if they are in a school or not. As MH says, the shape of the tank, and therefore it's surface area makes a much bigger difference. Assuming it is an ordinary rectangular tank, you've got room for a little more. So you need to find something small, that does not need to be kept as a large group.

>>> The lfs told me I could have 20 fish in there....20 inches of fish

That would be way over stocked. Typical LFS advice I'm afraid, sell the fish, everything else is secondary.

 

[Lenna]

What species would you suggest? I can't really keep any corydoras sp. because I've been using aquarium salt and I know this wouldn't be good for them. I could always get more neons!

 

[modernhamlet]

As otos or corys are out, I would suggest either a few more neons or a dwarf gourami. Depends on the visual tank aesthetic you're going for. A couple of livebearers would also be an option.

 

[Lenna]

Would a dwarf gourami be okay on its own? A while back when I had gouramis I had them in pairs. I guess at least there wouldn't be any aggression.

What about white clouds? I got one free by accident once and it was a great little fish. They only grow to 1 1/2" or is it bad to have two shoals or would they shoal together as they are the same size?

 

[NEON98101]

You could take the salt out slowly and add small corys like Panda. That is my favorite. Or you could add some glow-light tetras which I have with my Neons. And they look great if you have dark back ground and gravel and/or dim lighted tank. Or some floating plants.
I also have few lemon tetras and couple of hatchetfish. Although all the fish mentioned is school fish you should get 6 or so. And lemon can be like little Pirahna, they are greedy eater. You might need to make sure everyone else get their share of food. I also have partial albino neon, store call them gold neon. They are different from gold tetra. Which can be good also, although I never kept them before.
Can't go wrong if you get similar size tetra with your neon. There are green neon or cardinal tetra. These guys, I hearjoin the neon school. So many possibility. But don't pick them all, but pick one and get 6 or so if you have space. Less variety of school would be better looking than getting 1~2 each of many fish. Beside most of the tetra like to hung around with their own kind.

 

[Lenna]

How about 4-5 harlequin rasboras? They are pretty small (4cm) and I really like them.

PS I find cories very cute but I've had a lot of success with them aquarium salt (no diseases in my existing fish since I've been using it) so I don't really want to ditch it just yet.

PPS I've had livebearers on and off for years now (I just traded in 6 mollies for $18 credit, can you believe it $3 each for a livebearer! I love this little LFS) and I was wanting something different and a little more challenging.

 

[NEON98101]

Why not, I hear they are peaceful school fish. I would get 6 or more if you have space for them. Wow $3.00 credit for Mollies you say. I wonder how much they are selling for, it got to be more than $3 more like twice or more? That could be a expensive Mollies. Maybe your LFS was counting the fry before they come out.
About Harlequin Rasbora I hear they do like softer water with low ph especially when you try to breed so you might need to check your salt situation. Salt tend to bring up the ph also. I would do some research before buy them if I were you.

 

[Lenna]

No, mollies go for $3.00 up to $3.75 around here, so I couldn't believe it. Only one of them was pregnant. I suppose they were all really healthy and one was a pretty spectacular silver sailfin

I don't use salt at a very high concentration, the tank pH is 7, not quite acidic but should be okay. I have a fair bit of bogwood which seems to keep the pH down. I don't want to get too many (6) because I have to take my betta into account. (BTW he has lived in the community tank before and is not aggressive towards his tankmates).

 

[NEON98101]

Humm. If the store buy the fish for the price they sell at their store, maybe the store person want to be your friend REAL badly. If you know what I mean.
Store usually give 1/2~1/3 credit for the fish of their selling price. So they can make money and cover the cost to maintain them while they are waiting to be sold. Buy cheap and sell high. That is simply the business principal.
Anyway, you can only have 4~5, then that all you can have. They should be fine since they are similar in size. Just make sure, you check the water(yours and stores). And acclimate them slowly when you introduce them to your tank. Odds are, they need to adjust to the new temperature, ph, and hardness. And fish need fairly long time to adjust to new water.

 

[Lenna]

Now I'm freaked out, the guy was kina old . Thanks for the advice though, I usually spend an hour or so introducing new fish, adding a bit of my tank water at a time so they get used to it before they go in.

 

[J_acon]

Add some Black Neon Tetras, of some guppies.