tiny tank

[munkybutter]

Im new to tropical fish and have a small tank (4 UK gallons) with a 50 watt heater, under gravel filter and a light, ive had it set up for about a week so far and plan to get a few 'grassy' (dont know any names) plants then a few fish, what fish do you suggest?

I saw a glass shrimp once at my uncles shop and i quite like them, what sort of conditions do they need? are they easy to keep and can they be kept with fish? would anyone advise (or against) getting one or two in the future?

 

[konrad05]

get a bigger tank! you won't be able to keep anything that doesnt like temperature fluctuations.

 

[munkybutter]

well what fish wouldnt mind temperature fluctuations?

 

[White Whale]

well what fish wouldnt mind temperature fluctuations?

White Cloud Minnows and Dwarf Gold Barbs

 

[tstenback]

Hi munkybutter
I have kept all of the livebearers in a five gallon tank so i think they would be fine for your tank. also currently i have a five gallon with a betta and a cory. so there are options and hopefully the rest of the gang here will give you some more.

Welcome andd good luck

 

[cutechic]

Maybe a trio of white clouds or danios, along with some otos?

 

[swammy]

guppies......lots of pretty colored guppies.....(well, not LOTS)....easy to keep, they bear live fry, and they are SOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo pretty!!

 

[smithrc]

danios of various types....

if your local - i could do you a great deal on some new baby Leopard danios

 

[greathat]

if ur at the right side of birmingham theres a great shop in erdington that gives great advice and has a HUGE range of fisheseses

 

[modernhamlet]

Return the 50w heater for a 25w if you can.

My suggestion:

1 x male betta
3 x dwarf corys

 

[munkybutter]

thanks a lot for all the helpfull advice, i think ill put my 2 existing white clouds in and maybe buy 2 more to keep them company.
now all i have to do is decide what to put in my 18"x10"x12" tank (which im in the process of turning tropical.

 

[modernhamlet]

thanks a lot for all the helpfull advice, i think ill put my 2 existing white clouds in and maybe buy 2 more to keep them company.
now all i have to do is decide what to put in my 18"x10"x12" tank (which im in the process of turning tropical.

Nice. That one has a little more room to play around with ideas. What are you going to put in there?

 

[munkybutter]

to be honest i have no idea
I think i might put sand on the bottom, will that limit what fish i can get affect bottom feeders?
id like some tetras and a bottom feeder of somekind.
does anyone know if i could get a fresh water shrimp aswell?

 

[modernhamlet]

You could do all three of those just fine in your larger tank! A couple of notes though:

For bottom feeders, you've got dwarf corys (again, i know) or otos. That's about the only bottom feeders I'd put in that size tank. Try to get 3-4.

Try to get 5-6 of the smaller, more sedate tetra species. Size, again, being the main issue.

Any of the commonly available tropical shrimp (Amano, Ghost, Wood) should be able to share floor space fine with corys or otos.

One final note: Sand would make the bottom dwellers happy, but live plants would make all of those inhabitants even happier.


(And btw, if you ever don't like my advice, just ignore me. I can't help myself. I'm always thinking of new tanks one could do. It's so bad, I come up with tank ideas in my sleep. )

 

[munkybutter]

would live plants not survive well in sand?
and would neon tetras be ok?