What is suitable for a small 18-20litre tank?

[ClownLurch]

I have discovered bookshelf tanks and found them amazing! They do not have much height and depth, but make up for it in swimming width. My 3 gallon works great for my pea puffer, with twice a week water changes and good filtration. There are different sizes of bookshelf tanks, so that may be an option to consider.

... and I still kept the books!

I may be looking for something similar (long and narrow) for my shelves soon as I’m thinking of starting a heterandria Formosa only tank to give any fry a fighting chance of survival.
Sort of 250x560x?mm /8”x22”x?.

 

[Essjay]

Small tanks are do-able - with the right fish. Guppies and platies are unfortunately not suitable for 10 litres/2.6 gallons. Pea/dwarf puffers are just about OK with a lot of maintenance as they are messy eaters - and they need hard water.

Please ignore, replied to the wrong thread

 

[ClownLurch]

I have discovered bookshelf tanks and found them amazing! They do not have much height and depth, but make up for it in swimming width. My 3 gallon works great for my pea puffer, with twice a week water changes and good filtration. There are different sizes of bookshelf tanks, so that may be an option to consider.

... and I still kept the books!

Have you any manufacturer names? Website details etc? I’m in U.K. so it’d probably just be for ideas etc if I could see a few.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Small tanks are do-able - with the right fish. Guppies and platies are unfortunately not suitable for 10 litres/2.6 gallons. Pea/dwarf puffers are just about OK with a lot of maintenance as they are messy eaters - and they need hard water.

Dwarf puffers, according to SF, need at least 3.3 gallons (12.6). A bigger tank is recommended though. I guess you could skate by with 1 puffer in that tank, but it would take a lot of work to keep that tank clean and the little guy healthy,

 

[eatyourpeas]

Have you any manufacturer names? Website details etc? I’m in U.K. so it’d probably just be for ideas etc if I could see a few.

I have Aquatop. ADA is too expensive for me to consider, but I think they have bookshelf tanks as well.

 

[eatyourpeas]

Dwarf puffers, according to SF, need at least 3.3 gallons (12.6). A bigger tank is recommended though. I guess you could skate by with 1 puffer in that tank, but it would take a lot of work to keep that tank clean and the little guy healthy,

Yes, I am aware of it. I am pretty good at keeping up with his water/tank parameters. I welcome the time I get to spend with Nicodemus so it does not feel like a chore, but definitely not for everyone.

This is his tank, an Aquatop 3 gal, one internal and one sponge filter to home the ostracods he loves to eat, in addition to snails:


And the bit himself:

 

[kwi]

Hi all,

I have always wanted to keep tropical fish and thought I would start small. I am looking into getting an 18/20 litre tank and I’m looking for advice as to wether this will be large enough to keep 3 guppies.
I have researched online but different sources have different answers. I would also love to own some neon tetras but I have doubts as to wether the tank would be big enough for a small group of these as well.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Have you thought about shrimp? More interesting than you first think.

 

[Geemance]

Hi everyone thank you so much for your replies, I have been doing more research in the meanwhile, the water where I live is considered very hard water so I’m looking into getting a betta, as they will be ‘betta’ suited to the hard water conditions and tank size is more suitable for a single betta than a small group of guppies or something similar.
I have also found a 24 litre tank that I think will be more suitable and will fit the small space in my house

 

[Essjay]

Bettas are really soft water fish, but commercially bred fish (ie virtually all the bettas in shops) can take water up to 260 ppm/15 dH.
Do you know how hard your water is? Your water company's website should tell you - the unit of measurement may well not be the same as those used in fish keeping so we might need to convert the number.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Shrimps are best for small tank and they are more interesting to watch than fish.