Looking for some 13 gallon ideas!

[FallenAngel]

Hello! I'm looking for some sticking suggestions for a 13 gallon aquarium. It is about the height of a 20 and the width of a 10. Now this is where things get hairy, it is going in my dorm room and college, and the fish need to be species easy for me to move back home three hours away in the summer. I know how to take care of fish and have had tanks my whole life, I've just never had to transport fish anywhere. I was sort of thinking a betta and letting him have free run of the place since there will not be a ton of swimming space. I also considered maybe throwing a pleco or nerite snail in with him. There will be plenty of hiding places and I am doing a mixture of live and fake plants with far more live than fake. The substrate will be sand. Here is a picture of the current tank, I do not have all my life plants in yet, I'm waiting on 3 anubias, 3 swords, and a moss ball. Any suggestions would be great! As a side note, I squeezed a filter from my tank at home into the tank, so the bacteria are already starting to establish.


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[keegster803]

You could do a betta. Or you could do a school do CPDs


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[FallenAngel]

Help me out, what does CPD stand for?

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[ImACoolguy]

Help me out, what does CPD stand for?

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Celestial Pearl Danios

If you have some experience with aquariums you could do Dwarf Puffers


Caleb

 

[TheresaM]

My first thought was a big school of small fish but the moving issue could be a hassle. I wouldn't do a plec personally but a nerite would work.

A betta would definitely appreciate all that space! I'm still waking up but off the top of my head a few other ideas:

paradise fish
trio of cherry barbs
small group of sparkling gouramis
pair of killifish (A. australe, F. gardneri, A. striatum, etc)

 

[keegster803]

You could do some Pygmy sunfish!


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[FallenAngel]

Trio of cherry bards has defonatly sparked my interest. I kinda wanted something more interesting and fun to watch than a betta. Ill look into youlls suggestions. Feel free to keep them coming!

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[FallenAngel]

BTW, I love sparkling gouranamis but have never owned them. Are they Hardy and how many would go in a 13?

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[TheresaM]

I've never had problems keeping sparkling gouramis. If you go that route I'd suggest having some sort of floating plant for them.

I'd say a trio easily; I'd probably go with 5 or so but I tend to overstock You could pop the numbers into Aqua Advisor and see what comes up.

 

[Brookster123]

BTW, I love sparkling gouranamis but have never owned them. Are they Hardy and how many would go in a 13?

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They've been pretty hardy in my tanks. Had 2 in a 7.5 but had to move one that was getting beat on. They're actually pretty fiesty for their size.

I've never had problems keeping sparkling gouramis. If you go that route I'd suggest having some sort of floating plant for them.

I'd say a trio easily; I'd probably go with 5 or so but I tend to overstock You could pop the numbers into Aqua Advisor and see what comes up.

The added numbers would probably help with the beatings huh??

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[FallenAngel]

Okay, I have done some looking at the sparkling gouranamis and am liking what I see. As far as actually buying some and putting them into the tank, would I want to buy the 5 I want and put them straight in, or buy 2, then 3 later on. I don't want to stress,the water conditions to fast, every time I've done an aquarium I've added coryies or a single fish first to keep levels from going crazy. How would I do that with a small school of fish?

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[keegster803]

Okay, I have done some looking at the sparkling gouranamis and am liking what I see. As far as actually buying some and putting them into the tank, would I want to buy the 5 I want and put them straight in, or buy 2, then 3 later on. I don't want to stress,the water conditions to fast, every time I've done an aquarium I've added coryies or a single fish first to keep levels from going crazy. How would I do that with a small school of fish?

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Is the tank cycled?


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[FallenAngel]

I started the tank up Sunday, I squeezed the filter from my tank at home into the new tank to kick start the cycle early. I was planning on waiting this week out, and trying to add fish next week but I'm not sure if that will be too soon or not. I left my level tester at home, so I may buy some test strips for the dorm. I have never started a tank by adding in the filter bacteria from another, I've only ever started from scratch, so I'm not sure how long it will take to cycle

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[keegster803]

Are you adding in an ammonia source? If not, then your tank won't start to cycle until it is added


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[FallenAngel]

I added in the dirty filter from my 30 gallon aquarium at home. It was full of waste and ect.

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[keegster803]

Ok, just keep testing the water. The tank will cycle within 2-3 weeks


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[FallenAngel]

Okay, but once it is cycled, can I add them all at once will will that offset the balance too quickly? I always add fish slowly so I'm afraid of what will happen if I add all 5 gouranamis at once, but I don't want anyone to start getting territory before the others arrive

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[keegster803]

Okay, but once it is cycled, can I add them all at once will will that offset the balance too quickly? I always add fish slowly so I'm afraid of what will happen if I add all 5 gouranamis at once, but I don't want anyone to start getting territory before the others arrive

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Add them in slowly


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