could i add more fish?

[AmyD]

I have just got 3 ember tetras and plan to get 3 more next week. I then plan on getting 3 male guppies but was wondering if this would mean my 60 litre tank is fully stocked or if i could add something else? This is my first tank and i don't want to over do it.

 

[librarygirl]

For a 15 gal tank (60 liters if the online conversion is correct) you could definitely add more fish. What filter do you have on the tank? Any ideas on what fish you'd like to add and then we can help with the rest of the stocking?

 

[AmyD]

I have a biorb so it's just the filter that came with it ( i've heard it's not great though :-( ) i don't really have anything in mind so i'm open to ideas, i'm steering clear of platys though because i've heard they produce a lot of waste. I do like knife fish but i think they may grow too big

 

[LyndaB]

With such a small tank, it's crucial that you carefully research any species you're interested in. You're right that the knife would get too large for your tank.

You could do things like pygmy corys, nano fish, etc. Nano Fish

 

[librarygirl]

Oh, a biorb , that sort of changes things. It limits the horizontal room that fish need to swim. The Ember Tetras are probably OK (they are nano fish), maybe the guppys too but not sure on them.

 

[AmyD]

Oh, a biorb , that sort of changes things. It limits the horizontal room that fish need to swim. The Ember Tetras are probably OK (they are nano fish), maybe the guppys too but not sure on them.

Yeah big mistake buying the biorb just because it looked good, but that was when i thought you just filled it up and added a few fish! How wrong i was lol the biorb will have to do for now but i saw a great tank today just have to get £1000 together :-/

 

[LyndaB]

Oh geez, I missed the biorb thing.

LibraryGirl is exactly right. I'm afraid you are tremendously limited by this tank. You'd be so much better off even having a standard 10 gallon rectangular tank than this.

Do you understand what she means by the fish not having the room to swim in this tank?

 

[AmyD]

Oh geez, I missed the biorb thing.

LibraryGirl is exactly right. I'm afraid you are tremendously limited by this tank. You'd be so much better off even having a standard 10 gallon rectangular tank than this.

Do you understand what she means by the fish not having the room to swim in this tank?

I do, and trust me i'm kicking myself for buying it now! I'm going to get the money together for a bigger, rectangular, tank once christmas is out of the way and then i can have the fun of fishless cycling all over again! Oh well i only have 3 ember tetras in there at the moment

 

[LyndaB]

If you want, when you get your larger tank, see if you can change the biorb filter media over to the new tank's filter to help jumpstart the cycling process.

I have no clue what the filter is like and whether or not you can take the media from it.

 

[AmyD]

Yeah it has a round sponge in it, that's my next mission then, new tank!

 

[LyndaB]

Sounds like a great mission. You might want to think about upping to a 20 gallon, which really isn't that much more expensive than a 10, with regard to the equipment you'd need to run it.

It would allow you SO much more room to play with stocking options.

 

[librarygirl]

I agree with Lynda; if you are going to go bigger, may as well go as large as you can. A 20 gal high or long would be great, depending on what fish you want to keep in there. LIke you I started with a 5 gal hex tank b/c I thought it looked cute and I had no idea of cycling or that certain fish (even small ones) require a certain amount of horizontal swim space. Thankfully I found this site right after buying the hex and upgraded. Your Embers should be fine in there until you get the larger tank, then you could fill out their shoal as they like more buddies and you'd also have a lot more options of what other fish to add.

 

[AmyD]

Thanks guys

 

[AmyD]

Could you recomend a good reliable filter for a 420 litre tank? Want to add it to my list so i know how much money to get together

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Could you recomend a good reliable filter for a 420 litre tank? Want to add it to my list so i know how much money to get together

I think a canister filter should do, Rena, Fluval and Ehiem make nice ones, so I've heard.

 

[librarygirl]

Woah 110 gallons?! That's out of my experience lol I've heard canisters are good for larger tanks, I have no experience with them though.

 

[eco23]

Fluval fx5
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=17320

 

[AmyD]

Thank you, i have some research to do whilst saving up!