Small Tank (25L)

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VanessaLea

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Aug 30, 2023
Messages
2
Hi all,
I am setting up a small tank for my daughter to enjoy (she's 3.5yo) as she's really into anything aquatic. I don't have a lot of experience - previously I had a 180L tank stocked with loaches, bristlenose, guppies, some tetras and a betta. The guppies and bristlenose bred well and were happy although I was young and not very committed to water testing, changes etc, whilst the betta did very well surviving almost 5 years. Eventually the tank changed over to a turtle tank and the now large turtle has since moved into a pond and tank has been sold.
I have a 25L tank we have been cycling for a week with a plant (we'll get more) and just three feeder shrimp from out local pet store as my daughter desperately wanted something in the tank. We have been adding seachem stability daily and starting to look at what fish to add. I have been looking to add 5 x dwarf ember fire tetra, 2 x male endler, 3 x female endler and a snail however I feel this will be too much especially with the three shrimp (about 3cm each) who seem happy. Originally I wanted a cherry shrimp tank but my child insists on fish. Ideally I wanted livebearers so she could watch them produce figuring if we became passionate I'd get a larger tank but I also want a small community that makes a nice display in our home and have been keen on a nano setup for a few years.
Can anyone give me some advice on if the above fish will overcrowd the tank and/or what I should get instead? I'm happy to stick with just the endlers or forego the breeding to have a neat little community, preferably something somewhat hardy.
Sorry for the long post - I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the varying information available and struggling to consolidate it all into something that will result in something my daughter will enjoy.
 
25 litres is a little on the small size to give many options for keeping fish. Really the only fish i would recommend for that size tank is a single betta with a snail. The shrimp might be ok, might not.

Im not sure what a dwarf ember fire tetra is. Ember tetras are small fish, less than an inch. These are social fish and should be kept groups, and the smallest size you should keep a group of these fish is 40 litres, and 80 litres would be better. If there is such a fish as dwarf ember fire tetra, i cant imagine it being a smaller fish or being suitable for a smaller tank.

You might be able to get away with the endlers, but livebearers breed and they will quickly overtake a tank with young, especially a small tank. If you want to go down this route i would go single sex, and male if you want to 100% avoid young as females could have already mated before you buy them. If you are intent on breeding, 1m to every 3 or 4 females and a bigger tank.

If you want a community, then its doable in 40 litres if you are careful with what species you go for. If 25 litres is the limit then i go back to a betta, or 3 or 4 endlers "might" work, but even those would preferably be in a bigger tank.
 
Sorry, it is meant to be just a ember fire tetra, I got confused with the dwarf spotted red rasbora I was also looking at.
Thanks for your advice!
 
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