What fish do you recommend I get?

[Xabien]

Hello.

I just registered here. I started a new aquarium up a few weeks ago. It is a 125 litre tank (33 gallon)and is about 32" in length and quite deep. I added 6 neon tetras after about a week and they are doing fine. I have a few caves and other rock features and have real plants in the tank. The problem is that I don't really know what my limit is on the fish I can get now. I would really like to get Clown Loaches because they seem like interesting fish and would help combat the snail problem that is starting to develop. I also wanted angel fish but it turns out they would eat the tetras eventually A catfish would be nice too. Can anyone give me some advice? Thanks

 

[JamesMJ2]

There is a calculater somewhere on this site. I think the basic rule though is 1 inch of fish per gallon. you measure from the very front to just before the tail. Anyways 33 gal is a great tank and you can keep a good number of fishies. Make sure you have a test kit that test ph,ammonia,nitrites,KH, and GH. Sounds like you tank is probably pretty well cycled, so you can start introducing more fish SLOWLY. Clown Loaches are great fish,very peaceful and handy to have. You probably won't want to keep Loaches and Catfish, since they would be competeing for the same space. You have a big anough tank that you could probably keep two angels(maybe a breeding pair) and not have a problem. Angels are only semi-aggressive, and I have never had a problem with mine attacking other fish, and I have a tank thats too small for four angels. Sometimes they will chase each other, but never the smaller fish. Now are you new to aquaria all together or is this just a new tank?

 

[LondonGman]

Due to the food chain, generally, get fishes that are of the same temperament and size as your existing fishes i.e. the neon tetra. That means fishes around the 2” size and docile. Samples are cardinal tetras, rams, dwarf gouramis, mollies, guppies, small carfishes have al worked for me.

Clown loaches, being bottom feeder are slightly exempt from the above rule since they occupy a different part of your tank but they, like the Angel fish, grow very large. Someone else here should know more about them than I.

 

[MACATUA]

My girlfriend has a couple of clown loaches in her 10 gallon, and they are so cool. And they really are handy at cleaning things up a bit.

 

[William]

The 1inch per gallon rule is antique, and is often used to justify putting a a large fish into a tank to small.


But onto suggestions, I'd get a few baby female bettas.

 

[Madame_X]

My girlfriend has a couple of clown loaches in her 10 gallon, and they are so cool. And they really are handy at cleaning things up a bit.

8O

I hope she plans to get a bigger tank soon. Clown loaches are much too large for a 10 gallon tank!

 

[Allivymar]

Hiya and welcome to Xabien

*nods and agrees with William*

Forget the 1"= 1g thing. It doesn't take into account how heavy a bio-load the fish places on the tank, how much room it needs to move, temperaments or surface area which is key to good O2 exchange.

Clown loaches are awesome; I have 3. Do keep in mind an adult Clown can reach sizes of 12 inches (although they are not exceptionally quick growers). A 33g may not be large enough; you might want to look into yoyo loaches which top out at around 6 inches and also are great snail devourers. They also should leave the neons alone.

There are tons of different catfish out there. If you are looking for an algae eating one, let me recommend a bristlenose pleco. Gets to be around 6 inches long and does a great job on algae; you will likely need to supplement his diet with algae wafers. Don't get a common plec; 33g is not large enough for a fish which will reach about 2 feet long *grin* If you are looking for a bottom feeder, let me recommend a school of corydoras. Awesome lil guys, get to be about 2-3 inches long, extremely entertaining and need to be in schools (you could easily have a school of 6 in your tank).

There are plenty of fish who would also be compatible with your neons; you're best bet is to look into fish who prefer similar water parameters as neons (lower Ph, temps of around 80f or so) and see which ones would work. As you know, angelfish are not the best choice as neons are prey for wild angels; I have heard of angels living side by side with adult, full grown with neons, but usually they have been raised together and they don't see the neons as food.

 

[Xabien]

Thanks for all the help. I am a new aquarist. I'm going to go and see what fish are availible now. Thanks again

 

[Terry]

I don't know what to say now, i think Allivymar has about covered everything. All i really can say is if you do go for Clown loaches they need to be in groups, i always think 3 or more. But like Allivymar said they do grow big and there are other loaches out there that are a bit smaller. But you should always read up about fish before buying.

OR ask on here.

 

[tkos]

Look at Khulie loaches. Since loaches need to be kept in groups of at least 3 these are a great choice. They have veru skinny bodies and grow to about 4 inches but aren't huge waste producers.

And I second a big school of like 6 cory catfish. Great little guys to watch look for extra food on the bottom.

There is also nothing better to look at then a big school of neon tetras, so why not get more!!

 

[Xabien]

Ok. I bought 3 Clown Loaches and a pleco cat fish. The guy in the store said he didn't think it would outgrown my tank but I can take it back if it does and I can't afford to upgrade. the thing is that the clown loaches are continuously trying to swim into the glass at the sides. The back of my tank has a black background. Is this normal for the first day? Also. I have 5 neon tetras now. If I put another 10 neon tetras in there and maybe 10 Black neon tetras (which were being quarantined at the store today and looked quite good) would that be ok for my tank? Thanks.

 

[LondonGman]

I see that you could not resist getting the clown loaches. I do not blame you. They are lovely fishes and if they get too big, I suppose you can sell them to someone that wants larger fishes for a profit. I do not know anything about them headbanging but I read somewhere that they like hiding places to settle into.

But you want a total of 15 neons and 10 black neon’s. I am a newbie but done a lot of reading and listening in the last 3+ months and unless anyone disagrees I would tentatively suggests that it should be OK for now.

Warning: I would not introduce them to the tank all at once as the sudden rise in ammonia from the wee and poo of 20 new fishes may wipe out your entire tank. I lost 10 cardinals when I dumped them all in the tank at the same time. Patience young Jedi.

A shop that quarantine in the UK, which one?? I too use a shop that quarantines its fishes too in London

 

[Allivymar]

Depends on what type of plec the lfs sold you; some will grow to about 5-6 inches which is a great size for your tank. However, if its a common plec, it may hit lengths of 2 feet long. Just keep an eye on em, and see if the store can identify what they sold you.

The loaches, if well kept and healthy WILL outgrow your tank. It won't happen overnight, so no big rush, but picture 3 12 inch fish in that tank and you'll see what I mean.

A large school of neons sounds awesome; I'd suggest around 20 total since you have other fish which will likely get pretty big Just be sure to QT them before putting them in your tank. Even tho the lfs has em in QT, it doesn't mean they're healthy; better to be sure then to get the current guys in your tank ill. And Gman makes a good point; add them in batches so your bacterial colonies do not get overwhelmed.

 

[coolkidthatlike]

well, sorry to say a plec isnt the most interesting kind of catfish you could get. they are mostly just algea eaters, and hide a lot. I would recommend something like a pictus cat, and not getting all those smaller fish. (pictus get along with loaches well, i have some meself). I read in a post once that some guys clown loach ran into the side of the glass so hard it cracked his head open. I think that the loaches are very timid fish. If they have no place to hide, they freak out. I have many a decoration, and they do thier share of hiding, but since they feel the have a safe spot they will come out and play.

 

[Xabien]

Everything is fine now. They found a nice little hiding placew inbetwwen 2 pieces of slater I have in my tank. I didn't get the plec because it was interesting. I got it because it looks good. I can't work out what type it is. It has quite large dark spots all over it. Does anyone know. I might put a picture up if I can get one of him. But it's hard enough getting him not to hide when I walk in the room without trying to stop the flash reflecting back at me