4 Gallon Cube

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Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
18
Location
Washington, US (not D.C.)
Hey all,
I recently received a 4 gallon cube aquarium the dimensions are 25x25x25cm or 10x10x10. It is currently on my porch being checked for leaks but I looked at the silicone and it looks good. The water in my area is generally soft but my water out the tap has a p.H. of 7.4. I am considering how to stock this tank.
It is small. I know that I am going to use black flourish sand and it will be planted but lowtech. I have done some research and have made a list of fish I think (based on size) might do okay in the cube. Please let me know if you disagree on any of them and why. I have never kept any of these do I don't know how reliable the info I have is.

Fish

Paracheirodon simulans (Green Neon Tetra)
Sundadanio axelrodi
Parosphromenus sp.(Liquorice Gourami)
Trichopsis pumila (Sparkling Gourami)
Barboides gracilis
Hyphessobrycon amandae (Ember Tetra)
Dario dario (Scarlet Badis)
Microdevario kubotai
Microdevario nana
Boraras merah
Boraras brigittae
Boraras micros
Aphyosemion australe (Lyretail Killi)

I would rather not go the betta splendid route, but I could see doing shrimp in this tank, I just prefer fish even though its tiny I hope one of these species might work:hide:.

Thanks for any and all opinions and advice!

-Aloe
 
In all honesty a 4gallon cube is really only suitable for Shrimp ... IMO. You could go the nano fish route like Badis Badis and or CPD's, but a 4gal cube would make a great RCS tank. One thing I'm finding with my new RCS tank is that after a few days of the shrimp hiding, once they feel comfortable, you'll see them swimming about as well as crawling.
 
I really like the scarlet badis. Only downside is that they are finicky eaters. You can also consider a peacock gudgeon or galaxy rasbora or chili rasbora. Neo shrimp are always a cool option for nanos.

Look up ADA mini S tanks and see what others have done with a 4g to get an idea. You'll find a lot of those in The Planted Tank forum.
 
I'm a little worried about going with shrimp because in the past they haven't done very well in my tanks.

I think chili rasbora is the same as the Boraras briggitae, right?
 
Well for shrimp, you might want to consider using RO/DI water if your tap had high TDS. Also avoid any fertilizers that contain metals like copper.
 
You can buy a TDS meter for around 15 bucks on Amazon.com. I live in AZ and my TDS is between 400~500, which is really high. I'm going to be getting RO/DI water when i get my shrimp.
 
Alright I will look into that. Thanks. I'm thinking 4 chili rasboras and maybe 6 yellow shrimp to start, does that sound okay? Scarlet Badis are my favorite but I think the would eat the shrimp and they are picky about other food, like you said. Are yellow shrimp more difficult to keep than cherry shrimp? Around here they are a little more expensive than the cherries but I think the yellow shrimp and red fish will be pretty together.
 
Yeah that would be a nice color contrast (the red fish and yellow shrimp) IMO. The yellow shrimp are basically Red Cherry Shrimp bred for the yellow genetic mutation. Therefore, yellow shrimp (as with red) are pretty hardy. They can live in a wide range of conditions in comparison to lets say a sensitive crystal red. However, if you want them to breed and establish a colony, you have to give them optimal water conditions (thus, my reasoning with RO/DI water). You might want to start with shrimp first, get your tank cycled for a good amount of time and really grown out so that the shrimplets can hide... because, I think at a shrimplet size, your chili rasboras still might be able to pick them off. Get lots of moss to add to the places they can hide.

Also, check out other Neo's like Rili Shrimp.. they've been quite popular lately.

Since I'm new to shrimp myself, but have been doing some extensive research and reading in prep for my 6g GLA (soon to be shrimp tank), I'm going to start with some easier Neocaridina shrimp (either fire reds or yellow like you). I eventually want to go to more advance shrimp such as the Caridina type (i.e. tangerine tigers / crystal reds).

I found some breeders in The Planted Tank forum that I might use to get the shrimp. I believe they're might be some here in AA. I find buying in bulk cheaper (even with shipping) than the LFS. I've read that shrimp ship well too, but just be mindful of the weather when requesting for the shipment.
This guy Jimko on TPT forum breeds and sells a bunch of shrimp... Here's one of his posts Here

Extra read: Shrimp Species List .:. Freshwater Aquarium Shrimp Species Information Pages Just PM him if you're on the TPT forums.
 
Aloe Vera said:
I'm a little worried about going with shrimp because in the past they haven't done very well in my tanks.

I think chili rasbora is the same as the Boraras briggitae, right?
Click to expand...

Scientific name of the Chili. You are correct.
 
IMO you could easily keep 6-10 chili rasbora along with the yellow shrimp. Even at max size they are still extremely small. Same goes for the phoenix rasbora (B merah). Choose one or the other, obviously. :)
 
severum mama said:
IMO you could easily keep 6-10 chili rasbora along with the yellow shrimp. Even at max size they are still extremely small. Same goes for the phoenix rasbora (B merah). Choose one or the other, obviously. :)
Click to expand...

oh wow, thats more than I thought! I love bigger schools though. I think i'll probably start our with 5-6 and then up the numbers.

Brian, Thank you for the link to the shrimp. I just checked out your 6 gallon journal that's really cool so far! I like the idea of starting with the shrimp and letting them up their numbers some before adding the boraras, hopefully they won't be too good of hunters.
 
Aloe Vera said:
oh wow, thats more than I thought! I love bigger schools though. I think i'll probably start our with 5-6 and then up the numbers.

Brian, Thank you for the link to the shrimp. I just checked out your 6 gallon journal that's really cool so far! I like the idea of starting with the shrimp and letting them up their numbers some before adding the boraras, hopefully they won't be too good of hunters.
Click to expand...

To be honest. The shrimp at full size will match, if not be bigger, that the Boraras. Haha. The Boraras Briggitae are very very small.

Get those swimming around a densely planted tank, and you'll have a show piece nano tank in no time :)
 
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