6.2 gal Stocking Ideas

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Kraevan

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 26, 2016
Messages
48
Location
Hayden, Idaho
Alright, now that I have nitrites and a few nitrates in my cycle, I've got to think pretty seriously about a stocking plan. But this is where I am most indecisive. Here's what I don't want:

A species tank
Single-fish tank

I'm looking for:

Centerpiece tank (i.e. dwarf puffer w/Otos or shrimp)
Small community tank (i.e. green neon tetras w/zebra danios and dwarf cories)

I found a web app called AqAdvisor. Has anyone here used that for their stocking plans?

Well it seems pretty legit, but it said the bioload recommendation is pretty controversial for some aquarists. Anyway, I put my tank parameters in there (18"Lx8"Wx10"H) and it came up with the following fish:

Betta imbellis
Betta splendens
Dwarf Cory
Dwarf Croaking Gourami
Dwarf Puffer
Licorice Gourami
Otocinclus vestitus
Pygmy Gourami
Scarlet Badis
Tail Spot Pygmy Cory
Whiteseam Fighter

It also came up with a TON of shrimp and snail varieties. I took some time to pair the selection down to the ones that simply looked interesting. None of this selection was based on anything more than aesthetics:

Brown Camo Shrimp
Cardinal Shrimp
Crystal Red Shrimp
Ghost Shrimp
Neocaridina Heteropoda Shrimp
Purple Zebra Shrimp
Red Cherry Shrimp
Snowball Shrimp
Tiger Shrimp
Yellow Shrimp

Assassin Snail
Horned Nerite Snail
Malaysian Trumpet Snail
Mystery Snail
Nerite Snail
Ramshorn Snail
Trapdoor Snail
Zebra Nerite Snail

AqAdvisor says these are the only choices for a tank of the dimensions I specified. Here are some other choices that I've read about or been told might work well in my tank:

(Green) Neon Tetra
Bloodfin Tetra
White Cloud Mountain Minnow
Celestial Pearl Danio
(Long-fin) Zebra Danio
Endler's Livebearer
Guppy
Platies
Red Wag Platy
Swordtails
Kuhli Loaches
Tiger/Cherry/Gold Barb
Harlequin/Micro Rasbora

I also know from some personal research on theaquariumwiki.com that there are a ton more freshwater fish species within 1" to 2".

This is just a list of possibilities and a very rough draft of a stocking plan, but I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on these fish. Maybe a link to a resource that would give me good info one these fish and help me narrow this list down, or even your own personal experience with some of these fish. What do you all think about the choices I've come up with? Hopefully with a little more open-mindedness than, "You should ONLY keep a Betta or shrimp!"
 
Nice bit of research there.
Regarding the last list, I would exclude the longfin danios, platys, swordtail, and blood fin tetra (based on activity, size, bioload, and size+schooling, respectively).


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
Alright, now that I have nitrites and a few nitrates in my cycle, I've got to think pretty seriously about a stocking plan. But this is where I am most indecisive. Here's what I don't want:

A species tank
Single-fish tank

I'm looking for:

Centerpiece tank (i.e. dwarf puffer w/Otos or shrimp)
Small community tank (i.e. green neon tetras w/zebra danios and dwarf cories)

I found a web app called AqAdvisor. Has anyone here used that for their stocking plans?

Well it seems pretty legit, but it said the bioload recommendation is pretty controversial for some aquarists. Anyway, I put my tank parameters in there (18"Lx8"Wx10"H) and it came up with the following fish:

Betta imbellis
Betta splendens
Dwarf Cory
Dwarf Croaking Gourami
Dwarf Puffer
Licorice Gourami
Otocinclus vestitus
Pygmy Gourami
Scarlet Badis
Tail Spot Pygmy Cory
Whiteseam Fighter

It also came up with a TON of shrimp and snail varieties. I took some time to pair the selection down to the ones that simply looked interesting. None of this selection was based on anything more than aesthetics:

Brown Camo Shrimp
Cardinal Shrimp
Crystal Red Shrimp
Ghost Shrimp
Neocaridina Heteropoda Shrimp
Purple Zebra Shrimp
Red Cherry Shrimp
Snowball Shrimp
Tiger Shrimp
Yellow Shrimp

Assassin Snail
Horned Nerite Snail
Malaysian Trumpet Snail
Mystery Snail
Nerite Snail
Ramshorn Snail
Trapdoor Snail
Zebra Nerite Snail

AqAdvisor says these are the only choices for a tank of the dimensions I specified. Here are some other choices that I've read about or been told might work well in my tank:

(Green) Neon Tetra
Bloodfin Tetra
White Cloud Mountain Minnow
Celestial Pearl Danio
(Long-fin) Zebra Danio
Endler's Livebearer
Guppy
Platies
Red Wag Platy
Swordtails
Kuhli Loaches
Tiger/Cherry/Gold Barb
Harlequin/Micro Rasbora

I also know from some personal research on theaquariumwiki.com that there are a ton more freshwater fish species within 1" to 2".

This is just a list of possibilities and a very rough draft of a stocking plan, but I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on these fish. Maybe a link to a resource that would give me good info one these fish and help me narrow this list down, or even your own personal experience with some of these fish. What do you all think about the choices I've come up with? Hopefully with a little more open-mindedness than, "You should ONLY keep a Betta or shrimp!"


That's a good size footprint for a small tank so you do have a lot of options!

Aqadvisor is a great tool, but it's not always correct, it is an adviser and should not be your only research.

With a tank of that size, and a full stocking, you'll definitely have to stay on top with maintenance.

I agree with Fresh, those are not very suitable fish...

I would do a centerpiece fish, and a small school of fish, and a few shrimp. Snails have a big bioload so I wouldn't add one if you plan on having several fish species.

Shrimp may be at risk depending on the centerpiece fish.

1 school of any of these will work
Green or regular Neon Tetra-
White Cloud Mountain Minnow-
Celestial Pearl Danio(Really more of a rasbora)
Endler's Livebearer
Micro Rasboras(various species)
Ember tetras

These all won't work, too active or too big:
Guppy
Platies
Red Wag Platy
Swordtails
Kuhli Loaches
Tiger/Cherry/Gold Barb
Harlequin
Zebra danios
Bloodfin tetra
 
I looked at the stocking level for the danios, platies, swordtails, and bloodfin tetras and they're all over stocking level for the recommended numbers in the tank. Kind of sucks because I love the Long-fin Zebra Danio color and look. Good to know, thanks!

I haven't looked too closely at any of these fish yet. So all of the fish on the last list are just ideas.

Right now I'm using AqAdvisor, theaquariumwiki.com, and this forum for my research.

Definitely plan on testing and a 20% water change every week with aged, Primed water. Only takes 5 minutes with a rinse of the media in the dirty tank water. Hell of a lot easier than the a 55 gal saltwater tank I had when I was 11-13 years old.

These all won't work, too active or too big:
Guppy
Platies
Red Wag Platy
Swordtails
Kuhli Loaches
Tiger/Cherry/Gold Barb
Harlequin
Zebra danios
Bloodfin tetra
Could I have 1 male guppy in there with some other small tank mates? Just one male guppy plus 5 green neon tetras puts my stocking level at 95%. Not saying I'm going for a guppy, just exploring my options.

The rest I'm okay with taking off the list. I like the Harlequin Rasboras, but 5 of them puts my stocking level at 95% and I don't want a species tank.

That leaves these in the "non-aqadvisor-recommended" list:

(Green) Neon Tetra
White Cloud Mountain Minnow
Celestial Pearl Danio
Endler's Livebearer
Dwarf Rasboras
Ember Tetra

I like the idea of a centerpiece fish with a school of small fish and shrimp. I also like the idea of a couple of schools of fish with or without some shrimp. 5 ember tetras and 5 dwarf rasboras put my stocking level at 100%

General Stocking Questions:

Can you mix shoaling fish? For example, 3 green neons and 3 ember tetras. Will they shoal together? Or is it always recommended to have proper shoaling numbers for a single species?

Do bottom feeders and shrimp do well together? Could I have dwarf corys/otos and RCS together peacefully?

If you have a mix of male and female fish, is there a proper way to deal with the fry if you don't want to overcrowd your tank or become a breeder? Do the adult fish just eat the fry? Is that acceptable?
 
So I did a bit more research and took out the Betta splendens, and Licorice Gourami because I don't want a single fish in the tank and the Licorice Gourami has some specific conditions it needs to thrive. What's left:

Centerpiece Fish

Betta imbellis
Dwarf Gourami
Dwarf Puffer
Scarlet Badis
Whiteseam Fighter

Schooling Fish

Dwarf Cory
Otocinclus vestitus
Tail Spot Pygmy Cory
(Green) Neon Tetra
White Cloud Mountain Minnow
Celestial Pearl Danio
Endler's Livebearer
Dwarf Rasboras
Ember Tetra

Shrimp

Brown Camo Shrimp
Cardinal Shrimp
Crystal Red Shrimp
Ghost Shrimp
Neocaridina Heteropoda Shrimp
Purple Zebra Shrimp
Red Cherry Shrimp
Snowball Shrimp
Tiger Shrimp
Yellow Shrimp

I also took out the snails. They're interesting, but it seems to be either one snail, or two or more shrimp. I'll take the shrimp over the snail any day.

Are there any other centerpiece fish that anyone can recommend?
 
I looked at the stocking level for the danios, platies, swordtails, and bloodfin tetras and they're all over stocking level for the recommended numbers in the tank. Kind of sucks because I love the Long-fin Zebra Danio color and look. Good to know, thanks!

I haven't looked too closely at any of these fish yet. So all of the fish on the last list are just ideas.

Right now I'm using AqAdvisor, theaquariumwiki.com, and this forum for my research.

Definitely plan on testing and a 20% water change every week with aged, Primed water. Only takes 5 minutes with a rinse of the media in the dirty tank water. Hell of a lot easier than the a 55 gal saltwater tank I had when I was 11-13 years old.

Could I have 1 male guppy in there with some other small tank mates? Just one male guppy plus 5 green neon tetras puts my stocking level at 95%. Not saying I'm going for a guppy, just exploring my options.

The rest I'm okay with taking off the list. I like the Harlequin Rasboras, but 5 of them puts my stocking level at 95% and I don't want a species tank.

That leaves these in the "non-aqadvisor-recommended" list:

(Green) Neon Tetra
White Cloud Mountain Minnow
Celestial Pearl Danio
Endler's Livebearer
Dwarf Rasboras
Ember Tetra

I like the idea of a centerpiece fish with a school of small fish and shrimp. I also like the idea of a couple of schools of fish with or without some shrimp. 5 ember tetras and 5 dwarf rasboras put my stocking level at 100%

General Stocking Questions:

Can you mix shoaling fish? For example, 3 green neons and 3 ember tetras. Will they shoal together? Or is it always recommended to have proper shoaling numbers for a single species?

Do bottom feeders and shrimp do well together? Could I have dwarf corys/otos and RCS together peacefully?

If you have a mix of male and female fish, is there a proper way to deal with the fry if you don't want to overcrowd your tank or become a breeder? Do the adult fish just eat the fry? Is that acceptable?


Especially the danios, those guys *** EXTREMELY energetic!
www.SeriouslyFish.com and Badmans Tropical are my 2 favorites, they've got species profiles on pretty much all fish.

If you're stocking to 95% I'd definitely make sure you have adequate filtration (ceramic media is super!).

Honestly I'd go with endlers over a guppy, as they're also colorful, yet smaller. But 1 guppy could work.

Tetras if kept without a "Predotor"(like a Betta or cichlid) won't really school at all, so doing 3 neon, 3 ember could work. However this does not apply to Rasboras which should be kept in groups of at least 6-8. CPDs aren't really schoolers so 3-4 by themselves would work.

Yes, cories(even big cories), otos do well with shrimp. However otos have a big bioload and cories would be the schooling fish.

Other than the endlers/guppies(who don't eat their fry at all) all the others are egg layers and will eat their eggs/small fry. However of you have heavy plant cover and no big predators a few fry could survive.

Many locally owned shops will buy fish from you at usually 20% of what they can sell the fish for.

It's completely acceptable to let the fish eat the babies! In fact when people do serious breeding, about 15-20% need to be culled(as they are deformed or runts) and many feed them to bigger fish.... Just an FTI :D
 
So I did a bit more research and took out the Betta splendens, and Licorice Gourami because I don't want a single fish in the tank and the Licorice Gourami has some specific conditions it needs to thrive. What's left:

Centerpiece Fish

Betta imbellis
Dwarf Gourami
Dwarf Puffer
Scarlet Badis
Whiteseam Fighter

Schooling Fish

Dwarf Cory
Otocinclus vestitus
Tail Spot Pygmy Cory
(Green) Neon Tetra
White Cloud Mountain Minnow
Celestial Pearl Danio
Endler's Livebearer
Dwarf Rasboras
Ember Tetra

Shrimp

Brown Camo Shrimp
Cardinal Shrimp
Crystal Red Shrimp
Ghost Shrimp
Neocaridina Heteropoda Shrimp
Purple Zebra Shrimp
Red Cherry Shrimp
Snowball Shrimp
Tiger Shrimp
Yellow Shrimp

I also took out the snails. They're interesting, but it seems to be either one snail, or two or more shrimp. I'll take the shrimp over the snail any day.

Are there any other centerpiece fish that anyone can recommend?


You know what I think YOU should do? Get a bigger tank!!!! Petco is having their sale on tanks, $1 per gallon! I'd go for a 20 along, perfect footprint for several schools of fish! Or Check your local Craigslist, you can find lots of deals.

Dwarf Gourami definitely gets too big, and puffers really need a single species (otos are about the only gosh that works with them, and they'll eat shrimp).
Badis are cool, but need live foods and are a bit sensitive so I would only do 1-3 badis and shrimp.

All the shrimp should be the same species neocardina (Color morphs of red cherry shrimp) so that's just your personal color preference. I actually found my first baby red rilli shrimp today!

Oh, except for the ghost shrimp, and cardina(expensive And harder to keep!)


My favorite combo world be 5 ember/neon/CPDs, 2 male endlers or Scarlet badis and several shrimp.
 
www.SeriouslyFish.com and Badmans Tropical are my 2 favorites, they've got species profiles on pretty much all fish.
I'll check those out! Thanks!

If you're stocking to 95% I'd definitely make sure you have adequate filtration (ceramic media is super!).
IMG_20160324_215346359.jpg

That good enough for you? :cool:

Honestly I'd go with endlers over a guppy, as they're also colorful, yet smaller. But 1 guppy could work.

Tetras if kept without a "Predotor"(like a Betta or cichlid) won't really school at all, so doing 3 neon, 3 ember could work. However this does not apply to Rasboras which should be kept in groups of at least 6-8. CPDs aren't really schoolers so 3-4 by themselves would work.

Yes, cories(even big cories), otos do well with shrimp. However otos have a big bioload and cories would be the schooling fish.

Other than the endlers/guppies(who don't eat their fry at all) all the others are egg layers and will eat their eggs/small fry. However of you have heavy plant cover and no big predators a few fry could survive.

Many locally owned shops will buy fish from you at usually 20% of what they can sell the fish for.

It's completely acceptable to let the fish eat the babies! In fact when people do serious breeding, about 15-20% need to be culled(as they are deformed or runts) and many feed them to bigger fish.... Just an FTI :D
Thanks for all the info! I appreciate you answering all my questions!

You know what I think YOU should do? Get a bigger tank!!!! Petco is having their sale on tanks, $1 per gallon! I'd go for a 20 along, perfect footprint for several schools of fish! Or Check your local Craigslist, you can find lots of deals.
The space we have available dictates a small tank. Originally my wife wanted me to get a fishbowl and throw some fish in there for our little one. We window shopped and ended up deciding on nothing bigger than a 5 gallon. I came home with a 6.2 gallon and we called it good enough. Yes, a 10 or 20 gallon wouldn't be much bigger, but we have our tank on the kitchen counter. Space is limited as is, and a 10 or 20 gallon would result in my head on a platter, so to speak. Plus, I'm super okay with the challenge.

Dwarf Gourami definitely gets too big, and puffers really need a single species (otos are about the only gosh that works with them, and they'll eat shrimp).
Badis are cool, but need live foods and are a bit sensitive so I would only do 1-3 badis and shrimp.

All the shrimp should be the same species neocardina (Color morphs of red cherry shrimp) so that's just your personal color preference. I actually found my first baby red rilli shrimp today!

Oh, except for the ghost shrimp, and cardina(expensive And harder to keep!)


My favorite combo world be 5 ember/neon/CPDs, 2 male endlers or Scarlet badis and several shrimp.
1 Dwarf Gourami puts the tank at 65% capacity.
1 Dwarf Puffer puts the tank at 80% capacity.

I would be fine with one of either of these in the tank. 1 Dwarf Gourami and 5 CPDs puts the tank at 91%. Although the CPDs require a bit cooler water than the Dwarf Gourami. A Dwarf Puffer and 3 Otos puts it at 101%.

All the fish stores I've been into lately really only have RCS. Probably what I'll go for. The other shrimp AqAdvisor suggested were just cool looking. I probably wouldn't go out of my way for a special color of shrimp.
 
Well, I just learned something.

AqAdvisor suggests a Dwarf Croaking Gourami. So I entered that into theaquariumwiki.com and it redirected me to Dwarf Gourami. Didn't realize I was looking at two different species of fish. Dwarf Gouramis grow to 2.5", whereas Dwarf Croaking Gouramis grow to 1".

That being said, 1 Dwarf Gourami puts my tank at 76% capacity, and there's enough swimming room for it with my 18"Lx8"W tank....so why is it too big?
 
Yup, your filter is looking good!

There's always a way to convince the wife, hehehe!

I've had dwarf gouramis before and they get to 3-4" and are fairly active. I had them in a 10gal for quarantine and they were zipping from one side to the other, so I personally would not keep them in their long term.

Sparkling/croaking gouramis would definitely work, always wanted to keep them!
 
Nothing wrong with small tanks. Check out some of Rastaman's small tank builds:
Gondwana [2.5 gal]
Mountainscape [6 gal]
Regarding sparkling gourami, I once purchased 8 CPDs from an LFS. Upon inspection (in QT) I noticed that 4 of them looked "different ". I later figured out that the 4 were sparkling gourami. In defense of the LFS employee, the tank housing the fish had white substrate which gave all of the fish a washed out appearance. Size wise, the two types were very similar. I ended up returning them. Definitely something I would try in the future.


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I've had dwarf gouramis before and they get to 3-4" and are fairly active. I had them in a 10gal for quarantine and they were zipping from one side to the other, so I personally would not keep them in their long term.

Sparkling/croaking gouramis would definitely work, always wanted to keep them!

Aw well if they actually get 3"-4" then that's definitely too big. AqAdvisor and theaquariumwiki.com both say 2.5", which seems to be an okay size for a single centerpiece fish.

@Fresh2o
Thanks for the heads up on Rastaman's tanks. Those are pretty awesome! I know very little about planted tanks, but as a step up from my current situation, I'd like to eventually aquascape like that.

I plan on taking a closer look at the sparkling gourami since I've been assuming they were the same thing as dwarf gourami. We'll see!

Next step for me is to look closer at the specific needs of each of the fish in my list and see which would be compatible with each other as well as my tank setup.
 
Nah, he was referring to Rastaman's 2.5g setup having 34 Micro Rasboras in it.

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