What fish should I get and when?

[Tarquin]

Hello - I have a new tank setup and am looking to do all my fish research.

It would be great to get suggestions on types of fish I should get and in what order to add them:

1. Tank size - 60 liters (16 gallons)
2. Current filtration - Internal Tetratec EasyCrystal Filter
3. Type of substrate - White gravel across the whole floor
4. pH of your water - currently 7.5
5. What type of fish you like the most - I really like neon tetra's, clown loach's, betta's and have also seen dwarf puffers which I like. Also, should I get a pleco - a lot of people have said they are good to clean tank walls?

I realize that I cannot put some fish with others - so any help/ advice would be great!

Cheers

 

[Purrbox]

Clown Loaches get to well over a foot long and are not appropriate for your aquarium. There are other loaches that stay much smaller, that you might be able to have in that size aquarium.

Neon Tetras would be good, though I've heard a lot of people are having problems obtaining quality stock.

Definately don't mix the betta with the dwarf puffers, the betta's finage will be much too tempting for the puffers. Also bettas have very individual personalities, so not all of them can be kept in community aquariums. If you decide to try a betta be prepared with alternative arrangements in case it doesn't work out.

Most plecos are going to get to be too large for your aquarium. You might be able to do either a rubberlip pleco or a bristlenose pleco, but they would take up about 1/3 of your available stocking. If you're not fond of the fish, I'd recommend getting a good scrubber and just make that part of you regular maintenance instead.

 

[JustOneMore20]

If your tank is newly setup, you will need to cycle it. You can do a fishless cycle with ammonia or a raw shrimp. Or, if you choose to cycle with fish, I would start with only a handful of hardy fish. This way isn't very good for the fish though.

I would try the fishless way. You'd have to wait 4-6 weeks before putting fish in, but atleast when you got fish you could know that they will not die on you.

I wouldn't put Neons with a Betta. I found them to be nippy towards a Betta. If you like Neons, I would choose a different type of centerpiece fish, like maybe a Dwarf or Honey Gourami. You could also get some small Cories like Panda or False Julii Cories. These, as well as the Neons like to school, so I suggest getting atleast 6 of them.

 

[bluerose]

As far as the neons vs betta debate goes, I'm having absolutely zero problems with neons and a female betta in my 8 gallon. I might be concerned about a male though (they do seem to be curious, she generally shoos them off before they get terribly close).

I'm really loving having a female betta in my community tank. She's pretty cool. I would add a betta last though to avoid aggression.

You'll need to cycle your tank first (does not mean just running it for a few days, this is an actual process! ).