stocking question

[saffa-man]

would these be alright for an 18 g tank
5 danios
4 guppies
1 pearl gourami
and maybe somthing else that stays small

 

[MABJ]

I'd say the dainos and the gourmai conflict a little. But I'd say they fit, yes.

 

[Fishguy2727]

Pearl gouramis get a little big for an 18. Other than that you are fine and still have more room.

Remember though that stocking has a lot more to do with your water changes than tank size. Tank size limits the max adult size of fish, and an extreme upper limit in number of fish. But the water changes can completely undo a well thought out tank, or greatly increase its capacity.

 

[MABJ]

Pearl gouramis get a little big for an 18. Other than that you are fine and still have more room.

Remember though that stocking has a lot more to do with your water changes than tank size. Tank size limits the max adult size of fish, and an extreme upper limit in number of fish. But the water changes can completely undo a well thought out tank, or greatly increase its capacity.

+1 I'm glad someone who knew something more about the max size of the pearls chimed in.

Always consider maximum sizes. Not purchase sizes.

 

[siva]

Pearl gourami reach 5" and need a 55 gal tank minimum IMO. Zebra danios/glo fish are incredibly active and I would recommend 29 gals as a minimum for them. Maybe a 20 long. An 18 gal tank typically has it's space in the height and that doesn't work so well for the danios.

 

[saffa-man]

ok what about
5 guppies
3 platys
1 dwarf gourami
and a small school of neons(or something that small)

 

[siva]

That would work. Try to think about what utilizes what parts of the water column too. You may want to eliminate one of your top dwellers and add a bottom dweller instead. Just an idea. With these 4 fish, you have the guppies, platties, and gourami that will swim mostly in the top half, and the neons in the bottom half. You might like the way it would fill out the tank to eliminate the platties and put 5 kuhli loaches on the bottom intead. Or you could leave your list just as you have it, and add shrimp to add some life the bottom. For neons, I recommend a school of 7. Once the tank is well established, waiting six months is best, you could add 3 oto cats for algae clean-up too, if you want

 

[saffa-man]

thanks siva i think i will change my list to
5 guppies
1 dwarf gourami
5 neons
and 4 khulis

 

[siva]

OK.. I think you have room to do 6-7 neons and 5 kuhlis. The more kuhli's you keep the more you will see them, and they say is 5+ is the best group size for them.

 

[saffa-man]

changed my mind. i think im going with corys instead of khulis. how many should i get

 

[siva]

Hmm well most cories get too big and are too active for an 18 gal tank. Corydoras hasbrosus would work, but those can be harder to find. What are the dimensions of your tank? It's possible it might work for 4 julii's. Any of the larger types like panda, spotted, green/emerald, or albino wouldn't be suitable for a tank that size.