First Time Tropical Fish Keeper

[fraggle1971]

Hello.

Ive already decided Ive made a huge mistake getting a small tank....Its 18" wide by 10" deep by 12" high so using an online calculator it tells me 34.5 litres/7.5 gallons. Every site I look at tells me only experienced keepers have small tanks. Sadly my tank was purchased to fit in the space I had before I discovered this fact. I also find sites contradict each other quite allot and make it very difficult to know what is correct.
Despite this I figure there must be something that will happily live in there!
Im at present cycling the tank,only 3 weeks in so have plenty of time to gather advice from you peeps. It is heated,has a filter and air pump and lighting. I have put in 3 artificial plants,fine natural gravel,a selection of seashells on the bottom and small lobster pot. I have a water testing kit and tested today for the first time but didnt expect it to be right just yet as it is still very new. PH 7.6 Ammonia 0.25 Nitrite 0.25 and Nitrate 5.0

Im quite liking the look of ghost shrimp and have always liked guppies.

Any advice on what would be suitable,a rough idea of how many and some clarification on the frequencies and amounts of water changes would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you Teena x

 

[laura120381]

hi teena,

guppies would work well. dwarf corys are cute. what a bout a nice shoaling group like tetras or harlequins (need to be in groups of at least 6+ though so maybe someone else could advise on this!)

good luck!!

L

 

[SchottayB]

Guppies will be ok. Just make sure not to get M/F or you will end up with a lot of babys! .

As for Tetra and Harlequins I'd go for 6+ like the OP said, but you won't have much room for stocking going with fish that do better in larger groups.

I'd get some shrimp in there for sure

Edit: I'd do weekly water changes once the tank stats are stable. But as your cycleing you might get spikes, therfore you should do more water changes to keep the levels down. So testing the water daily will help you decide on water changes

 

[laura120381]

shrimps!! brilliant idea!! never thought of that schottay!! they are really pretty and fascinating to watch and look really good in a small tank.

 

[Corydoralover]

how about snails orange posso snail look loveely

 

[XeroTolerance]

Shrimps and guppies.

If you want snails add a mystery snail or two.

 

[fraggle1971]

Thank you soooooooooo much guys. Yay! I can use my tank afterall

Once I get the water right I shall get just two fish first,two male guppies I think as they are very pretty and wait for a few weeks to see how they do. Then Im thinking shrimp

Keep the advice coming though as it is invaluable to newbies x x

 

[ZoddyZod]

there are also some great 'micro' fish out there that you could have a fair number of in a tank that size. Have a look for celestial pearl danio or chilli rasbora.

 

[fraggle1971]

Ooooo Micro fish,Ill have a gander at those,many thanks!