Fish For My 17 Litre

[LongS]

Just started a fishless cycle on my new 95 litre tank, and now my wee 17 litre tank has cycled by the looks of things.

Amonia= 0
NitItes=0
NitrAtes- 5-10

At present there is only a single male Guppy in there (new to hobby). Coming along fantastic and his colours are really starting to show.
Going to go to the pet shop after work tomorow, so i am open to a few suggestions on a few small fish to add to the 17 litre.

Was thinking of mountain minnows myself, mabye 2-3 of them? Or a bottom feeder of some sort? Or even a few tetras?

OR Another option....

My friend is keeping 2 male guppies, 4 female guppies and a Red-tailed black shark. One of the females have given birth recently and the babies are getting bigger. He is suggesting that mabye i take one or two of his females for the small tank for the moment to free up some space in his. (30ltr)

Out of curiosity, what are your thoughts in keeping guppies and Red- tailed sharks together?

Longshlong

 

[Keithoms]

Out of curiosity, what are your thoughts in keeping guppies and Red- tailed sharks together?

Longshlong

If you are actually serious, no you cannot keep a RTS in a 17 litre..

 

[joshjames]

calm down this person is a newby so they dont know about all kinds of fish
no you cant keep a red tailed shark in a 17 litre because they grow about 5-6 inches at the least.
in a 17 litre you cant really have much
maybe a few shrimp is a good idea

 

[Spishkey]

i dont think they would be keeping the rts in the 17L, it is in the friends 35L (although even this is too small)

in a 17L i would just stick to your male guppy and maybe a few shrimp. not much else you can put in there im afraid

 

[LongS]

Yeah i didn't mean the shark in a 17 litre, im not daft. i Know they can get too big.

Its in my friends 35 litre. The question was what do you think to keeping them in the company of Guppies?

Thanks for the reply guys, mabye think about getting some shrimp then.

 

[LongS]

Ok, i went to the shop on thursday to get some of these shrimp, turns out they haven't got any in.

Was going to just leave it until another day until the woman at the shop suggested White cloud mountian minnows to me. I was a little bit wary of getting these but was assured they are completely peaceful.

I added three to my tank (17ltr) with the single male guppy and he became quite aggressive towards them although this calmed down relatively soon.
Unfortunatly last night one of the white clouds died for reasons which i'm not to sure on.

I tested my water and it was fine:
Amonia- 0
Nitrite- 0
nitrates around 10-20ppm

Possibly stress of moving tanks? or sick before i got it? or attacked by guppy?
The other two WC seem fine and lively.

Should i get a couple more as i know these like to shoal? (the woman suggested i take about 5 last time, but i decided three just to start)

What would you do?

 

[Ficious]

Add more white clouds...they like the company of schools. You could add 4 more. White clouds are hardy as I have several all fully grown now. White clouds and shrimp would be a good choice

 

[LongS]

ah great stuff. Just what i wanted to do but thought i best check with someone in the know.

These are great little fish to watch, and i will get some more tomorow. I'm keeping a careful eye on the water stats to avoid any potential problems, although i have noticed that one of the remaining Minnows hasn't got the fork-shaped tail like the other. Its kind of just a thin strip and he seems slightly less active than the other. Staying in the lower section of the tank rather than the top.

The one that died had this too from when i first got it. Could this be down to the shop and over-crowding? or even a deformaty?

Oh and what temperature do you keep them at and with what tankmates Ficious?

Thanks for the reply

 

[Syphoniera]

Hi, longshlong, I believe you've put WCM in approximately a 4 gallon tank?
I don't think Ficious understood the tank size involved, when he correctly pointed out that they are a schooling fish and would be happier in a group of a half-dozen or so.
I have WCM in a 15 gallon with plenty of plants, which gives them room to move - I can't imagine putting such active fish in a 4 gallon, aside from the fact that they are about an inch and a half each, although torpedo shaped, so that a school of 6 in a tank that size would be not only cramped but overcrowded.
The problem with a tank that size is that it really is good only for something like a few small male guppies or a male fancy guppy and some shrimp or a betta.

The narrow tail will most likely appear this way because it's clamped, meaning the WCM is sick and/or stressed, particularly in view of the other symptoms specified and the death of the third fish.
White Clouds do prefer a cooler temperature than tropicals, although mid-high 70's seems to be fine with mine, which are kept around 77-78F, but I suspect that as long as it's cramped up in a little tank, with a guppy which may be harassing it and nowhere to go to get away, and with only a single companion, it's unlikely to do well.
In the long term, things like room to move and territory issues carry the approximately the same degree of importance as do those of water quality.
Hopefully, a expert will show up shortly to give a better explanation and suggestions, but, speaking as One Who Knows Nothing, I'd strongly suggest what may be already your plan, that you either acquire a larger tank for them or wait until the larger tank you have cycling - of somewhere between 20 - 25ish gallons, I believe - is ready as a home for your WCM's to move into, and perhaps consider the small one a quarantine tank, so that the rest of the fish you get can be treated for any disease that shows without sharing it among the rest.
It sounds as though you may have a problem worth quarantining and treatment already.

 

[Ficious]

White clouds are a cold water fish. I have my 3 gal with 6 of them set at 74F and 11 in my 20 gal community with female bettas guppies and corys..that tanks temp is 78F. You can get away with being a tad overstocked and they look stunning in front of live plants and a black background. Plus they're cheap.

As for the little one and its messed up tail...I have 2 of them. They didn't reach the size of the others so I'm wondering if they're runts or something

 

[pippoodle]

WCminnows breed quite easily aswell

 

[LongS]

Thanks for the reply syphoniera, its nice to hear other peoples opinions. I will definetly go for my original idea of using the small tank as quarantine now. I just can't wait for the larger one to get cycled.

I have just got four more of them today as ficious suggested, and they actually seem a whole lot happier now they can shoal. In total there are 6 Minnows and 1 Guppy. I will take the advice of syphoniera and add nothing else at all. They will be added to my 95 litre whens its done.

Im keeping the temp at 26 degrees C (78 F). To try and suit both fish.

As for the guppy. He seems to have really settled down now, and doesn't really bother too much with the WC. Even today when i fed them, he just swims amongst the shoal and gets on with eating. The wee one with the funny tail actually is quite small, so this is probably true about being a runt. Doesn't seem to get bullied though which is good.

Just can't wait to put them in the large tank with the black gravel i have in there. Nice little fish.

Do you have any suggestions in suitable tank mates for the bigger tank when its ready?

Again thanks for the suggestions and advice.