Freshwater fish for a 50 liters tank

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

i dont think I understand. does that mean that if I have enough space for 10 nano fish I can get more because they're shoaling fish and dont mind sharing space? wouldn't that make the aquarium too crowded?

Nope, it means your tank would be a good size to have say, 9-10 ember tetra and say, a school of 10 pygmy corydoras, and that would be a nice little fully stocked but not overcrowded tank

I have two tanks almost the same size, and have kept guppies, but also planning a softer water tank with otocinclus and ember tetras, heavily planted. There are some really beautiful nano shoaling fish that would work well in that tank size, but which ones could work will depend on what your water quality is like, namely the GH and pH, which you can find out from your local water authorites website - look for their water quality report, and if you post the numbers here, people can tell you what they mean, and what sort of fish could work in that water, and what definitely won't.

 

[Byron]

i dont think I understand. does that mean that if I have enough space for 10 nano fish I can get more because they're shoaling fish and dont mind sharing space? wouldn't that make the aquarium too crowded?

No it would not crowd the tank. I had a group of 11 Boraras brigittae (dwarf rasboras), and a group of 9 pygmy cories, in a 10g tank and that was not crowded. There are several factors here.

Tank size determines the surface area the fish have to live within; surface area involves sufficient room to swim (activity levels of different fish vary from some being very active to others scarcely cruising and certainly not "swimming" as such). Fish that establish a territory also need consideration of the surface area more than water volume above it.

Shoaling fish need a group, and the more there are the healthier they will be. Healthy fish have less impact on the biological system than do fish that are under continual stress. And shoaling fish care much less about other fish, provided they do not see them as threats, and that means a careful combination of species for a community aquarium.

 

[beedobu]

ooh, I understand.
this forum has been way more helpful than any other internet sources I've come across. thanks to everyone who responded!
I'll try to call my tapwater provider tomorrow.
I'll keep you updated

 

[beedobu]

I couldn't find out my water's KH, only its pH (7,7) and its GH (21°F). hope that helps

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I couldn't find out my water's KH, only its pH (7,7) and its GH (21°F). hope that helps

The pH readings help us, but your GH is of... 21F is a temperature reading, not a GH reading. GH will come across as “ppm” or “dGH”.

 

[Essjay]

GH is hardness. Your GH at 21 deg F - does this mean degrees French? I have to confess that I've never come across anyone using that unit before, but we have very few members in Italy so it may be a unit used there.

If it does mean degrees French, we need to convert that to the two units used in fish keeping.

21 deg F = 11.8 dH and 210 ppm. Fish profiles use one or other of those units.

This is middling in terms of hardness. It means you can't keep fish fish which must have soft water or fish which must have hard water.
Of the species mentioned above, pygmy cories may be OK, though their profile on Seriously fish says they are better kept below 8 dH

Corydoras pygmaeus – Pygmy Cory — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Your water is slightly too hard for ember tetras and Boraras brigittae unfortunately (up to 10 dH).



Endlers livebearers are quoted as needing a GH over 15 dH but @emeraldking once said that they were OK in water softer than that, but I don't know if 11 8 is too low for them.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I couldn't find out my water's KH, only its pH (7,7) and its GH (21°F). hope that helps

The pH readings help us, but your GH is of... 21F is a temperature reading, not a GH reading. GH will come across as “ppm” or “dGH”.

I assume the GH (21 F) means in degrees French, which would convert to 11.8 GdH. Is that right @essjay?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I assume the GH (21 F) means in degrees French, which would convert to 11.8 GdH. Is that right @essjay?

Comment removed by moderator.

 

[Essjay]

I assumed that as well, and the conversion is what I make it.


@PheonixKingZ There are quite a lot of hardness units. Besides the usual ones - dH or german degrees and ppm or mg /l calcium carbonate, there are degrees Clark (often seen in the UK), degrees French, mg/l calcium (also seen in the UK), mg/l calcium oxide, and grains per gallon (used in the US).
This is why we always ask for the unit of measurement as well as the number

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I assumed that as well, and the conversion is what I make it.


@PheonixKingZ There are quite a lot of hardness units. Besides the usual ones - dH or german degrees and ppm or mg /l calcium carbonate, there are degrees Clark (often seen in the UK), degrees French, mg/l calcium (also seen in the UK), mg/l calcium oxide, and grains per gallon (used in the US).
This is why we always ask for the unit of measurement as well as the number

Interesting, guess I never knew there was so many different units.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

[/QUOTE]
@PheonixKingZ I was typing at the same time, and didn't realise she'd already posted when I wrote that, obviously, or I wouldn't have said it and tagged her.

You don't like being made fun of, but you're quick to point the point the finger and laugh at others when anyone with any sense would see we posted a minute apart.

 

[beedobu]

can we keep this civil please?
yeah, I meant french degrees, and that's ok. if my water is that restrictive I don't mind buying dechlorinated water from a store, it's not a big deal.

 

[Essjay]

Oooh I did get it right

It's not restrictive in the sense that there are fish you can keep, but if you want a particular fish which doesn't suit your water, then yes you can change the water.
If you want to keep fish that need softer water, then mixing your tap water with pure water such as reverse osmosis or distilled water will reduce the hardness. If you want to make it harder for hard water fish there are things you can add to increase the hardness.

 

[beedobu]

for now I'm thinking about softening it slightly to keep boraras (I'll see what I can find) and pygmy corys. 9-10 for each would work fine in the 15 gal or am I mistaken?
the ph isnt a problem if I add some distilled, neutral water, right?

 

[mbsqw1d]

Adding pure water means GH and KH drops. KH is a buffer that helps to maintain PH, so lowering the KH means the PH will swing more easily. The key is to maintain all of the water parameters throughout water changes ie if you do a water change and the new water's PH or GH is drastically different, then that will be detrimental to the fish. Your water change isnt going to involve that much being a 15 gal, and so you could measure the new water prior adding. Personally, if you're already reducing GH (and KH) by using pure water, I wouldnt actively attempt to also alter the PH, as this is just another hurdle to sort at wc