Lone Fish

[Edge]

Hi

Just thinking about how to finish stocking our 16 gallon tank when it has cycled, but I'm a little concerned about space. I just wondered if anyone can recommend a fish that I can buy on it's own, but will still do well in a community tank (I can't really buy 6 or 7 of my next fish as I will be overstocked). I know male Bettas would on the list of good 'lone' fish, but I don't think my tank is suitable for one. Any suggestion appreciated, thanks.

 

[Dude]

we have to know more about your tank

like whats the temp ph and what fish you have in there too

 

[Edge]

OK Sorry,
16 Gallons, currently have 5 Pearl Danios and 3 Panda Corys. Al are currently quite young and are about 1" long, although I'm assuming all can grow up to around 2". Tank has smooth, light gravel as substrate, some driftwood and quite a good supply of silk / plastic plants. Temp is holding steady @ 24 deg and pH has been at 7.6 since we started. Tank has been going nearly 4 weeks so think cycling should be complete fairly soon (?)

 

[BigIan]

the panda corys may not fair to well especially as your using them to cycle the tank. they arent the hardiest of corys.

don`t add any more fish for a while yet untill the tank is nicely cycled and stable.....



your tank is technicaly fully stocked.but another fish or two won`t hurt,

id recomend a molly or two as they can live without large groups, or maybe some plattys

 

[Dude]

you tank sounds pritty good to me

i dont really think you should add anymore fish

its allways good to be extra filtered

but if you really really have to add somthing i would add a shrimp , otto
somthing to help with algea cuz withought rreal plants
you could get some really nasty algea blooms

or as bigian said you could go with one or two platties guppys mollies....
******wait for your tank to be fully cycled ***** befor adding any more fish...

 

[Edge]

Ok thanks, I definitely wasn’t going to add any more fish for a while (until cycled). There reason I have the Pandas is because I thought we were cycled already - rookie mistake. We had an ammonia spike and have been doing 15% water changes every 2 or 3 days to combat it. Strangely though the Danios were a little stressed out by this and the Pandas were fine, they seem unaffected.

I know the inch per gallon rule means I’m currently fully stocked, but my girlfriend posted about our tank size and some others with a 16 gallon said they have around 12 small fish in there (compared with our 8 fish), so I thought a few more would be OK. I read somewhere that Dwarf Gouramis do well on their own; are they a bad choice for beginners?

 

[mark.w.jones]

Ok thanks, I definitely wasn’t going to add any more fish for a while (until cycled). There reason I have the Pandas is because I thought we were cycled already - rookie mistake. We had an ammonia spike and have been doing 15% water changes every 2 or 3 days to combat it. Strangely though the Danios were a little stressed out by this and the Pandas were fine, they seem unaffected.

I know the inch per gallon rule means I’m currently fully stocked, but my girlfriend posted about our tank size and some others with a 16 gallon said they have around 12 small fish in there (compared with our 8 fish), so I thought a few more would be OK. I read somewhere that Dwarf Gouramis do well on their own; are they a bad choice for beginners?

Dwarf gouramis do not cope well with poor water quality or stress and are prone to infection if these conditions persist. They are often sold as a male / female pair as in the wild they tend to swim together and are happiest in this arrangement. I have never kept them singley so cant really recommend it but try it out with a single male and see.

ps Id recommend not relying on advice that goes against the majority of what youve read. Just cos someone does keep an oscar in his / her 20 gallon tank and tell you "it looks fine" doesnt mean it actually is. The one inch per US gallon rule is there for the benefit of the fish and you are better understocking healthy / happy fish than overstocking with unhealthy / unhappy ones.

Hope that helps

 

[gems]

I know my water isn't ready for more fish yet, I'm just thinking ahead a little. I understand where you guys are coming from telling me to keep my population down, it's difficult to overcome the feeling of wanting to put all the fish you want in your tank. But I've got the willpower, and I obviously don't want to hurt them. I have to say though; our tanks looks a litle empty in it's current state.

I have read a lot about the 1cm per Litre rule as well as the 1inch per gallon, and that suggest that my tank can hold 60cm of fish, whereas the same tank can only hold 40cm of fish if you use the inch per gallon rule and convert it. That seems a large difference, although nobody seems to mention this. Any thought?

By the way, I'm still logged on as my girlfriend. It's actually Edge replying to this, whoops. Sorry

 

[Edge]

Ok, I'm logged in properly. Sorry about that. We haven't actually merged into one person just yet

 

[mark.w.jones]

Ok, I'm logged in properly. Sorry about that. We haven't actually merged into one person just yet

Dont know anything about 1cm / litre. Ive always relied on 1 inch per US gallon.

Read this:

http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...?article_id=125

 

[dwarfgourami]

There are several ways of calculating stocking levels: cm/ltr, inch/gallon, cm per cm square. Basically, the difference is that with some methods you are going to end up with higher stocking levels. So it's up to you if you want to take that risk.

Higher stocking levels mean less leeway, more risk of damaging sensitive fish, and less of a margin when things go wrong. I have recently had occasion to test this as I have had a run of disaster with pump failure in two tanks. In the understocked tank, no fish died from the ammonia spike, in the overstocked one, I lost 4 over a period of a week and am still not out of the woods. I have always believed in understocking, this level of overstocking was due to a domestic cockup (workmen failed to arrive when they were meant to), and I now feel more determined than ever to keep my stocking levels low. (Obviously, there are situtations, such as mbuna tanks, where you need to overstock- but then you get the back-up filtration to match).

Higher stocking levels also means a more crowded tank. This may be good for some fish (African lake cichlids), but most fish prefer a bit of space to themselves.

I am not sure the main reason that dwarf gouramis are sold in pairs is that they need to be in pairs (in that case, livebearers would be sold in 1-3 ratios, which they are not). I think it's more the practical situation that otherwise they would not get the plainer females sold. Also, I have heard that in other places you can't get female dwarfs for love or money. The consensus of the gourami forum seems to be that gouramis are quite happy on their own, and that 1 male, 2 females is a better ratio.