New tank help

[CoffeeLover]

Hi everyone, I'm looking to get into owning fish again. I've never owned tropical fish before, only goldfish and for them I had a pretty basic set up. I'm going to get a bigger tank with more advanced equipment, but I have some questions.

The tank I'm thinking of getting is 50L (13.2 US gallons). I am wanting to get a betta fish, some guppies and some peppered catfish.

On the advice of a couple of websites, I am looking towards getting a female betta and female guppies, as there will be a smaller chance of conflict between the fish. Is this correct? Or is there a better combination?

I also wanted to get the catfish to help keep the tank clean.

I was thinking of getting one betta (4-5cm), 2 peppered catfish (3-4cm) and 3-4 guppies around 3-4 cm in size. Is this an ok amount for the tank size? Will the fish be happy/have enough room?

Thanks

 

[FishGuest5123]

Are you talking about peppered cories? If so, they need to be in a schoal of at least 6. Bettas tend to nip at guppies tails . Bettas are really better off alone and not in a community. I know this kind of blows your plans out of the water. Please test your water and let us know what your GH, KH, and PH are. Then we can help you choose proper stock. Are you aware of the aquarium nitrogen cycle? The tank will need to be cycled first. I would also suggest a larger tank. Not a lot of options for a tank that small. Please read ths to better understand the nitrogen ct le. We’re here to help. https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

 

[CoffeeLover]

Yes, I was talking about peppered cories haha. I thought that they were good for keeping the tank clean- if not, are there any better species?
I'll probably just get only guppies, not a betta. Thanks for that advice, I like guppies more anyhow.
I don't have the tank set up or anything yet, but I can check my water suppliers for that and try to let you know.
I am aware of the nitrogen cycle, and was planning on following the guide you just linked. I do know to cycle the tank & water before adding any fish.

thanks so much for the help, and I'll try to get back to you with my GH, KH & PH

 

[Essjay]

There are no fish which clean a tank, that's the fish keeper's job Cories of all types need to be fed their own food rather than live on left over scraps.

The reason we ask about GH (hardness) in particular as that we should aim to keep fish which come from water with a similar hardness to our tap water. Hard water contains a lot of calcium and magnesium and fish that come from hard water have bodies which can cope with a lot of minerals. Put them in soft water which has few minerals and they suffer deficiencies. When soft water fish are put in hard water, they get calcium deposits in their kidneys.

If you can fit/afford a bigger tank it will give you lots more options and isn't any harder to keep than a small tank.



One tip we have all learned the hard way - don't believe anything a fish store says till you have researched it for yourself. Most of them don't know or don't care and will say anything to get a sale.