Time For Some New Fish

[kmaisch]

I currently have a 45 litre tank (12 gallon) and am owed a few fish by the pet shop (due to a white spot outbreak that I got from them). The white spot is under control now, so I will wait a few weeks and then get some new fish.

This is what I have in my tank at the moment:

Small Schooling Fish:
6 Neon Tetras
1 Harlequin

Catfish:
1 Bristlenose Pleco Catfish
1 Peppered Catfish
1 Glass Catfish

I think there are a few fish that I need to get:

1 more Glass Catfish (as I read that these like company)
2 more Harlequins (as these are schooling fish. I lost 2, they jumped out of the tank).

Then I would like to get 2 more fish - maybe Angels? I did have 2 Angels but they died from the Whitespot (or stress from the treatment). Since then the Pleco has become the boss of the tank and has started picking on the Peppered Catfish and even has a go at the Tetras - they are too fast for it though. Is it likely that the Pleco has been like this because there are no bigger fish in the tank? Maybe the Angels will put it in its place?

So, I will then have 9 small schooling fish, 4 catfish and 2 larger fish like Angels. Is this too much for a 45 litre (12 gallon) tank?

Regards,
Kim

 

[Lynden]

So, I will then have 9 small schooling fish, 4 catfish and 2 larger fish like Angels. Is this too much for a 45 litre (12 gallon) tank?

Its a little too much, however with overfiltering it could be done. Also, angels find the colour pattern of neon tetras very attractive, and will sample it.

Freshwater angels are weak fish, dont cont on them setting any fish straight, unless its a dwarf cichlid or if the angels are large and paired. If i had your tank, and if i were going to have a small cichlid, i would probably have a balloon ram or conspecific.

-Lynden

 

[IMCL85]

Looks pretty enought to me more = too much bioload for ur filtration

 

[Lynden]

too much bioload for ur filtration

Dont say that yet, what kind of filter do you have kmaisch?

 

[DragonLass]

That tank is far too small for Angelfish. They grow to be quite large and would become too cramped.
Also harlequins really need to be in groups of 6 or more. Having 6 would overstock your tank, so you might want to consider giving the harlequin back and sticking with the neons.
Same sort of deal with the Peppered cory & glass catfish. Both should be in groups of 3-4, so it would be much better to decide which one you would prefer and swap it.

 

[kmaisch]

Thanks for the replies everyone. So it sounds like there are 3 issues:

1) Lonely Fish Species:
So if I have lonely fish but not enough room in the tank to get more of that species (the peppered catfish and one harlequin), what should I do? Is it cruel to keep them as lonely fish? The harlequin at the moment seems quite happy - it is the most lively of my fish and loves to play in the stream of water from the filter. I doubt the pet shop would take them back considering my tank had whitespot at one stage.


2) Avoid Angels - tank too small.
Rather than angels, I do like the look of the Ballon Rams - I haven't seen anything nearly as exotic as those at my local pet shops. What about just some colourful guppies - do they get too big?

3) Not enough filtration for more fish:
The filter I have is a Rio 600. For a 2' tank it can pump 120 gallon per hour. I have been told this is more than enough for my tank, and that I could probably go down to the Rio 400... but that more filtration is better than not enough filtration.

[EDIT] I think I may have calculated my tank size wrong. I think it is bigger than 45L - maybe 80L+. I will measure my tank again tonight and work it out for sure. This could solve some of the above problems

 

[dwarfgourami]

Noone's mentioned the glass catfish yet. Here you might have a problem: from all I've heard these are fish that really do suffer from not being kept in schools and can actually pine away and die from it (correct me if wrong, folks). On the other hand they grow to 3-4 inches so a school of them would not find room in your tank. And 2 fish don't make a school.
The problem is, you have 3 schooling fish in there (harlequin, cory and glass), so upping all those numbers would really overstock the tank.
If you are not in a position to upgrade, maybe you should think about rehoming the glass catfish and then upping the numbers of harlequins and corys. Or what do you think folks?

 

[@ombomb]

Also no one has mentioned the BN Plec which is far too messy to be in a tank that size.

 

[kmaisch]

damn aquarium staff telling me all these fish would be well suited for my tank

Ok, the tank size is a little bigger than I first thought - it is 2' x 1' x 1' (approx) - so about 50 litres (13.2 gallon).

Hows this for an option:
Peppered catfish - I can find a home for this - a friend has a few of those in his large tank.
Harlequin - this seems happy. Its very lively/playful and seems to hang out with the Tetras. I don't know anyone else that has any of these (can't find a home for it), so I think I will just keep this by itself for now.
Glass catfish - yep after being sold this fish I later read it would get lonely. It is definately suffering at the moment - it just hides in a log. I would like to keep this though - would 1 more be sufficient?
Bristlenose Pleco - these are OK by themselves? Although they are 'messy' the tank doesnt seem to get too dirty. The water is clear and the filter seems to do a good job.
Neon Tetras - actually I have 7 of these (I thought it was 6) - they are all happy. I don't want any more.

That will leave me with 2 glass catfish, 1 pleco, 7 tetras, 1 lonely harlequin. Then maybe if I get 3 brightly coloured fish of some sort? (guppies?)

Kim

Picture of Harlequin hanging out with Tetras:

 

[@ombomb]

Persaonally I'd rehome the plec, the catfish and the harlequin and add a couple more corys with the Neons.

 

[kmaisch]

Persaonally I'd rehome the plec, the catfish and the harlequin and add a couple more corys with the Neons.

I'm not sure if i can find a home for those The Plec maybe - but I dont know anyone else that has glass catfish or harlequins.

 

[DragonLass]

Personally I think the Harlequin is fine. If he seems happy then i'm sure he's ok. If he starts hiding or freaking out whenever you approach the tank then that would be a worry, but obviously he feels safe enough with the neons around.