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I'd avoid zebra plecos, they prefer to be kept in a group (not to mention the cost of one is usually over $200.) Pretty sure that the pitbull pleco is about as small as they get at 5cm, and I wouldn't put anything in that size tank that gets over 5cm. Otos are fairly common and a better size for your tank if you aren't dead set on the pleco look. Both prefer to be kept in groups, I'd go with three, so you would only be able to keep 4-6 inches of additional fish in your tank. Maybe 5-6 of a small rasbora species like microrasbora nana, microrasbora kubotai or microrasbora erythromicron.

Since you've already got rasboras in your tank and they're a schooling fish, you haven't really got room for plecos. Algae eating shrimps are very cool, you could easily toss five or so in there. Amano and cherry shrimp tend to be the most common, petshrimp.com has a listing of species and care. The only other fish I can think of to keep in your tank would be three or four dwarf cories or kuhli loaches (both need sand.)

Doesn't actually sound like you followed the cycle information, did you fishless cycle with ammonia or add mature filter media from the other tank? Cycling and setting the tank up to run for a week serve two different purposes. Cycling needs an ammonia source and gets your filter colonized with bacteria to convert ammonia to nitrites and then nitrates. A mature cycled tank should have zero ammonia and nitrites at all times. Setting up the tank and leaving it to run for a week makes sure that your temperature and filter are in order and your tank isn't leaking, but does nothing for bacteria colonies. Mature filter media from the other tank (best idea!) already contains a colony of bacteria, so you could add fish at the same time.

Edit: Just saw your post where you mention that your dad has a gibbiceps, those get well over a foot and much too big for the tank he has. The other plecos you have listed are actually a bit too big at 9/10 cm for your tank. I wouldn't go lower than 20 gallons for those species though one would work well in your dad's tank.
 
Ah right okay, thanks for the info.

I havent actually bought the tank yet, getting advice before i do buy it.
 
Ah good, I must have misread something, sounded like you had the tank already with some rasboras in it. When you do get the tank, add some filter media from your dad's tank when you start adding fish. Much easier than fishless cycling. :good:

One fish I forgot about was a betta, you could easily keep a single male with a few otos or pitbull plecs though some of them will eat shrimp. That is of course if you like bettas, some people don't seem to.
 
What are bettas? Do you have a picture or link?

What do you mean by filter media? Im completely new to this.

Why would a 9cm fully grown plec be too small for a 52cm (W) x 27cm (D) x 30cm (H) sized tank? Surely thered be enough room, or is it to do with the filter?

Thanks again.
 
Long finned betta splendens are the most common variety, they often go by the name of siamese fighting fish. You can get them in many colors with all sorts of finnage, they've been selectively bred for ages just like fancy goldfish. IBC has some information on them, as well as some of the wild types. They're generally very hardy and have great personalities, though they are very territorial and you should only keep one male by himself.

What sort of filtration does your dad have set up? If its a hang on back or canister filter, there should be some sponges inside where the bacteria colonize. If he's got an undergravel filter, the media is the gravel itself. Get that bacteria in your tank and it's instantly cycled so long as you keep it alive with an ammonia source (usually fish.)

If a pleco is the only fish you're keeping in the tank, you could probably get away with it, but they tend to be rather active fish (when they feel secure with good tank conditions, usually when they think you aren't looking and at night) and would really be better off with more space. I really wouldn't go over two inches for any fish in a ten gallon, some of the more active fish like danios need more room even though they're a smaller fish. Similarly, you can keep a 14 inch pleco in an 80 gallon tank without violating the inches per gallon rule (I had a gibbiceps that got this big in one, he was rehomed to a temperate pond) but the fish has very little room to move around. In the case of a four inch fish in a ten gallon aquarium, that's roughly the equivalent of a 32 inch fish in an 80 gallon aquarium to give you an idea of scale.

Edit: forgot to add, plecos are one of the messier fish, so you're better off understocking than overstocking.
 
A couple of things you haven't mentioned so you might not have thought about. Your 35 litre tank is only about 10 us gallons. Using the rule of thumb for 1" per gallon to start you could keep about 10 neon tetra sized fish, After about 6 months you could increase that to 2" per gallon, but no more. Many pleco's grow very large and are not really suitable for a tank that small.

If your dad has a cycled tank, i would suggest using some of his mature filter media to kick start the cycle in your tank when you set it up. It may mini cycle still, so keep an eye on your fish and be prepared to do a water change if the ammonia and nitrite start to creep up. My advice would be do a fishless cycle if possible, it's kinder on the fish you are going to keep and also means you may have less health problems in the future as they have not been stressed out.

You have asked about water changes. I would say about 20 to 30% per week. As with most things in fish keeping it's not a hard and fast rule, so just see what works for you. While i'm talking about the water, have a look at the pinned threads on cycling, however you decide to cycle your tank, understand what is happening. In short you're setting up a nitrogen cycle in your tank to break down the harmful waste that the fish produce and in the confines of a fish tank would poison themselves with. The filter needs to be running constantly as the bacteria can go off and poison the tank if a mature filter is stopped. Get used to talking about ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte. Ammonia is the waste that is produced by the fish and is very toxic so bacteria in the filter break this down into nitrIte, nitrite is still poisonous to the fish so a different bacteria break this down into nitrAte which is virtually harmless to the fish unless in very high quantities, this is the main reason for water changes so the nitrate is diluted. The only way you will be able to know what is happening is to test the water for these chemicals and the pH of the water, this can be as simple as a test strip that you dip in the water, the colour it changes to tell you what the quality of the water is like.

My suggestions for fish in a tank of the size you're thinking of would be a Betta of some description. They come in many colours and fin styles so you should be able to find something interesting that you like. Just about the only fish you can safely put with a Betta are Corydoras Catfish. These little catfish grow to about 2 1/2 to 3 inches and dwell at the bottom of the tank and generally keep out of the Betta's way. With a Betta you could keep about 3 cory's to start with, and increase that to 5 or 6 as the tank matures. Alternatively you could try small schooling fish instead of the betta such as tetras or rasboras, also dwarf cichlids such as rams or apistogrammas do well, sometimes better in smaller tanks. My avatar at the moment is of a male apistogramma cacatuoids.

My biggest piece of advice though would be to research everything you want to do. Tank cycling, the fish you want to keep, stocking levels, compatibility of the fish. I know i have just dumped a load of information in this thread that you may or may not have looked at yet but if you can understand these things, you should be fine. Also as you understand it better, you won't worry about it so much, I know i did before i kept tropical fish I thought it was really hard so i kept away, but now i don't know what i was worried about and my fish are doing really well, even breeding!

Enjoy the hobby!
 
Thanks!

Would it be possible to get one of these: http://www.tropicalfish4u.co.uk/acatalog/S..._Male__RED.html

Five of these: http://www.tropicalfish4u.co.uk/acatalog/Neon_Tetra.html

And a couple of these: http://www.tropicalfish4u.co.uk/acatalog/c...in_Rasbora.html

They all get on together, but not sure if that would overcrowd the tank or not. Suggestions on the amount of fish above ^^

PS. I wasnt talking about getting a Pleco that grew big, i was only after one that came 5-6cm long, and only grew to 9cm MAX!!
 
I wouldn't personally put all those together in case the tetras or rasboras nipped the fins of the betta. The galaxy rasbs (or pearl danios as i think they have been reclassified) are a feature fish on their own in my opinion as they are so different to other small fish at the moment. If you want a community i would consider dwarf cichlids instead of the betta as they would be less likely to suffer any problems.
 
I wouldn't keep a male betta with much other than bottom feeders; tetras, rasboras, danios and barbs will nip and frequently bettas will turn on tankmates that they view as a threat. On the other hand, I have a betta thats fine in a ten gallon with four neon tetras, four kuhli loaches and an amano shrimp (tank is fully stocked by the way, not adding any more fish.) I'd recommend galaxy rasboras but considering the quick habitat destruction, they really should be avoided unless you plan on breeding them. Five neons or other similar sized schooling fish would be fine, but you haven't got room for more than one kind... better to do a group of seven neons than five neons and two rasboras. A single male honey gourami would do well, but no more top to middle dwelling fish after that, and go easy on the top dwellers (maybe five neons or small rasboras with no other fish) if you do go for one of the 9cm plecs.

Two inches per gallon in a ten gallon tank is pushing it, especially if we're talking plecos, maybe in a larger tank but it really depends on the fish.
 
I wouldnt personally put any plec in a tank that small, even the smallest plecs aren't going to have enough room in there - pitbull plecs need to be in groups so that rules them out (unless you dont want any other fish in there at all). Personally, with it being a small tank - I'd stick to the 1" per gallon rule. I say this because water params in small tank are very changeable, hard to keep stable - and even leaving the tank one day longer for a water change (if something came up) with a heavily stocked tank would be very dangerous.

I wouldn't go smaller than 2ft for even the smallest plecs. 9cm is about 5", for a plec that size you'll be looking at 2ft minimum, preferably 3ft.

Maybe three otos in there would be ok - but your tank would have to be established for a few months before you could add them (technically the advice many say for any plec). Then either the betta or the five neons.
 
Maxta said:
Oh. right.

Well the Pleco in the tank downstairs never gos on the bottom EVER, its always stuck to the side window or log lol.

What type of pleco would you recommend? I dont want an agressive one or one thatl grow 12cm+, or an ugly one lol.
Click to expand...

Plecos like wood to nibble on, so try to put a piece of wood in you tank. Have a look also at the pleco forum here. It has a pinned article about plecos under 8' and other useful info on these species.

Good luck!
 
In your sig you say you have a gibbiceps, please say thats not in your tank but the bigger one (thats still probably too small though)?
Rob
 
Well it was in my 190L tank and we were gona pass it on when it got bigger.

Now its dead, see emergency section :(
 
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