Would These Be Ok?

Joe97 · Nov 19, 2009

I have a 33 litre (8.7 gallon) tank that's 20 inches long and ten inches deep and ten inches tall. I was thinking about getting some fish about 1-2 inches long and came up with this stock list;

3 x Endler's (to breed)
6 x Neon Tetras (to shoal)
6 x Pygmy Cories (to occupy the lower level).

Is this Ok? If not do you have any similar alternatives?
Thanks,
Joe.

drobbyb · Nov 19, 2009

Those fish would overstock the tank I'm afraid. If you plan to breed endlers, you would need a larger tank very soon as the fry would keep on coming even though the tank is full.

There's nothing wrong with the fish you have selected, you just can't keep that many fish in that small of a tank.

Joe97 · Nov 20, 2009

Thanks for the reply, how about this set up?

5 x pygmy cories (that's five inches)
3 x endler's (that's three inches)

That's going by the inch per gallon rule of thumb which I've heard can be used on small, slim-bodied fish (such as endler's and pygmy cories).
Would this be OK?
Thanks,
Joe

Amberleaf · Nov 20, 2009

That works; just get *MALE* endlers, though. ^^;

kelly528 · Nov 20, 2009

Neons will definitely munch the fry.

I keep an endler colony with 7 pygmy cories in my 40 litre, but then again it has 2x filtration (Aquaclear 20) and is well-planted.

It's definitely a fine balance because in order to sell the excess endlers you must have enough room to raise them to maturity.

I bend the IPG rule with small guys... I have probably 30 inches of endlers, cories, and shrimp not counting snails in my 10g with no problems. They are tiny little guys.

Realistically, your best route IMO is a well-planted tank (not necessarily high-maintenance/high light, just dense planting) with 6 pygmy cories and 10 male endlers. The males are flashier, and on top of that the females are about twice as big. A setup without females spares you the trouble of dealing with fry, and will make a real impact with just the male endlers and the dwarf cories. They are both awesoem fish.

ellena · Nov 21, 2009

Definitely another vote for just male endlers from me :good:

I can only see the females being of use in a breeding setup. They are so large and so dull they offer very little in the way of visual appeal and in a small tank where every inch counts, I'd say they're a waste. I have 10 males, 6 'natural' and 4 a paler yellowy colour (which I suspect are actually guppy crosses, although they were sold as endlers) and they look awesome when they're all together. Really outgoing, active little fish and stunning colours

Joe97 · Nov 21, 2009

So a mixture of pygmy cories and male endler's?

Like;
6 x pygmy cories
3 x male endler's

My tank is near enough nine gallons. Could I have more? Is this OK?
Thanks,
Joe

kizno1 · Nov 21, 2009

i dont see a problem with 1 male 2 female endlers i had a trio of guppys in a 5g and only every got about 3 fry and witht the corys in there aswell most of the fry would get eaten but youi would still get the odd fry.

kelly528 · Nov 21, 2009

kizno1 said:
i dont see a problem with 1 male 2 female endlers i had a trio of guppys in a 5g and only every got about 3 fry and witht the corys in there aswell most of the fry would get eaten but youi would still get the odd fry.

The big difference is that endlers don't eat their fry, and therefore breed like rabbits.

Joe, like I said before you will probably be quite fine with bending the IPG rule: 6 pygmy cories and 6 male endlers, say. They are so low-bioload i am stuffing 30 inches into my 10g with no problems as long as i overfilter and plant well.

Joe97 · Nov 21, 2009

I would quite like four endler's and six pygmy cories. That should be OK. You hear about livebearers breeding like rabbits but i've kept every type of common livebearer and with my very recent interference I've only ever had two guppy fry this old. It would be nice to get the occasional new Endler, it saves buying new ones.
Thanks for the help everyone,
Joe

kelly528 · Nov 21, 2009

Joe97 said:
I would quite like four endler's and six pygmy cories. That should be OK. You hear about livebearers breeding like rabbits but i've kept every type of common livebearer and with my very recent interference I've only ever had two guppy fry this old. It would be nice to get the occasional new Endler, it saves buying new ones.
Thanks for the help everyone,
Joe

Trust me man. I have 2 mature females in my tank and 26 fry. Wheras guppies will usually eat their fry before you even know they existed, endlers do not.

Also, a female's first drops are considerably smaller than her fry drops after a couple of months. From one female raised from a fry I got 2 on the first drop, 12 on the second and 20 on the third. Her most recent drop must have been about 25.

OldMan47 · Nov 21, 2009

Endlers do not eat their fry to any extent at all. They will quite literally fill a tank until it is far too full. That is not mere speculation on my part. I sell lots of adult endlers out of this tank at every chance I get and I do nothing to save the fry except to feed the fish in the tank, including the never ending fry.

Joe97 · Nov 22, 2009

Thanks,
OK so I'll have;
6 x Pygmy Cories
4 x Male Endler's
From what I've gathered this'll certainly be fine. I'll do a ten percent water change weekly, I have a filter and I'll plant the tank up best I can :good:

I had another post about my other tank which is 4.3 gallons (16 litres) and what I could put in? Would five cherry shrimp be Ok?

Thanks everyone for the help!
Joe