Tank big enough?

DevilsOwn

Hey,

I just bought a 100l tank (100cm * 30cm * 45cm)
It has a 3 compartment biological filter and T8 lamp.

I'm setting up my plants at the moment (creating lots of vegetation at the sides and a clear part in the middle) and won't get any fish for the first 2 to 3 weeks.

I was planning to have the following fish

10X Boraras brigittae
10X Cardinal Tetra
4X Otocinclus affinis
1X Male Betta

Should this be a good number of fish or should I add/remove some?

Byron

From the perspective of tank size (length and volume) that's fine, understocked in fact. For the benefit of those of us who think in imperial better this is a 3-foot tank of roughly 25 gallons.

But you have a major problem with the Betta. I can all but guarantee it will eat any Boraras it sees. Betta will eat neon and Cardinal Tetra too (mine did), and they are larger than Boraras.

You can also thicken the planting a bit. For the fish mentioned, open spaces are not necessary because they are not active swimmers. Boraras species and Cardinal Tetra prefer to cruise around thick stands of vegetation. Floating plants are mandatory, as these fish also dislike overhead light.

Leaving out the Betta and staying with the rest, you could have another group or two of a smallish shoaling fish. Pencilfish, hatchetfish would add interest, and they share this type of environment. Substrate fish (otos are not substrate, they spend most of their time up in the plants, on wood, etc.) like corys, Whiptail Catfish and Twig Catfish would add bottom interest, though with the latter I would not have otos too.

Byron.

DevilsOwn

I will most likely allready add a small group of Pencilfish and 2 corys. But would it be possible to add another (bigger) colorful fish in the tank which does not cause the same problems as the betta?

DevilsOwn

This would get the prefered fish to
10X Boraras brigittae
10X Cardinal Tetra
10X Pencilfish
4X Otocinclus affinis
2X Corys



This should be ok then?

Thanks a lot allready. Would not have liked to see my betta attack the other fish

DevilsOwn

And then I do some more searching and find all the following to be very nice.

This would get the prefered fish to:

Apistogramma Panduro
Apistogramma borelli
Boraras brigittae
Cardinal Tetra
Pencilfish

Otocinclus affinis
Corydas Sterbai
Peppermint Bristlenose

Could I combine all of them?
And if so, any suggestion of how many of each?

I hope I am not asking too many questions but I want to get it right so I don't cause problems for the fish :)

Byron

To the question about a "larger" colourful fish, this is not that easy in smaller tanks. You have a couple of dwarf cichlids mentioned in the last post, and this is one option for "larger". The only issue with dwarf cichlids is their temperament. I have had several species at various times, and I always have trouble. They seem to take a dislike to some other fish, and of course if they are a pair they will regularly spawn and this is even worse. In small spaces other fish don't have much chance to get out of the cichlid's line of sight.

On the substrate fish, no problem with the species named but I would not have more than one "algae" fish in a small tank. Otos and Bristlenose Pleco are in this category, and I would suggest either or. The corys are fine, Corydoras sterbai or almost any other species you find and like, mixed or alone. You want 5 corys, which could be five of the one species, or you could have two species with 3 of each for 6. I would even go so far as to say three species with three of each in a 3-foot tank. They need company, they are very socially interactive.

All of the species are in our profiles. For pencilfish, the more commonly-seen ones are included under the characins, Nannostomus marginatus and several others in the same genus.

DevilsOwn

So if I get this correct then the next setup would be possible.

Apistogramma Panduro : 2 females
Apistogramma borelli : 2 females
Boraras brigittae : 8
Cardinal Tetra : 8
Pencilfish : 8
Corydas : 6 (2 kinds)
Peppermint Bristlenose : 2
I would only get the Female cichlids to avoid getting more of them.
I was allready planning on having a lot of plants in the aquarium so all the fish should be able to hide if needed.
Does this seem ok?

Byron

Only one species of cichlid in small tanks. I have had two Apisto species in my 4-foot 70g and the females were at each other continually. They actually killed each other. I know it may be "possible," but I would avoid cichlids in this small a tank until you are more experienced and have several tanks going. It is easier to move fish around to avoid stress.

I would only get one Bristlenose. Males are territorial, and again we have a small space issue. Also, one will easily handle algae, if that is the thinking.

Corys are fine at 6. Boraras OK at 8, maybe a couple more though; they are small, and a dozen wouldn't hurt. Cardinal are fine at 8. Pencilfish probably, depending upon species. I didn't really individualize them previously, but some are better than others. I would not get the most commonly seen species, Nannostomus beckfordi; the males are really quite feisty, and I've had to move my group of 15+ to avoid trouble. The other species are better in temperament.

DevilsOwn

Hopefully the last attempt to get a decent setup. Do these numbers make sence?

Apistogramma Panduro : 2 (2 females/males or 1 of each(m/f) don't know which is better)
Boraras brigittae : 12
Cardinal Tetra : 8
Nannostomus marginatus : 10
Corydas : 6 (2 kinds)
Peppermint Bristlenose : 1

Byron

My only concern here is the cichlid. This is not a lot of space, and cichlids do get feisty. Aside from this, fine.