Review my stocking list, please

H

homerHart

AC Members
Apr 6, 2005
59
0
0
I have a 40l tank (10 gallon?) The tank obviously holds less water as it has gravel and two largish rocks to provide some hiding places/shade.
I am waiting for it to cycle (fishless) and then I wanted to stock it with something like:
3-4 neons
2 Pentazona barbs
3 Cherry barbs
3 Rummy Nose Tetras
1 Dwarf Otocinclus
Is this unwise?
I was aware of the 1" rule but thought that as the fish I wanted to stock are all 'thin' I thought it would be okay? :huh:
Opinions would be gratefully recieved.
 
Way too many. A 10 gallon realy does not have room for more than one school--it's barely enough to see any schooling behavior even then. I would go with either the neons of the rummy nose, and fill in an additional 2-3 for the school, or just go with the barbs, which will likely school together. The oto's likewise will do better in a group of 3. You could then add a single, slightly larger fish, like a dwarf gourami, as a centerpiece fish.
 
Really, the guy at the local store - who 'seemed' to be very knowlegable stated that up to 15 small fish would be fine and indeed in his identical tank had virtually the same fish as I have described that I would like to stock and they seemed fine. :thud:
 
I whole-heartedly agree with Orion Girl - I think the local guy was either trying to make a sale or has a tank waiting for disaster himself - :shark:
 
Part of the issue with stocking heavily is that the tank is basically on the brink of disaster all the time. Regular maintenance can keep it running, but if you're late with a water change, or over feed, the tank can go from 'okay' to lethal in a single day. I prefer to have a tank with room for slop--I always try to do my changes regularly, but things happen that prevent that (an family emergency, travel for work, ets). Small tanks are more frequently overstocked, and more frequently have problems, too.

The other issue is the behavior of the fish. When space is limited, normally peaceful fish can become very aggressizve, and start attacking ttankmates they'd ignore in other circumstances. In such a small space, the attacked fish have no place to go to get away from the attacker, leading to high stress levels, leading to more diseases, etc.

Going slow, and starting small will give you more success in the long run--much more than having lots of fish in a tank that have to be replaced will. I myself maintain tanks and fish combinations that I would never suggest for someone new to the hobby--I know the risks, know the minimums to get away with, and don't cross those lines. Start small, learn the ropes, and see if a) you're still interested in this combo, and b) if you will be comfortable with the needs of the system.
 
Think about it like this, you could keep a half a dozen Labrador puppies alive in a refrigerator box. But they wouldn't be very happy, their quality of life would be poor and they wouldn't act normally. Plus the older, and bigger, they got, the harder it would be to keep them alive and the more miserable they would be.
 
homerHart said:
Really, the guy at the local store - who 'seemed' to be very knowlegable stated that up to 15 small fish would be fine and indeed in his identical tank had virtually the same fish as I have described that I would like to stock and they seemed fine. :thud:
Click to expand...

You can just keep 15 neons in a 10gal and that would be OK, but mixing I would not use the 1inch rule.
 
Keeping neons alive for any amount of time can be very problematic. If you have trouble, switch to harlequin rasbora or rasbora espei. They are nearly as colorful (especially the espei) and a lot easier to keep.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom