Fish advice - small tank

angeldaisy

Hi I'm looking for some advice please, my son has been given a small tank, I think its about 17litres, with it we have some gravel, a filter and a light.
I don't really fancy doing too much messing about with it, so I was wondering what would be the best fish to put into it? I'm guessing it will be too small for goldfish, but have no idea what others I could put into it?

Also would it be okay to have it located against an outside wall next to a window, or does it need to be on an inside wall?

Sleepy

17 litres is really too small for anything except shrimp tbh.

Alkers

3 or 4 Neon Tetra I'm guessing?

kylith

I wouldn't even put a betta in that... I second the shrimp idea, I've seen some really beautiful shrimp setups online. Bit of wood, bit of moss and you'd have something really zen.

angeldaisy

Would I be able to put some White Cloud Minnow in it?

kylith

Definitely not, I'd say. You'd need at least 6 for them to be comfortable, as they're a schooling fish, and by all accounts they're very active and would need much more space.

People do keep bettas in tanks that small. Personally I wouldn't because you'd have problems with flow from the filter, and I don't even know if you can get a heater that would work in that small volume.

I went over to aqadvisor.com and stuck in some measurements that'd have a volume of 17l (12'x12'x7') and it spat out a list of what'd be doable: bettas, shrimp and African Dwarf Frogs. ADFs might actually be pretty good, provided you could get a suitable heater and filter, they're not terribly active but are hella-cute. If you don't intend to get a heater then your only option, I think, is snails. Maybe there are some species of cold water shrimp, but I don't know them.

angeldaisy

kylith wrote: »

Definitely not, I'd say. You'd need at least 6 for them to be comfortable, as they're a schooling fish, and by all accounts they're very active and would need much more space.

People do keep bettas in tanks that small. Personally I wouldn't because you'd have problems with flow from the filter, and I don't even know if you can get a heater that would work in that small volume.

I went over to aqadvisor.com and stuck in some measurements that'd have a volume of 17l (12'x12'x7') and it spat out a list of what'd be doable: bettas, shrimp and African Dwarf Frogs. ADFs might actually be pretty good, provided you could get a suitable heater and filter, they're not terribly active but are hella-cute. If you don't intend to get a heater then your only option, I think, is snails. Maybe there are some species of cold water shrimp, but I don't know them.

Thats great info thanks, I think I might either try and save up for a larger tank for him or try the shrimps, not keen on frogs.
On a different note I was in a large brand pet shop earlier picking stuff up for my dog and thought I'd look at their fish. I was asked if I needed help so out of curiosity. Told him I had a 17ltr tank and wondered what I could put in it as I thought it would be too small for goldfish. Straightaway he told me I could put a couple of goldfish in no problem!

I think I need to find a reputable aquarium shop - any recommendations? I'm in Limerick.

Sleepy

By and large, ignore almost all advice you get in a pet store. They make more money if you keep fish badly because you end up having to buy medications and then new fish when that fails. I can't recommend any in Limerick, only good ones I'd know are Dublin based.

Second hand tanks are the way to go, check out adverts.ie. €50 should get you started and you'll often manage to get all the accessories you need with the tank

angeldaisy

Sleepy wrote: »

By and large, ignore almost all advice you get in a pet store. They make more money if you keep fish badly because you end up having to buy medications and then new fish when that fails. I can't recommend any in Limerick, only good ones I'd know are Dublin based.

Second hand tanks are the way to go, check out adverts.ie. €50 should get you started and you'll often manage to get all the accessories you need with the tank

Thanks - what size tank should I be looking for as a minimum?

Silverfish

The best thing to do would be decide what fish you'd like first, then get a tank to suit.

In the 17L I'd definitely only put shrimp in it, when I first saw shrimp I was a bit grossed out by them, but they grew on me and now I've two shrimp tanks. A small 50W heater will keep it warm enough for them, some nice dark gravel, some wood, some moss and some stones and it'll look lovely.

angeldaisy

I've since opened the box that contains the fish tank I was given and its this one;


Not sure how good that's going to look with shrimp in it??? Not to mention that the gravel I was given is a lovely bright blue mix!

After spending most of this afternoon reading through various threads on here, I think I need to do a lot more research before thinking about doing anything. I think I might even be better going down the tropical route - I always assumed coldwater would be easier than tropical but after reading a lot of the threads it doesn't seem like it

Silverfish

Oh, one of those

Death traps, I think of them as! Yeah, don't know what they can be used for really!

Tropical is definitely easier than coldwater, most coldwater fish grow huge and are a massive bioload, making it hard to keep water quality good. Tropicals generally produce less waste and there's more variety in the types of fish you can keep too.

campo

angeldaisy wrote: »

Thats great info thanks, I think I might either try and save up for a larger tank for him or try the shrimps, not keen on frogs.
On a different note I was in a large brand pet shop earlier picking stuff up for my dog and thought I'd look at their fish. I was asked if I needed help so out of curiosity. Told him I had a 17ltr tank and wondered what I could put in it as I thought it would be too small for goldfish. Straightaway he told me I could put a couple of goldfish in no problem!

I think I need to find a reputable aquarium shop - any recommendations? I'm in Limerick.

Stay away from petmania they give me some also advice when I was 1st starting, I go into Aquaworld which is based in castletroy next to superquinn ask for Kevin, He is a top guy and wont sell you something that you dont need or if he knows your tank is not suitable

kylith

I be inclined to use that as a terrarium rather than aquarium. If it were me I'd probably half fill it with soil and bung in some carnivorous plants.

Since it's for a little boy would you consider turning it into a habitat for some snails, or a stick insect or something? Snails would probably be perfect, if you're not too squeamish; they're free, easy to feed, and have a low chance of escaping very far.

CruelCoin

As a rule of thumb you want to avoid direct sunlight as this encourages algae.

If you want plants in it, make sure to ask your local fish/pet shop for easy growing plants for minimum hassle.

For a 15lt tank, you're looking at fish with a max length of 3cm (1 inch). Around 5-10 fish of this size is a good fit.

For this, maybe try Endlers lLivebearers, Neon Tetra, Cardinal Tetra, some small guppies, mollies, platys.

Don't forget to do your cycle before you stock the tank, see the sticky at the top of the forum for hints on cycling a new tank.

Good luck!