# What can you keep in small fish tanks ???



## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

Hi guys,

i am total newb in this,sorry in advance if my question seems silly 

My question is,what type of fish can you keep in small fish tanks (20-25 liters)??? 

On eBay i see so many fish tanks in this size,which would be perfect for my boys bedroom .

But ... ive been reading that its too small for 2 goldfish to be happy,so i was thinking about "Cardinal tetras",they are very small,but when i started reading about them,understood that they are fast swimmers and need more space than this .

So what type of fish (2 of them) would be happy in 20-25 liter aquarium ?

Thank you


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## sallyBean12 (Jun 4, 2011)

hi there i set up a 90 liter aqurium and the most easy fish i found was guppys but do be warned they do breed. the other fish i recomend is three bronze corydoras but they dont move much they stay very still dependent on age.
glad i could help anyway good luck


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## Rohkey (Apr 25, 2011)

Nearly all small fish like to be in groups and will be very timid and stressed if kept alone or with only 1 or 2 other fish of their kind and a 20-25L tank is too small for a group of any of these small fish. When you look at the size of these, you'll see why.

Larger tanks are easier to take care of and allow (obviously) a lot more options in terms of what you can stock it with, but if you are really set on having a smaller tank (since you did say there were a lot of them on eBay and it was for your boy's room where there might not be a lot of room) a male betta is a good fish for a small tank. They are unfortunately usually held in extremely small cups/bowls at the pet store and this gives people the idea that they should be kept in something so small, but in reality they would appreciate a larger home just like any fish would.

Goldfish can get big and produce a lot of waste and thus should not be kept in such a small tank.

Another option are African Dwarf Frogs. You can put 2 or 3 of these fellas along with a few shrimp in the tank and they are great fun to watch and easy to take care of as long as you purchase healthy ones.


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## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

Thank you for your help 
Guppys are very pretty ! Think i will get 2 of them for my boys


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## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

Just seen your post Rohkey .

Thank you for taking time to post this very useful information .

So basically these small fish tanks are not recommended for fish . Last thing i need is for fish to die if it gets ill , my boys would be very upset.

Will offer them African Dwarf Frogs and shrimp then . Do you think 2 of each (4 in total) would be happy living in 25 liter tank ?


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## Rohkey (Apr 25, 2011)

sondre said:


> Just seen your post Rohkey .
> 
> Thank you for taking time to post this very useful information .
> 
> ...


Yeah smaller tanks are really good as quarantine tanks or raising babies, but in reality shouldn't be used as permanent homes for groups if fish if you take their health and happiness into consideration.

I'd like to mention that you could perhaps do 4-6 guppies if you went for a 10 gallon (38L) , but unless you had all males or females you'd end up with fry and would have to accommodate them in another tank to avoid having them get eaten (which could also upset your boys, I know it would have upset me at a young age).

Two frogs and two shrimp would be fine for a 5.5G (21L) tank in my opinion. A few things to look out for though is try to get two larger shrimp (about an inch or so long) so the frogs don't go after them. Dwarf frogs are pretty docile but could potentially look to attack the shrimp in a smaller tank. Provide some hiding places for shrimp and try to get equal sized shrimp that won't harass each other as well. Lastly if you can, buy the frogs from a fish store and not a petstore to ensure they are healthy and make sure you are buying Dwarf Frogs and not Clawed Frogs, who eventually become bigger and meaner than the Dwarfs (some stores put Clawed and Dwarf frogs together and label them "aquatic frogs.") The easiest way to tell the difference is that Clawed frogs have autonomous digits in their front legs whereas Dwarf frogs have webbing on all four feet.

Best of luck and let us know what you ultimately decide to do as everyone here will be more than happy to help!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If you are a newb, like you say, you'll have much more trouble with this tank than you would one of 80l size or larger. Small tanks are tough to keep, and really small tanks are even worse. It is different if you plan on 1 fish, but when you plan to put all it can hold it is just a matter of time before trouble hits...and being new to keeping this tank healthy will make it that much harder.


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## scooterlady (May 10, 2011)

A male Betta would be a good fish for a small tank. I had one in a tank about your size for 2 years. He was a real character too...lot's of personality.


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## Lil Gashog (Dec 1, 2010)

If you go to petsmart they have aquatic crabs red clawed crabs all they need is low water and something to climb on to get out of the water,really entertaining,you can feed them flakes,fruits,I fed mine live crickets it was very fun to watch (not for the cricket) but are really entertaining.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

A male betta would do fine in a small tank but anything smaller will be too little.They do move around quite a bit.I suggest if you do decide on a betta,you plant his tank so his water will be more stable,get an adjustable heater to keep him at a constant temp,and place a cave(terra cotta pots are very popular for bettas)for him to hide.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

A Betta would be best as others have mentioned. He will LOVE live plants and a heater.

If you do go with the ADF's, the _general_ rule is 1 gallon per frog, so 2 frogs would fit. And 2 Amano shrimp would fit as well. (Some people have said their frogs ate their shrimp, but I've got 2 ADF's and 20+ Cherry shrimp and so far the frogs haven't eaten any).


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## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

Hi guys,

THANK YOU SO MUCH for all help , you are so friendly and helpful ! Cant believe there is no charge to join this forum 

So... after all your sugestions i decided to get a bigger aquarium . 
I just bought second hand "Juwel Korall 60" , 54 liters (approx. 14 US gallons).
Internal Filter - Juwel Bioflow Mini 280 - 280 liters an hour 
Light - Juwel tube Daylite T8 fluorescent , 15 watts
The seller also including 50 watt heater and c02 system.

Wanted to ask you guys if thats all i need ? 
Do i need some kind of thermometer to monitor the temperature ? If i do need one,which ones would you recommend ?

Aquarium will be picked up tomorrow evening . Will have to set it up. 
I do want to plant some real/live plants in it , can i use gravel ? or do i need sand or something else ?


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## Rohkey (Apr 25, 2011)

You can buy an inexpensive thermometer that you stick onto the outside the tank for a couple bucks that'll do just fine. If you want more accuracy you can buy two of them of the same type and stick them on opposite sides of the tank of get two of different types and put them near each other. When I bought my tank (used) it already had one on it but I purchased another just be to safe and they are off by about two degrees despite being in a similar spot on the glass, so I usually aim for a temperature somewhere in between.

Live plants are a great addition and there are many times that will do just fine in gravel and under low lighting but I'm not really privy to the different species of plants. I have a handful of Anubias that I purchased from Petsmart that are doing fine and they are slow growing, low maintenance plants that (from what I've read) don't even utilize the gravel that much - they can anchor themselves to a rock or whatnot and be just fine. Other plants like Java Moss/Anacharis/Amazon Swords are good...I think some of those three prefer not to be in gravel but can do just fine if given supplemental nutrition via root tabs, CO2, liquid fertilizer, etc.

If the CO2 system you have works, you should probably utilize it..but I know little about those. A lot of plants will grow incredibly rapid if in a tank with a working CO2 system.


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## bruceaction (Dec 24, 2010)

Greetings sondra,,well lots of advice ther and god advice to. this what I have and doing very nicely aswell
I have 12 tanks fresh water,,range from 9 - 12 liters..gravek base 2cn beep.. live plants,some rocks,,small rocks ,,seee my pictures under members pics. 
I have 8 gupies,,very cute,,yes they breed,,I change water twice a week. you need to watch water temp,is the same as in the tank,,you syphen off the bottom third of water,not the top..as the bottom water is deteritating,,replace with aged water,
My fish live actively and happily,,set the example for you boys,,they will love you for this experince,,,as for the baby fry,,catch what you can ,frezze in a small container.


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## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

wow,nice to hear that your fish live hapilly in small tanks 

i still havent filled my tank,cos i got no idea where to get ammonia for fishless cycling . 

read on here that some people use prawns for that , but not sure if my plants will be ok with that . (and cant do silent cycling,cos not enough plants) .


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