# Stocking suggestions for my tropical freshwater tank!



## cove90 (Mar 21, 2012)

Hi guys,

Brand new to both this forum and the hobby of keeping fish..."Budding beginner" is definitely the right way to describe me!

I had a few tanks in my younger years, but nothing too serious. A few of my friends have wonderful set ups and over the passed couple years I have really taken an interest in having my own tank.

So I bit the bullet and bought the Fluval Edge 2 - 12 gallon (46 litre) capacity - Dimensions 43cm x 26cm x 44.8cm high (Sorry about the cm's...I'm aussie!)

I know it's not the biggest tank out there (far from it), but I needed a tank that was relatively small, and I felt it had a high aesthetic appeal.

The tank is already set up, and I'm going to run it as a Tropical Freshwater tank.

Image of my set up below!

I have done quite a bit of research and decided to do a fish less cycle. This will also give me time to decide on what fish i'm going to stock my tank with....and then once that's decided i'll spend some time researching the fish and their ideal parameters etc so I'm fully prepared.

So here comes the advice bit...*STOCKING SUGGESTIONS* - Again...Tropical freshwater...12 gallons/46 litres.

I want a well balanced tank with all levels being catered for (the tank is quite high so would be good for this purpose).

I also obviously want fish that will work well together, including similar preferences in water temp and parameters, aggression levels etc

I have a few set-ups in mind but I suppose I would just love to hear what sort of combinations people can come up with. Bright colours would really pop in my tank and I'd really like a couple different styles of fish (I don't just want a guppy farm or tetra's as far as the eye can see)..I'd prefer to have more of a central fish (or pair/shoal) that is "the star" and then maybe some supporting acts (being some small tetra's and a small clean up crew).

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated guys, 

Thanks!


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## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

Welcome to the forum, and as for as community fish go I am not much help in that arena. I keep 2 oscars, a pleco and a synodontis catfish in my tank. Oscars are great 'star of the tank' fish but can be very hard to find tankmates for.

EDIT: after re reading this post I realized that it might have seemed like I was recommending oscars for this tank, that is not the case. Oscars can grow to very large sizes (15"+) and would not do very well at all in this tank.


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## cove90 (Mar 21, 2012)

I really love dwarf cichlids. I know they would be more work than something like a dwar gourami but I think they would be worth it. Obviously German blue rams would be A: way too cramped (unless I got a single fish on it's lonesome..it which case it probably wouldn't be too happy) and B: difficult for beginners. There is Bolivian rams but same issue with size.

What are everyones thoughts on perhaps a breeding pair of smaller dwarf cichlids such as apistogramma borelli or maybe badis badis? I hear they don't mind small tanks (especially in pairs) and are far more docile than most other cichlids.


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## LaurenK (Mar 18, 2012)

You could do a Dwarf Gourami, five small schooling fish like the glowlight tetras and then add maybe 3-4 panda cories. 

Is the tank just going to be a freshwater fish tank or do you have plans to make it a planted tank?

Your tank decor is really neat.


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## cove90 (Mar 21, 2012)

Thanks Lauren 
I think I may leave this tank just as is (with maybe some small addition of moss or something similar). The fluval edge is a bit hard to maintain with live plants as there is only a small opening at the top of the tank and I feel this would make the cleaning process of little pieces of plant very hard!

Also I'm planning on getting a much larger tank to do up with a lot of live plants soon.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Scarlet badis would look good in there, you can probably have 6 to 8 of them as small as they are, that way you might just get a female. They are really hard to come by.


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## z1200 (Jan 26, 2012)

Livebearers!


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

There are a few ideas for stocking a 10 gallon here:
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f2/stocking-10-gallon-tank-11742.html
Most of them are for single fish or a single school but being a 12 gallon you might be able to do a centerpiece fish and a small school.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

That's a Chinese/Asian decor, so why not Asian fish? Keep it on theme!
White clouds, small Rasboras or Bororas as your out and about fish, and sparkling gouramis, or Badis on the bottom. A tall 12 gallon/46 litre unfortunately will hold many fewer fish than a low one - gallons/litres don't matter as much as surface area/footprint. There aren't many fish that swim up and down, and oxygen exchanges at the surface. 
If you can get hold of sparkling gouramis (pumilis), they are tiny and colourful, peaceful and hardy. A tiny fish will make a small tank look bigger, while being able to behave more naturally and while not taxing the filtration/water change schedule. 
Little rasboras (heteromorpha/hengeli/espei) would look great, and the really little rasboras of the Boraras/Microrasbora group are in the trade again and would be fantastic.
You could have four or five sparkling gouramis and half a dozen Microrasbora or Bororas, or two small Colisa gouramis and 4 larger rasbora, or a betta and four rasboras. 
It could be a beautiful micro-fish tank, depending on what is available in Australia. I know your import controls are fierce, but you aren't too far from the sources of the little Asian gems we don't see much in North America.

You could also go Australian - get a couple of blue eyes or some Iriatherina werneri threadfin rainbows. If I were Australian, I'd be an Australian fish nut. There's a group, ANGFA, that give out great info on Australian and New Guinea fishes. There are some small beauties swimming around there - people pay good prices for them if they get to Canada or the US.


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## clep.berry (Mar 4, 2012)

Hmm lots of things I disagree with in posts above but I'm new here so take things at face value.
I don't think that's a nice setup for dwarf gourami - they like surface plants to hide under.
Danios need horizontal space to swim - this tank has a small footprint.
For Cory again the footprint is quite small for a nice group of 4-5 - doable though.
It's not that it isn't a nice tank - beautiful really but I think it's suited to a breeding pair of Betta if you add some floating lilies to the top. There are many varieties- I've only had the splendens though.
Maybe those with the corys. Cory are some of the nicest fish to watch.
cb


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## cove90 (Mar 21, 2012)

Hi guys just thought I'd give a quick update - 

I got a trio (1 x m 2 x F) of Egyptian mouthbrooders. They are hardy little cichlids and their mating routine is fascinating...one of the females has already laid eggs! 

In terms of the tank itself, I removed the fake plants and added a row of live plants, it still looks great with the bamboo peaking through and provides a safer environment for the mouthbrooders. I also removed the lions and added a couple small caves (hollow rocks). 

I am still doing daily water checks...just to be on the safe side..amm and nitrite 0 after a week with the fish in the tank.
The fish appear to be thriving!


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Wooo I like them. You are going to get overrun with babies pretty quickly!


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