[accordztech]

While my tank is cycling im thinking of what fish to include in my 12 gallon NANO. The tank will be planted medium to heavy.

I have a single male betta

How would all these guys act together (im not getting them all, just want a variation). I had schooling fish before, I sucessfully kept neon tetras but I don tknow if i want to go THAT boring again, i want a variety this time.

Platy
Corydoras (more than 1)
Shrimp kinda want a cherry or bamboo shrimp
Bumblebee goby
Sparkling gourami
otto (more than 1) or saiamese algae eater

I Been reading and i hear that gourami's dont mix to well with betas. enlighten me.

I would really like pencil fish, but they have to be schoold.....or do they?

I like small fish

any suggustions id appreciate. Im going to attempt to overstock this tank but thats later in the future. I know i want a cleanup crew for sure.

 

[SearunSimpson]

SAE's are too active, and will get too big, and eventually semi agressive once older and they slack off with age in regards to algae (if I'm wrong, correct me cause I get them and CAE's mixed up all the time).
The corries are a good idea, i'd shoot for about 6 or so for a 12gl.

Also, I would not even suggest or support overstocking a tank of this size- ever. 12gls is the empty volume of water.

Most tetras, pencils, rasboras, etc are schooling fish, and this is hardly attainable in a tank of '12gls', unless you went for the microrasboras, like B. Merah, B. Maculatus, etc.

Bettas and Gouramis generally don't do too well, both are Anabantids, and usually inhabit the same water zones, and the male betta will sometimes mistake it for another male betta.

Some tetra species, like neons/cards can be nippy, same with pencils. This can fair damaging for a bettas flowy fins.

I would do alot more research on fish first before stocking. Pick a fish you like, and research it.

Ask these questions:
-Minimum tank size (remember, 12gl tank is 12gl's when empty).
-What zone it swims in
-dietary needs
-water requirements (pH, temp, etc)
-compatibility

I know that sounds like alot, but alot of fish from the same regions all have the same requirements so its not too bad to do a little research. Also, Bettas do not like heavy flow/current- keep that in mind.

 

[wendyjo]

Yeah why would you want to overstock such a small tank?

I would go with the betta, maybe 4 albino cories (for color contrast unless your substrate is white or beige) and maybe 2 otos. Otos do MUCH better in an established tank so I'd wait about 3 or 4 months until after the tank has cycled to add them. I'd probably also ask around here and see if you can get one or two nerite snails - they do great with algae.

 

[accordztech]

My substrate will be black florite.

Platy
Corydoras (more than 1)
Shrimp kinda want a cherry or bamboo shrimp
Bumblebee goby
[STRIKE]Sparkling gourami[/STRIKE]
otto (more than 1) [STRIKE] saiamese algae eater[/STRIKE]

Thanks for the info, I had luck with neon tetras and bettas. I know from experiance most other species of tetras are more fin nippers.

I dont know why I want to over stock, I like a busy tank. Ill take it easy, thanks.

how about the bumblebee, shrimps, and platy? Im not adding all of them just looking to see. Thanks for the advice, ill do more homework on it tonight.

 

[wendyjo]

Just keep in mind that corys prefer to be in larger groups. If you have 4 corys, 1 betta and the otos you are pretty well fully stocked. If you can't do a group of corys then please don't get any.

 

[Postal Penguin]

If you want a busy tank, get busy fish, not more fish. Since your tank will be planted it affords you the ability to have a few more fish, but you still have to consider swimming space.

Platys are busy fish, however, they breed like mad. They also generate a lot of waste.

Corys like to be in groups of >6 so your best bet for cories would be the pygmy type.

Shrimp generate little waste so you can get away with quite a few of them. However, I have heard some people have had their bettas attack shrimp but I haven't personally mixed them.

 

[Superedwin]

Well you better not get bumble bee goby, since they live in brackish water. If u decide to get cherry shrimp make sure you have lots of plants, since some of those fish will try to get a quick snack out of them.( Bamboo shrimp are big enough to not get eaten though. Also, platies breed a lot , so there will be a lot of fry( especially if you have males and females together). Just do some more research and then you will find out which one you want.

 

[SvenBoogie]

Bamboo shrimp are large, and rather difficult to care for. Before you decide to get one, make sure you're familiar with whats required to properly feed them...

 

[SearunSimpson]

Also, I believe bamboo shrimp are filter feeders, as opposed to the more scavinous dwarf shrimp. This require they have a fair amount of flow for them to use their 'fans' for catching food particles....which is unsuitable for the betta.