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Stocking Ideas!

4K views 42 replies 6 participants last post by  kfryman 
#1 ·
Okay so sometime soon, hopefully, I will get a 16 gallon tank that comes with a stand, for a low cost of free! It will be filtered by an Ehiem Pro 2232, rated for up to 35 gallons with 150 GPH or so. The substrate will be Carbisea Eco-Complete sand. It will have live plants but not heavily planted.

I am leaning to species that are from the same region so neon/cardinal tetras with cories. Any suitable stocking ideas are welcome. No betta I want something different.

My first idea was:
10-12 neons or 7-9 cardinals
5-6 peppered cories
honey/dwarf flame gourami (If bio-load permits)
 
#31 ·
A lot of those are darters (percidae) and minnows (cyprinidae --> like barbs, danio, and goldfish). Topminnow is another name for killifish (fundulidae). There are also some sunfish (centrarchidae) in there, too. The darters are the things that are going to stay smallest; they're also some of the prettiest. If you want more info on the individual fish you should just search their scientific name. There is a lot of info out there on them. There is also a wonderful forum devoted to keeping North American natives. NANFA Forum
 
#32 ·
I know a man who has sunfish. He had 8 of them, but one killed all of the others. o_O
 
#34 ·
A lot of the Lepomis sunfish are rather aggressive. They are the US equivalent of cichlids. They also get really large and need large tanks. They aren't called panfish for nothing! They do get frying pan-sized. But there are some species of sunfish that stay small-ish.

Are the darters all "coldwater" or could they live in tropical tanks? o-O
They are true coldwater fish and need temps ranging from 50F to 60F. I've been out collecting darters and MAN is that water cold. I always came back with completely numb fingers. I gashed my hand open once and didn't even notice it. But those are just Virginia darters. There might be one or two species that can survive around 75F.
 
#38 ·
#39 ·
On that forum Koimaiden gave me they put a fan over the top of the water and frozen water bottles. Much cheaper lol.

After looking at that I want to experiment with Kitty Litter for planting instead of dirt. Has so much clay so plants will grow crazy! You have to get litter that only has baked clay though. Maybe I will try it in my % gallon as I am thinking of redoing it sometime.
 
#40 ·
Yea, that's true, you'd have to watch it a lot more though I'm guessing. Those darters are pretty cool though :D
There's litter that's just baked clay? o-o
everything these days seems so fancy and scented. xD
 
#41 ·
I guess Walmart has some that is just clay... It is Walmart's brand, Special Kitty litter... Hope it doesn't have lead! Jk, a scientist on the forum did an analysis, not very much if any, I forgot lol.
 
#42 ·
Coolers can be pretty expensive. If you know someone who is handy you could ask them to make one from an old water fountain. I have to use some cooling techniques on my goldfish tank in the summer to keep it below 80F. I just leave the lid open and always have a fan going.

What species do you have your eye on kfryman?
 
#43 ·
I am not sure I need to find something small that will be fine in the 16 gallon. The daces seem quite nice. If I do decide on going with native species, I will need to research more though. That is if I do score to go down that path.
 
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