What can I keep...

[ButWhyIsTheGinGone]

in a 50 litre tropical tank?
I've been given a 50 litre tropical tank by a kind parent of one of my pupils and would like to set it up in the classroom. It has a decent filter, the temperature is 23 degrees and it's currently doing a fishless cycle. I actually won't be stocking it until August but am not sure what to put in.

I like Neons and may get some of those. I also like the look of Clown loaches and Pets at Home (not to be trusted, I ve found out) seem to think I could have some Neons and a clown loach. Howver my reading online suggests the loaches will get too big and also prefer to be in groups. Hmm.

So, anyone got any ideas what I could keep?

TIA!

[thisisyesterday]

tetras are great, they look pretty and you could have a nice little shoal in there

i think you need to be careful with water hardness with tetras though iirc... they prefer soft water

you could have some snails at the bottom, you can get some amazing ones.

do you ahve real plants or fake ones? what is on the bottom, sand or gravel?

we have assassin snails in our tank, originally to deal with our pest snails, but they're all gone now so the assassins have to survive on fish food instead, they seem to be happy enough and breeding but it's amazing to see them hunting and eating other snails! they like a sandy bottom to burrow into though

[EauRouge]

50 litres is pretty small so limits your options a bit!

Pets at Home are talking out of their rear ends (as usual) about clown loaches, they grow to nearly a foot long and they live 40 years so a long term responsibility! Good thing you did your own reading up.

There are some small tetras that you could just about squeeze in a 50 litre tank but thisisyesterday is right that they need soft, acidic water. Do you know what kind of water you have?

A fishless cycle is the best way to start so you shouldn't get any of the problems normally associated with a new set up. Just keep an eye on the readings when you first stock.

If your water is hard and alkaline then you could consider endlers, they are very bright and small but I would get a male-only shoal because they breed like crazy. Male guppies are also a possibility for hard water but you could only get about 6 for a 50 litre tank. You might have to go to a proper aquatic store to find endlers, I would avoid Pets at Home anyway. Fish experts can tell when a fish is sick and they won't sell it to you!

HTH a bit.

[ButWhyIsTheGinGone]

AAGH - I replied to this thread days ago but now I've returned it's not here. Damn! Thank you both for your ideas anyway. I have neons in my own tank at home so whatever type of water we have seems to be ok for them. Annoyingly, I'm having to treat the tank for white spot at the moment, so plans for further stocking have been put on hold.

As for the school tank, I think I will go with Neons - the kids will love them - and perhaps a snail or two! Would Gouramis or a molly be an option in a 50l tank?

[EauRouge]

I'd just stick with a small shoal of neons then, that's about as much as the tank will take. You could get 6 in there but I'd leave it at that.

[EauRouge]

Wait, which tank are you treating for white spot?

[ButWhyIsTheGinGone]

My tropical one at home. I know I sound like some nutty fish-woman but I have responsibility for 5 tanks!
The white spot is affecting one tetra - I would never add new fish to a tank with an infection.

[EauRouge]

Well if you're a nutty fish woman then so am I I used to have 5 tanks at one point when I was breeding fish but then I started breeding people instead and I had to down-grade.

Hope your tetra gets better soon.