Novice: Is this a ok community?

[Honeydragon]

My cycle is at a end, the water is ready to go.

I have 30l tank and we are considering:

4 boy guppies

1 either Apple or Zebra snail

1 cherry shrimp

Is this ok?

What plants will I need to keep them happy?

Anyone got any better ideas?

Thank you, all advice welcome.

Hmm, well the things you have picked are compatible with each other but 30 litres is not big enough :( Is there any chance you could take the tank back and swap it for something bigger? 60 litres is fine for a species tank if you only wanted 6-8 guppies but if you wanted more than one species then you'd need a bigger tank.

Have a read of this about buying a tank.

If you can't take the tank back then a community of a few cherry shrimp and a zebra snail (apple snails get MASSIVE and poo loads) would do fine in a 30 litre tank but you'd have to keep an eye on the nitrAte level because shrimp can be pretty sensitive.

Shrimp do like real plants, something simple like a few cryptocrynes will stay small and only need low lighting levels. A couple of moss balls would be appreciated too!

Hope that helps a bit.

Thanks so much eau, I was conned into buying the tank a while ago by being told it was adaquate for goldfish , am wiser now. It is for ds really so I want to make sure I keep to well within the confines of the tank we have. I don't mind regularly testing the water etc and have some moss balls too.

I found out about Zebra snails yesterday and thought that might be more suitable, I didn't realise how big Apple snails got

I think ds and the family would enjoy shrimp and zebra snails , so we will look into that.

I asked for advice at WOW and they said the tank was fine for at least 6-8 Guppies and they suggested a couple of tetras too. I wasn't sure so thought I'd post here for advice too, thank you.

No worries, hope you enjoy your shrimp tank :) I had one a while ago, they are great fun to watch and the babies are super-cute.

Oh and don't forget to check how hard your water is, shrimp and snails both need water on the hard/alkaline side of neutral. Snails especially can have problems if the water is too soft and acidic, they need a high mineral content to keep their shell in good nick.

Will do

We are off this Sunday to take DS to "choose"!

Ahem went to proper fish specialist for our shrimp and snails, got water tested - explained we had had wanted 4 Guppies but tank not big enough. Man asked what tank we had, I pointed it out. He laughed and said it was plenty big enough. Turns out I can't convert gallons properly and its 60l.

I still work in old money as well. So your tank is around 2ft? Yes, plenty of room for some guppies, you could get 6 guppies AND a couple of nerite snails. How's the water, all set for fish?

Yes all good. We introduced the Guppies first (4) and then waited 10 days and have just added two teeny zebras and two teeny shrimps. That is it, no more.

One of the guppies died after 3 days and got all eaten up overnight so hoovered the substrate, but no ammonia spikes from any hidden corpse. Also took water to be tested and the store stated it wasn't murder on our part

Ds adores them, but I must admit we needed not have got the fish, we ALL adore the shrimp....I may never eat a prawn sandwich again , it smacks of genocide now.

Shrimp are ace aren't they? Keep a close eye on the other guppies, eating the dead can be risky in terms of disease so watch out for signs of bacterial infection- red streaks in fins, hollow stomachs, faded colours, generally looking a bit rubbish.

Ooooh will keep a good eye on them, thankyou.