Stocking a 6g

[locojay]

Let me start by saying this isn't for me. I have a cousin whose had a 6g for probably a couple years now and has gone thru fish on a regular basis because she just puts in whatever looks good, the last victim was a bala shark that only lived one month. She's now interested in properly stocking the tank. I'm trying to get her to upgrade to a 20g, if she wants to get serious about fishkeeping. We'll see how that goes.

But just incase she stays determined to keep the 6g, can I get some suggestions on a stocking list for this thing? It has a HOB filter and a heater.

The tank is really for her son. It resides in his bedroom. I'm basically hoping to get some ideas, take the boy to the lfs, give him his options and let him pick. Although I'm sure those options will be very limited.

[emc7]

One betta or some Heterandia Formosa

[Zoe]

I'd go with a betta... They are pretty, impressive and relatively easy to care for.

[locojay]

Sorry, I forgot to mention the betta was the first and only suggestion I could come up with and it was refused. That was why I started trying to talk her into the 20, I can't even think of what to put in a 6. The only thing I could think of was maybe a couple shrimp.

I'm going to look up that Heterandia Formosa.

[Puffer Pita]

Couple of red claw crabs or some African dwarf frogs?

[JustOneMore20]

If you can find them, maybe 3-5 Male Endlers. They are quite colorful. I would get only males though, as they are livebearers.

Or maybe a trio of male fancy guppies.

You really are limited in a 6g. Try to talk her into upgrading...then she would have alot more choices.

[joe kool]

depending on the lighting some ricca, java fern, and cherry red shrimp. On a side not though IF you talk them into a bigger tank the 5 gal would work for a fry tank. I've got a 6 (regency or marinland light filter everything built into the top sorta thing) that I adopted from someone that I talked into a bigger tank and I use it for fry which works well becouse the bio-load starts real low and with a 8W full spectrum flourescent it grows algae decently too so it's free foor for the fry . As they grow the tank stays pretty stable untill they start closing in on the 1/4" range depending on how many fry are in there.

[locojay]

I know the crabs need brackish water, but what about the ADF's? They got any special needs?

Thanks for the info. I'm going to pass it on and we'll see what happens, I'll let you guys know.

I do hope she goes to the 20. I think they will enjoy it a lot more.

[Zoe]

ADFs are a little troublesome to feed (they need bloodworms and they need them like right in front of them).

Encourage them to get the 20gal, definitely.

[Puffer Pita]

No special needs for ADFs. They like cooler water, so a heater isn't usually needed. They eat meats like frozen bloodworms. They are very peaceful, very active and VERY silly. Lots of fun to watch, especially when they get their "zen" on.

The crabs do need marine salt in their water but its not critical how much. I just put a couple of tablespoons for a 3g Eclipse tank. They just need a place to crawl out of the water, like a piece of driftwood sticking up, and make sure there's not the smallest hole they can crawl out of. Still haven't found the body of the one that escaped through the hole in the back of the hood where the wires come out, which has since been duct taped.

[Puffer Pita]

Originally Posted by Zoe

ADFs are a little troublesome to feed (they need bloodworms and they need them like right in front of them).

I disagree with this. I have ADFs in two different tanks and have never had a problem feeding them. Yes, they have bad eyes but they have great noses. I just drop some frozen bloodworms anywhere in the tank and within a minute, they're happily munching away. Any frozen meaty food that's small enough is good. Mine also get frozen mysis shrimp.

[Zoe]

You're lucky! The one I had needed his food presented to him. Perhaps he had problems, or I do, he only lived about 8 months.

[locojay]

Since we're talking about the ADF, I've been thinking about adding maybe 3 or 4 of these guys to my 10g with my neons. The final stocking for this tank would be 6 neons and the frogs. Would this be ok?

[Puffer Pita]

I personally wouldn't put them in with neons or any other quick moving fish. The problem there is that the ADFs are likely to not get enough food, as they are quite a bit slower. I have mine with bettas, which is a popular combination. The bettas are slower moving and don't scarf up all the food before the ADFs can get to it.

[Damon]

Why not just get 5 white clouds?

[Zoe]

I would think that the white clouds will need more swimming space than a 6 gallon can provide

[Puffer Pita]

White clouds would work. Mine tend to be more hovers than active swimmers. They sort of meander. Wouldn't even need the heater since they prefer cooler water. If you can find them, the gold white clouds are even more flashy than the regular ones.

[joe kool]

Originally Posted by Boxermom

White clouds would work. Mine tend to be more hovers than active swimmers. They sort of meander. Wouldn't even need the heater since they prefer cooler water. If you can find them, the gold white clouds are even more flashy than the regular ones.

How much current is in your tank? With no current they'll think they are in a dead zone or cove and they will sit pretty still. They are river/stream fish and they do like to swim about given a good current like big power head or a bigger HOB filter. Danios will do pretty much the same thing. I keep giant danios as dither fish with my africans but they are extreamly fast adn not very good dither fish ... and they can get kinda aggressive to boot at times with some of the milder tangs. They will sit in the egdes of the tank for a while then go play in the spray bar and haul @$$ around the tank then go sit on the edges.

[Puffer Pita]

I have a canister filter rated for a higher tank, and a spray bar. There's quite a lot of current.

[locojay]

Well I brought up pics of every critter mentioned in this thread and presented them and none were accepted. She wants bigger fish but doesn't want to spend the money on the tank. I tried, and I'll keep dropping my 2cents when I can. Thanks for helping. I'm hoping that as my tanks develop and they see them when they visit, it will lend some motivation.