Fish collection for 16 gallon tank?

K

Kristina

New member
I'm interested in this tank: (16 gallons)
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754536#prodTab1

What is a good combination of fish that I could keep in this tank? (Not too many fish though).
Must be calm/peaceful fish, since I'm somewhat of a beginner,
and I have always been fascinated with those algae eaters ("sucker fish"/plecostomus)

Anything will probably help.
Thanks!!
 
This is what I would get:

* 1 Rubber mouth plecostomus (Regular ones will grow to long for the tank you have. Rubber mouths only grow to about 6 inches and can be found at Petsmart, usually)

* 1 gourami (I have always been a gourami man myself. They are easy to care for and they grow to be a nice size. They grow to about 4 inches.)

* 1 rainbow shark or 3 cory catfish (these will assist your plecostomus with its clean-up by eating leftover food from the gourami).

Good luck!
 
I don't like BiOrbs. They don't allow for the proper surface exchange of gasses and oxygen. Traditional rectangular tanks have a very good reason for being that shape, it wasn't just lack of imagination! You need as much surface area as possible for the built-up gasses in the water to dissipate, and for oxygen to enter the water.
These BiOrbs were created by someone who knew there were enough uninformed people out there that he could make a killing off of a tank shape that is really not a good design at all. It just looks neat. They're also outrageously expensive! Take the same amount of money, and you can buy an awesome, more traditional set-up.
Something else to think about. Any 16 gallon tank cannot house more than 16" of fish. That doesn't mean one 16" or even two 8" fish can live in it. Rather, it could house eight 2" fish. That is really limiting yourself. This tank is not nearly big enough for a Pleco, either.
If you are bent on this tank, you could try some Platies. They are pretty hardy and might survive. Guppies are another option. Get all one sex of either of these or you will soon be overwhelmed with fry.
Since you are a beginner, I urge you to go to a book store or library and get some beginner's books on aquarium keeping. There is a whole lot more to keeping fish than "just add water."
Aquarium keeping is a fun and relaxing hobby, if you put forth the effort to learn as much as possible before trying. Proper preparation will save the you the heartache of watching all your new fish die off because you made a crucial mistake.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
 
If you want to keep a few in your 16 gallon tank, do not get tropical fish! They are aggressive and eat other fish in your tank. They are also harder to take care of because they need warm waters and you have to deal with temperature and everything. I would recommend getting different species of goldfish. They are very calm and it's fun to watch them grow. For a 16 gallon tank, I would recommend about 5-6 fish, depending on how many you would actually like.

Good luck deciding :) Hope this helped! :)
 
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