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i have a (i dont know what gallons you measure in so) 15.6 imperial gal 18.7 us gal tank not very big i know but it has lots of rocks fish and a few plant in but it look blank what can i do to make it better


p.s it has a background

Dont feel bad I confuse myself too
everyone loves the almighty spork queen

Hate to be hypercritical but good gramar makes it much easier to understand your problem.

What fish are currently in the tank?

Do you have a photo of the setup?

What do you want to do with it?

"A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man" Simpsons

sorry its very late in the uk at the moment

at the moment a have 6 harlequin rasboras, 3 pencilfish, 1 spiny eel, one butterfly fish, 1 golden panchax, 1 killifish, 2 emperor tetras, 2 female 1 male dwarf gouramis, 1 male guppy, 2 moonlight gouramis, 1 golden loach, 1 chinese sucking loach and 2 coolie loaches
Sorry i dont have a picture

i dont know what you mean by the las question

Dont feel bad I confuse myself too
everyone loves the almighty spork queen

Ok, you are overstocked. Are you sure its 18 gallons?

What type of spiny eel is it? Some species get very large.

You say 1 golden panchax and one kilifish, What type of killi? Golden panchax is a killi.

2 Emperor tetras would prefer a group of 4-6 dont think you have room though.

2 female, 1 male dwarf gourami possible issues here, they may fight.

I dont know much about loaches so I cant help you there.

You ask what to do to make it better, I ask what is your vision with the tank. Are you looking for a lush garden or a rocky bottom look? Its really up to you.

"A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man" Simpsons

You are really stocked & i cannot immagine that the tank looks bare,with all those fish.


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i know i am stocked my fish are helthy at the moment i cant put any more in though

What type of spiny eel is it?

i made sure of that it is the small one

Are you looking for a lush garden or a rocky bottom look?

kind of a natural looking green tank the emperor tetras have been in a pair for a long time but because al the fish they are near are peaceful they are quite happy as they are

what is your vision with the tank?

if you mean how do i see it basically from the front
if you mean what light it has a fitted light so i can see everything

i cannot immagine that the tank looks bare,with all those fish.

its not with the lack of fish but the scenery that looks bare

Dont feel bad I confuse myself too
everyone loves the almighty spork queen

Craig

The only way to solve your problem is to post several photos of your tank.

Some things I dont think you have fully though about.
The actual water content of your tank is far less when you add all rocks and substrate. Saying that your are well over stocked.

All those fish will get bigger and again create more problems.

What type of filtration, depth and type of substrate also type and size of airation do you have?

To make it look better does not always mean more rocks, plants, and driftwood.

It is how they are placed to give an appealing appearance.

Even one rock placed corectly with correct plants it could easly be a winner in any aquscape contest. More does not always mean better.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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at the moment a have 6 harlequin rasboras, 3 pencilfish, 1 spiny eel, one butterfly fish, 1 golden panchax, 1 killifish, 2 emperor tetras, 2 female 1 male dwarf gouramis, 1 male guppy, 2 moonlight gouramis, 1 golden loach, 1 chinese sucking loach and 2 coolie loaches

Sorry but i think you are VERY overstocked here
Fish such as the spiny eel need a lot bigger tanks than that,
your tetras and harlies are schoolers, so at least 6 for them, i think you have too many gouramis, and moonbeams will outgrow the tank. the CAE will grow too big and attack other fish. Kuhlis need to be in schools too, and guppies like company. i know nothing about killies.

If i were you i would do
1 Male Dwarf Gourami
10 Harlies
4 Kuhlis

All fish prefur different environments, and you have a REALLY big range in there.

the thing about the guppy tertras and harlequins is they have formed there own groupthe gouramis all get along fine and if the fish grow too big i will take them back to the shop to be sold to another tank owner the tetras were taken out of a tank much larger with much larger fish so they are actually quite happy actually

Dont feel bad I confuse myself too
everyone loves the almighty spork queen

craig,
The fish cant possibly be happy in that setup. I would suggest either get a larger tank or return some of the fish now. Otherwise they will become extremely stunted and eventually die. BNF's suggestion is a very good idea.



"A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man" Simpsons

The fish also wont get big if you leave them in this setup, and there are sure to be some fatalities. Your very scattered with your tank ideas. I think you need to pick one or two kinds of fish that you really like and find scenery to compliment there needs. Also, most of your fish require tanks that are much larget then 18 g, the spiney eel, for example would be much happier in a 55g setup, the loaches would do better in a bigger setup as well. I think you would be happy with this:

6x rosaboras
6x emperor tetras
6x cories

And putting in several green plants with perhaps some darker color gravel? That would look quite nice.

Inky

I have to agree with what everyone is telling you. The tank is extremely overstocked. The fish can't possibly be happy. To keep all of those fish, keeping in mind their potential sizes, you should really upgrade to atleast a 55g, if not larger.

Tetras like to school. They may seem happy now, but would prefer a few more friends of their own type. I think pencilfish also like groups.

The spiny eel...according to the profile on this site, can reach 15.7 inches. That is huge. It really IMO should be in a 75g...to be happy.

One moonlight gourami would be fine alone as a centerpiece fish...but not 2 and not with 3 dwarf gouramis...in an 18g tank.

One killi may be fine with the tetras, rasboras, and the one moonlight gourami...but only one.

Loaches like the company of their own kind. If you chinese sucking loach is a CAE, then I would return it. They get about 12 inches long and get aggressive as they age. They may try to suck the slime coat off your other fish and kill them. Coolies would appreciate having friends.

If by golden loach you mean golden dojo loach...they can get almost 10 inches long. Way too big for an 18g tank. They would also like some company.

I suggest keeping:
6 rasboras
6 emporer tetras (add 4 more to the 2 you have)
1 moonlight gourami
1 killi
4-5 Coolie loaches

Plant the tank heavily, use a filter rated for atleast twice your tank size. You will still be overstocked with that list...but it is 10 times better than what you have now.

Take the rest of the fish to the LFS. If you don't want to do that then I suggest investing in a larger tank. Preferably 75g for the fish you have and the ones you would need to add.

Think about the fish here. They may seem happy, but they can't be in such cramped spaces. If you don't have problems now, you will eventually when these fish grow. Like others said, they won't grow to their potential size because they will be stunted. Stunting can cause the fish to die...which obviously isn't something you want.


*Kristin*