# Fish for a 28 litre tank



## JayB

Hi everybody I am looking to buy fish for my family. After some research I realized that I had all the misconceptions of goldfish being small fish needing just some food and a clean tank but obviously thats wrong. So I have a 28 litre tank but I don't really know what type of fish that I can use If the tank water is at room temperature and also can people advise me on what type of filter and other things I need. I already have a dog and a horsfield tortoise so I can look after them lol.


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## RubyRoo12

:2thumb: well done on researching the true needs of the goldies. Im not sure what type of filter to recomend, but there are a lot of small size ones out there. Have you looked at white cloud mountain minnows? They are very pretty small fish and you could have a few of those,add some live pond weed too to help keep water quality up between weekly partial changes. Or add a small heater and there are the options of siamese fighters (1 per tank) or even set it up as a planted shrimp tank. At 28L it is very small for fish, but a few small fish as long as you keep on top of the partial water changes weekly should be ok with a proper filter on the go too of course.


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## LawrenceJMitchell

Hi I have a similar sized tank.......
Set up as follows........
Black sand, thin bits of twig/root like bog wood, lots of cryptocorn, floating plants.........fish are gold and regular Mountain Minnows........10 in total, Peppered Corydorus.......group of 6.
Got some Ammano Shrimps too.....
Also I keep plenty of dead oak leaves on the bottom......catfish love mingling through them and shrimps love eating them........
Regular water changes and three very small feeds per day.........and a pellet after lights out for the cats.......
If you have a Maidenhead Aquatic store near you, have a look at the cold water section.........usually have some vary in stock!
All the best


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## Esfa

I'd suggest getting a heater and having a tropical tank. Completely opens up your options. :2thumb: Your tank is very small so it limits your coldwater fish to white cloud mountain minnows or apple snails. 

Some tropical fish which can live in a 28 litre tank include:
Bettas
Bumblebee gobies
Pygmy corydoras
Sparkling gourami
Ottos
Ember tetras
Endlers

Other non-fish species include:
Dwarf shrimp/amano shrimp
African Dwarf frog


Obviously not all of these can live together. It's best to decide which fish you like the most and set the tank up around them. :2thumb:


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## JayB

Hi everybody after some research i have a few tanks in mind and im going to size up in my mum's kitchen and then i will work out the best one. However i have a few bigger options. From websites i think betta's are fighting fish (yes or no) ? I liked the idea of a Betta if i get a bigger tank can I keep more as I would like the idea of more than one fish lol theres me and my sister so one fish would not work lol. but thanks for the response

So in all what type of heater what is the ideal tank size not massive but not tiny lol and any more fish types lol thanks.


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## Fauna

Betta splendens are siamese fighting fish yes 

Never ever keep males together, you can have multiple females in groups of 5+ (not plus a male) but they do get on with a lot of community fish despite their name :2thumb: tetras, corys etc


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## JayB

I had done a little bit into bettas but on average how many litres or big a tank do you need for 5 fighting fish to live together obviously more is better but i don't have an infinite amount of space lol


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## JayB

and what is a nitrogen cycle ??


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## JayB

Is this tank ok for two bettas or not and if i could use this tank what smaller fishes could i use
http://www.seapets.co.uk/products/a...arium/fluval-spec-aquarium-white10-litre.html


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## Fauna

10 litres is too small for any fish, it would be great for shrimp though!

I do not recommend keeping only two* female* fighters together, one will become dominant and bully the other but in groups aggression is spread out. *Males* will fight to the death regardless of number and must be kept singly. 

5 females would work nicely in a 60l aquarium 

A nitrogen cycle is very important, and I recommend you put a lot of research into understanding it but basically:



Fish constantly produce ammonia through waste products, and gill functions
This ammonia is *highly poisonous* to fish in even small concentrations
Bacteria is needed to break this down quickly into nitrite (with an I), this is also poisonous to fish
A second bacteria is needed to turn the nitrite into nitrate (with an A) which is much much less harmful until it builds up into high levels (above 80ppm)

So basically, it is important to have established bacteria in your aquarium and to know the levels of all three, a test kit is essential when looking after fish. Keep the water perfect, and the fish will be healthy! You want *0* ammonia and nitrite, and less than 40 nitrate ideally. If nitrate is 0 it usually indicates the tank is not cycled - cycling with fish can be cruel if you do not monitor levels so cycling without fish can be done but is lengthy.


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## JayB

After doing some further research i have realised that i will not have the space for a 60 litre tank in my house at the moment however ihave been looking at the marina 360 aqauarium with some serios thought as although I cannot keep bettas in this tank safely i could perhaps keep a school of smaller fish any ideas peeps sorry i keep asking but i have only ever kept goldfish and now i fell bad they were in a small tank with no filtration:bash:


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## Fauna

The marina 360 aquarium is only 10 litres and cylindrical, offering no swimming space and not a great enough volume for waste dilution for any fish. A school of smaller fish require much more space I'm afraid.

If you cannot provide space for at least a 40l aquarium, I wouldn't bother getting into fish just yet as you are very limited and likely to not succeed. It may sound harsh, but nano tanks (anything under 40l) are not recommended for beginners who haven't had the practise maintaining levels in a more forgiving environment i.e. a larger tank. I would hate for you to end up spending all this money (nano tanks are often more expensive!) and end up with unhealthy, or possibly flat out dead fish. 

Fish are not like other creatures - they live in their own filth! They have not needed to adapt past this, and past producing ammonia because in the wild they live in such large expanses of water that stop it ever becoming a problem. We cram them into home aquariums, which are really never going to be 'big enough' compared to the wild - but there are minimums and guidelines which, if followed, will allow you to keep healthy fish.


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## cjd12345

Good advice above from Fauna. A 10l tank shouldn't be called a fish tank because it is too small to keep any fish in. I know there are experienced aquarists that keep nano tanks, but the smaller the volume of water the more difficult it is, and 10l is silly small. 
Forty litres is widely quoted as being the smallest aquarium you can keep healthy fish in, I wouldn't bother with anything less than 60l. Shops must love selling small tanks to beginners who want to start small, sell an overpriced nano tank, sell too many fish for the size of the tank, sell more fish to the keeper a few weeks later when the original fish are dead.


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## philo

I would love a nano marine tank just to grow a single coral and maybe a shrimp but thats just me, I have seen tanks as small as 6 litres... its kinda ridiculous


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## Fauna

I would love a little marine shrimp tank too actually but for the money vs fishy gain I always go tropical! Plus the idea of hitchhikers creeps me out :blush:
Some aquarists are successful with tropical nanos I admit, but they are usually planted and maintained with externals and almost military precision.


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## AdamMC

Fauna said:


> Betta splendens are siamese fighting fish yes
> 
> Never ever keep males together, you can have multiple females in groups of 5+ (not plus a male) but they do get on with a lot of community fish despite their name :2thumb: tetras, corys etc


I agree I have 9 female and all get a long just fine plus they are really nice fish but as the guys said male should never be together I 6 male all in separate tanks and you are going to went a corydoras as they clean up a bit and do not grow that big aswell. Sunset platys are good aswell but they breed alot


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## JayB

And pets at home sell these to people and they assume that it is safe because a well recognised shop says it is terrible. but thank you for the advice I was thinking about this tank

Fish R Fun Rectangular Tank Black | The Range

I would buy a separate filtration system but what about the tank in general? and i like the corydoras alot any other small but colourful fish that arent messy like goldfish :lol2: and dont grow to big. 
Thanks


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## AdamMC

Koolie loach and weather loach do not grow that big and again they are cleaner fish
Then there are mollies come in all different colours and really hardy fish:2thumb::no1:


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## JayB

Hi thanks for the response the mollies look really good do you keep them do you think they would go well with corydoras ?


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## biohazard156

Mollies are actually pretty big fish when fully grown and a 20L tank isn't big enough for them in my opinion. They don't do well long term in our water and need hard water and would probably do best in slightly brackish water.

It's still a tiny volume of water really, and I don't think there are many fish which would suit it in all honesty. By the time you've got decor, filter, heater etc then you're not looking at a full 20L due to water displacement.

Weather loaches can get to 6-7inches (mine was very big) and wouldn't suit this tank. Khuli loaches are tropical and again, you'd not be suited to those (plus if you have set the tank up well, you wouldn't see them often!).

Sorry it's not more positive but I think sometimes waiting until you can accomodate something a bit bigger would be better!

Unless..... You get some fancy shrimp!! They would be ok in 20 L. 
Loads of colours and varieties!


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## elisa

When you are taking a fish tank, keep in mind one thing is that don't overload you fish, otherwise, nitrogen cycle get disturbed and make you pond dirty. So, My suggestion is keep 4 to 5 fish maximum.


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## JayB

Hi i was going to have around 4 corydoras and 4 non tetras would that suit


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## biohazard156

Both of those fish are very gregarious and school together. I wouldn't keep Cory's of any species in less than a group of 6 and same goes for the Neon Tetra. 

The tank really is too small for fish. If you can go up to 30-40 litres you could keep a Siamese fighting fish or maybe a group of very small nano fish like Ember Tetra, Galaxy Rasbora, Endler guppies (males only) or Chilli Rasbora.


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## JayB

yh the tank that has a link to it is now a no go so im having a look for one elsewhere so no smaller than six together got it thank you


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