Please Help With My Fish Tank Community Question

thats not that bad then i just can't understand with he would go with all them ladies 

It should mean that you have an active bacteria Colony that supports approximately 66cm of stock. I have worked that out based on 3 male and 3 female swords, since the females are larger than the lads.

With 6 harlequins at the moment you have 30cm of stock so I think you're good to get another 30cm of stock right away before the bacteria colonies go dormant from not having as much ammonia to deal with as before. Please allow Sue or one of the other more experienced members to confirm this as I'm quite new to this myself.

Once you have your initial stock of fish, it's recommended to allow the community to settle for a month to 6 weeks before increasing stock. And even then, only add one third of current stock ie. If you're at 60cm stock, add up to 20cm.

I recently had my first top-up stock and added just over a third of my stock at the time. This was an impulse buy since I spotted a tiny bristlenose plec that I wanted and couldn't resist (you'll find this yourself)  and my ammonia and nitrite levels never rose from zero. I also have an external filter with up to 1250l/hr flow rate.

Hope this helps you 

Hi Jack. Welcome aboard. 

There's a good article on shoaling here: http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/article/why-fish-shoal-or-group-in-a-fish-tank

Please help this morning I had 6 harlequins and now I have 5 I've check the external filter not there I've checked every where under all ornaments/plants he's not floating at the top and not sunk to the bottom just vanished? Please help

There little gaps where the inlet and the outlet are that's it?

Fish have been known to get through small holes, so besides checking in/under everything in the tank, check the floor as well. Though if you have a cat or dog any fish that gets out of the tank might well end up inside the other pet.
It is unfortunately quite common to lose a fish shortly after purchase. They've been through a lot in the last few weeks on their journey from the breeder to your tank - wholesalers, retailers, transport between them, being chased on a regular basis whenever someone buys a fish from that tank etc etc.

I agree about the rams. These fish do like water a tad warmer than other species. But Bolivian rams, Apistogrammas (look at cockatoo dwarf and agassizi dwarf in the fish profiles) or nannacaras (which aren't in the profiles, just substitute flag cichlid instead in the community creator).

And yes, hillstream loaches need specialist hillstream tanks - cooler, fast flowing water.

That tank is fine for a siamese fighter but it is too small for cardinal tetras. My siamese fighter (betta) is in a 26 litre tank, and was in a 24 litre before I got a new tank (the old one had a crushed corner and I was worried it might leak). And I just checked with the CC and that too says it is too small for cardinals.


Bettas (siamese fighters are usually called bettas nowadays as people of a certain mentality say 'oooh fighting fish, lets get some and fight them') are not good community fish; they are best kept alone. Anything above 5 American gallons is fine for them, that's 19 litres. These fish like slow moving water because of their big fins so make sure the filter in the tank has adjustable flow or use a sponge filter powered by an air pump. They need 'things' in the tank to swim through so lots of plants, either real or silk but not plastic as sharp edges can cut their fins.
To give you an idea (and to show off  ) I've attached a photo of my betta's tank. It does have more plants now. And you can see the sponge filter at the back.


22 litres sounds as though it should be fine for half a dozen cardinal tetras because of their size. But fish need swimming room and cardinals need a tank at least 60 cm long.

like shrimp

I have panda cory in with my betta, if that's any help.

But not in 22 litres.


I have a nerite snail in with mine.

The problem with shrimps and bettas is that the shrimps can end up as very expensive fish food. I managed to get a woodlouse in the tank with my last betta and he went mad trying to dismantle it. He only stopped when it played dead. I wouldn't have trusted him anywhere near a shrimp.

22 litres is too small for the vast majority of fish except the so called micro fish - but a betta would either eat those or chase them and they'd get so stressed they'd probably die.



Bettas are tricky fish to find tank mates for. Some are so aggressive they attack anything that moves - including biting the feelers off snails. Others are so laid back they get bullied by their tank mates. Fish that are not known for nipping often just can't help themselves when faced with those big fins. It is much safe to keep them alone or with snails - once the tank has grown enough algae to feed snails.

Not liking this is have a dead harlequin and can't work out why I've done all my test and here's the results please help