Stocking Advice For 60 Liter Tank

Hi all

I've just bought myself a little 60cm long 60 liter tank and am considering what to put in it. I had a look in my lfs and the internet and saw lots of fish I would like, so was hoping I could mention them and maybe I could get some advice about which would work in my tank and which combinations of fish would be best? And advice would be very much appreciated.

I definitely want to have a small group of tetras (maybe six?) and am trying to decide between cardinals and rummynoses.
Other fish that I really liked but am concerned need a bigger tank were honey dwarf gouramis, dwarf rainbows and electric blue rams. Would any of these be okay in my tank? I also just assumed that angelfish and bristlenoses would be too big but if they're not I'd love to add them
I would also love to have maybe four or so cories and maybe the same number of otos. I'm assuming these would both be fine but just thought I'd check.
Lastly, I saw some apple snails and thought they were pretty cool but i've had a snail problem before. If i got just one would i be running the risk of getting more? I've heard they can carry sperm for months, is there a way to get around this?

Hoping to hear your thoughts soon

You would need a bigger tank for the fish you thought you would. Honey gouramis would fit though. I notice you called them honey dwarf gouramis - shops often label them like this but honey gaouramis and dwarf gouramis are two separate species. Dwarfs get too bog and you'd need 1m 2f as males are notorious for harassing females. Honeys, on the other hand, can be kept as 1m 1f pairs and they are smaller. The only trouble I've ever had with honey gouramis is when i had a 1m 2f trio and the females didn't get on.
Electric blue rams can also need very specific water conditions depending just how many generations ago the last wild ancestor was. If it's recent (a generation or two) they need soft acid water at temps in the high 20s C. Breeders often introduce a wild caught fish into their breeding liens to widen the gene pool but you have no way of knowing if the fish in the shop have a recent wild ancestor or not.

I'd also look at pygmy cories, and if you can find them salt & Pepper, Corydoras habrosus (not peppered cories) or C. hastatus. These three are the smallest species.

Apple snails come in two sexes unlike some other species but yes, females can carry sperm like livebearing fish. However as they lay their eggs above the water line like tiny bunches of grapes if you did buy a sperm carrying female you'd just need to be vigilant about spotting and removing the egg clusters.
Or you could try selling any baby apple snails that do make it.


Or if you want snails, look at nerites. The females may lay sesame seed like eggs all over the tank but they don't hatch in fresh water.

The EU has other ideas for us I'm afraid. Because apple snails were found in one river in Spain the import of them is banned throughout the whole EU.
I thought Australia was pretty tight on what fish you can have and can't have? I've read lots of Australians complaining about the limited number of fish species allowed.

Hi Andrea
Welcome to the forum!
Just to put my tuppence worth in.....you really MUST get Panda Cories, they are just so-oo cute, I love mine. Sue knows all about honey gouramis (and everything else too, actually) but I would avoid the dwarf gouramis, which although beautiful, do have a tendency to develop a disease that is incurable...very sad. I had a gorgeous  DG, but sadly lost him to this.
The electric rams are stunning, but they do need soft water.
Anyway, have good fun choosing, let us know what you decide on in the end, 'cos we're nosey buggers on here

Noooo - it's the pH that's best left alone. To soften your water you can mix your tap water with RO water or rain water. What hardness is your water 'cos it's best left alone unless at extremes - most fish these days are farm bred and grow up in 'average' water. Stability, rather than the exact figure, is what's important to fish.

Very unlikely in my experience. The wholesaler probably won't know either. However, if you could find someone in your area who breeds them, you'd know exactly their heritage and what water they are used to. Is there something like aquarist classifieds (a UK website) in Australia? Any local fish clubs?

Okay, so just to check before I buy any fish, I'm looking to get (not all at once, obviously)
10 cardinal tetras
2 honey gouramis
2 electric blue rams (providing i can get the water right for them)
4 panda cories
4 otos
1 apple snail
The community creator says my tank will be 74% full which i guess is a good stocking level. Will this work?

Looks good - but watch your temperature, there's very little overlap. 24º is top-end for pandas and bottom end for cardinals.

I don't know - I inherited 4 cardinals, which live with 12 neons in a 60 litre tank. Thermostat is set to 22 degrees, water is quite hard, and all of the fish are thriving I know they are at least 3 years old. Commercially bred fish are a lot more tolerant than one is led to believe. Incidentally, the cardinals shoal in with the neons and don't seem to stay with each other particularly, I sometimes wonder if they know the difference.

Rams like it warm too - especially those specimens with recent wild ancestors. Tank bred only for generations would be OK though.

Bolivian Rams seem to like it cooler than Rams 'ordinaire' - down to 22ºC according to ThinkFish.