Advice on compatibility and load - 25 Gal

[MrGovorov]

Hi, I'm obviously pretty new to keeping an aquarium and I'm hoping someone can give me some advice on whether the fish and others that I'm planning to stock my tank with are compatible and how many I can safely keep in my tank. I currently have 8 neons and 3 otos, I am hoping to eventually add a few cherry shrimp, a couple of african dwarf frogs and some guppies. Can they all co-exist and how many guppies can I put in without overloading?

25 Gallon tank
Aquaclear 50 hanging filter
4 plants (not sure what they are exactly)

My tapwater pH is also up near 8, from what I've read this is pretty much the top end of the good range for most fish. Should I worry about bringing it down?

Thanks for any advice you can give!

[Sounguru]

Welcome first off ...

Second all looks good but I question the frogs and the shrimp... Thinking maybe the frogs might eat the smaller shrimp... Someone with more froggy knowledge might know for sure.

[Gemini]

Welcome to the AC!!!
I too would worry about shrimp and froggys. Without the frog I would say it looks good to me.
With regards to your PH, unless you want to breed something with very specific PH needs, you are much better off just acclimitating your fish to the PH in your tap. That way your not having to add/remove tonnes of chemicals in an attempt at keeping it where you want it. I have a PH of 8 out of the tap and all my fish live happily in that. And if you bought your fish from a local fish store than they will probably be using the same tap water, and therefore have the same PH.

[spudbuds]

Welcome to the forum!

The shrimp and frogs won't mix too good. Pick one or the other. I've seen one of those frogs choke down a shrimp close to it's own size. I'm not sure if he ever got it down, but the shrimp didn't fair to well during the process.

You could probably go with 6 or more guppies pretty easily assuming you keep up with your maintainance (weekly water changes, etc.). Keep in mind that the guppies will multiply quickly and potentially over run your tank. It might be a good idea to find a place for the extras prior to getting them.

- Bill

[MrGovorov]

The frogs were sort of an add-on idea, my wife saw them in the store and thought they were cute. I couldn't find much info on them but I thought since they were so small they might be ok. Scratch that idea.

I'm not totally sold on guppies either (again her idea) but now I have an idea of how much room re load I will have left in the tank, thanks. Any other suggestions for peaceful relatively interesting fish that will suit the tank? (Keep in mind it doesn't take much to interest me, I love watching the otos zoom around on the tank glass after I turn the light out.)

[spudbuds]

I've always liked corydoras. Your tank is kinda small for them and they like to be in groups. You could probably get away with 5-6 of some of one of the smaller varieties. Maybe some dwarf or pandas. There are a few others, but the names escape me at the moment.

You could also do some more of the tetras or maybe a different variety of them.

An apple snail or two might also be interesting. I love watching ours. Their population is easy to control because they lay clutches of eggs above the water line. Just pop them off and toss them.

- Bill

[Gemini]

Ditto for Corys!! They are so cute with their little whiskers, and if you get a group they play around and are a lot of fun to watch!!!