15 Gal Column Aquarium

[Desdemona]

So, since it won't be a betta home I want some cool ideas for fish that would be happy in such an environment. I want to get a better pump for it, so nothing that likes really calm water (why betta is not going to be in it).

Something interesting, no slow moving school fish unless they have interesting social interactions or something. I had a female betta school once and they were really fun to watch. I don't think they'd like my tank anymore than my male though

Whatever it is, prefer something that won't eat my platy treo!

Thanks!

(it will be a few weeks to a month before I buy anyone new so I have plenty of planning time).

 

[thereverendturtle]

I'd add 3-4 kuhli loaches or cory cats for the bottom, a few shrimp of your choice and a few male guppies. The problem is the foot print of the tank doesn't allow for any schooling or fast moving fish. It's also to small for cichlids.

 

[Desdemona]

Oooh, I have always wanted a few loaches, hadn't looked into their size/space requirements yet though. I probably will get more Corys AFTER my tank problems are all straight (ie good water testing and Betta is out). I am still sad about my previous guy who didn't do well in the new tank

I have had cichlids in the past, but right now don't have the space for a good tank. My fav setup was a African cichlid in a 50 gal. He only shared with a few (already there) tropical fish and a jack dempsy that my Ex thought would be a good idea (idiot, I told him not but he did his own thing). Little dude thought he was king of the world. (the Dempsy had lots of hiding places at least so he was damage free when I had to move and get rid of them).

 

[thereverendturtle]

The kuhli loaches get to about 4" but are so thin, I would consider them equal to a cory cat in biomass. What are some of the fish you.were.thinking of?

 

[Desdemona]

Other than replacing the Corys, I hadn't thought to far into it yet. I wanted something different but not crazy difficult (I am pretty busy). Figured I'd see if someone would post about some fun fish I hadn't heard of before but caught my interest

If I had unlimited space and money I'd get into cichlids again. However, my apartment has already been nice about my 6ft lizard cage (with one small, but spoiled bearded dragon) so I don't want to push my luck.

 

[thereverendturtle]

Ok, something a little different and easy to take care of... A trio of Synodontis nigriventus, the upside down catfish. Stays small and is peaceful, they sale them at most pet stores, including petsmart.

 

[Desdemona]

so upside down catfish instead of Corys, right? I am guessing there is a limit to how many bottom feeders you would want.

I think I am going to look for a "real" fish store vs petsmart. There is a "mom and pop" type store that mimics petsmart here, that is ok. But, I'd like to get them as healthy as possible.

 

[thereverendturtle]

Actually I was thinking both. The upside downs will feed from the surface not just the bottom. I know you lost two of your Cories so, it would be your choice if you want both. I too prefer mom & pop stores, I just recommended petsmart, because they all stock the same fish. Good luck

 

[Dieses Madchen]

You say a column aquarium. Can we see a pic of said aquarium? what are the dimensions?

 

[reignofcheese]

I imagine as a column aquarium it is very slim and tall, and that would make it a poor home for any catfish except maybe pygmy corys. If the tank is a similar surface area to a standard 5 gallon tank, the only fish that would really be suitable for it would also be suitable for said 5 gallon.

 

[Desdemona]

Here is what I have

http/www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11390248&lmdn=Fish#RatingsDetail

The dimensions are 13.6" x 13.8" x 24.8"

It is slightly larger in surface area (I did the math). This tank is 187.68 cube inches where as a standard 5 gal is 128. So, not a lot more, but some. I don't plan on getting anything too large.

Here is my tank with decorations:

 

[FishFanatic04]

I Don't mind my petsmart, but I take a gooooood long look at the stock before I buy. My LFS will order fish when I want them, but they don't understand anything about new tanks and cycling. Nowhere is perfect. I think it is better to use a few different places, and then you get whatever each store is best at.

 

[reignofcheese]

A tank that small is very difficult to work with. Length is the most defining element of the tank in regards to stocking, more so then volume for small tanks, and 13" Just doesn't cut it for most fish as any sort of long term solution. Judging by the way my pygmy cory group gets around their 30" of tank I don't thing think I would put them in less than a 2 footer. You can try a trio of khuli loaches, but don't expect to see too much of them. Also my loaches are not so skinny anymore, 3 years old and pretty thick of body.

13" is a tiny tank and I would stick with tiny livestock. Shrimp for the bottom, cherry or ghost or chrystal shrimp. I'd fill out that empy space in the back half of the tank with a good type of plant for the shrimp to hide in, like dwarf sagitaria. Then to fill out the water coloumn I'd get a school of chili rasbora, or another micro rasbora I might find. I'd get about 8 of them so they fill out some of that height. Once the tank were settled and algae started to appear I would add nerite snail and a male sparkling gourami as a centerpiecel a fish that would use the whole height of the tank.

 

[Desdemona]

Are shrimp pH sensitive? I tried to get shrimp for the betta before I bought the Cory and they all died within 24 hours. I have really high pH water. I am going to try the tap/RO water mix to see if that helps. I did one gallon of half and half yesterday but my pH was still high in the gallon bottle. However I just used a paper strip so I don't know it's exact reading. I was doing a small quick water change this morning before work.

I will play with mix and see what gives me good numbers. I should also have a GH/KH test kit in the mail today or tomorrow.

Oh, I found out last night that there is a new reptile and fish store in my area and the few revies they have are all good, to include good prices. So, hopefully they are good and they are not reviews by their buddies, hehe. I will check them out tomorrow.