15 Gallon Help

[Fishlove]

Hey everyone,

I've got a new tank to set up soon, it's roughly 13 gallons (UK) which i worked out is about 15 US gallons. I was wondering if you guys could help me make it, obviously not physically but it'd be great to get some ideas and advice from you guys!
So, I think i'd like to make it based around some nice gouramis/ chiclids. So what do you guys reckon about;

What types of fish (taking into account the tank size)
Best kind of substrate and plants and just general stuff like that.
And anything you can tihnk of that might help me out really, even just some nice pictures would be great!


PS: Great job on this forum btw, I've just started reading it and such and it's really good! Nice people and lots of great info for everyone.


Cheers

 

[lilfishie]

i have a tank the same size, i am having endlers and shrimp in mine

how about a decent sized shoal of tetras then a gourami as a centerpiece fish?

 

[iankent]

Hey everyone,

I've got a new tank to set up soon, it's roughly 13 gallons (UK) which i worked out is about 15 US gallons. I was wondering if you guys could help me make it, obviously not physically but it'd be great to get some ideas and advice from you guys!
So, I think i'd like to make it based around some nice gouramis/ chiclids. So what do you guys reckon about;

What types of fish (taking into account the tank size)
Best kind of substrate and plants and just general stuff like that.
And anything you can tihnk of that might help me out really, even just some nice pictures would be great!


PS: Great job on this forum btw, I've just started reading it and such and it's really good! Nice people and lots of great info for everyone.


Cheers

a good place to start if you haven't already read it is the fishless cycling sticky at the top of this section! explains everything you need to know to get started!

don't know about the types of fish really, although I have a 24G (UK) and have corydoras, tetra (neon and glowlight) and a siamese fighter! they look great together, get along fine (a lot of people would recommend against the siamese fighter though!), and each have their own odd little personalities! i'm even starting to recognise some of the tetra!!

get real plants if you can - I think they look a lot better than fake ones, and will help with clearing some of the ammonia and nitrite your fish will produce. they also need maintenance though, as they grow really quickly (some of the plants I have are growing about an inch a day!!!)

there's some pics of my aquarium on my website - click the photos in my signature and then choose the gallery tab at the top! might give you a few ideas. bogwood and rock is a good choice too, especially if it contrasts with the plants and substrate!

 

[Fishlove]

Yeah i've been looking up fishless cycling a lot and such. I like idea of tetras and a gourami or two!
Thanks for the suggestions and advice
Keep it coming if you will!

Cheers

 

[iankent]

Yeah i've been looking up fishless cycling a lot and such. I like idea of tetras and a gourami or two!
hanks for the sugghestions and advice
Keep it coming if you will!

Cheers

if you go for tetra, get as many as you can - I've got 22 in total, and when they all shoal together it looks amazing! they also seem to love grassy plants

and having a mixture of sand and gravel for your substrate can look good - have a gradient between them so it doesnt look too sudden (dropping the sand in when its full of water creates a nice effect on the floor!)

 

[Fishlove]

Yeah the sand / gravel gradient sounds nice! About the tetras, how many do you think I could fit in my 15 gal without over-loading? (giving space for a gourami, maybe two)

Cheers

 

[stumpy57]

your on the right track but i would not have sand if i was youi did at first and it is a lot of work

 

[iankent]

Yeah the sand / gravel gradient sounds nice! About the tetras, how many do you think I could fit in my 15 gal without over-loading? (giving space for a gourami, maybe two)

Cheers

if you follow the 1" per gallon rule, if it was only tetra it'd be about 15 - but it's just a guide, and with a planted tank you can fit a bit more in (it gives the fish more hiding places etc. and will help with keeping the water clean)

not sure about the gourami sorry - if you use the rule you have 15" of fully grown fish space, so find out the sizes of the fish you want and add it up!

your on the right track but i would not have sand if i was youi did at first and it is a lot of work

ah, i keep forgetting about that lol it is a bit more difficult to clean, because its easy to suck up a lot of sand with the pipe! its also a bit more difficult for planting in (until the roots have started to grow, a lot of the plants will seem quite loose when planted in sand), but it does look great!

 

[Fishlove]

Ah ok that sounds good, I guess i'll get around about 10-13 tetras then. I'll consider sand, but maybe for this time i should stick with gravel. But thanks for suggesting, it's a great idea!

 

[iankent]

Ah ok that sounds good, I guess i'll get around about 10-13 tetras then. And uhm, is there anything in particular that's tricky about sand?

see above

edit: that was confusing you changed your post lol

 

[Fishlove]

Lol yeah sorry about that, I didnt notice in your reply about the sand then when I looked again I saw it so i quickly edited it out

 

[vinylman]

I'd go for Honey Gourami; Dwarf Gourami are prone to a fatal Iridovirus. I wouldn't go for anything too lively in a tank that size.

 

[Fishlove]

Yeah I was thinking of a honey gourami actually, they look so nice! Especially the natural colour ones

 

[lilfishie]

the number of tetras would depend on which you go for, smaller ones like neons, cardinals etc you could easily have 10-13 possibly 15 as they are small waste producers, if slightly larger lemons, harliquins then 8-10 then your gourami too, you could possibly get a few shrimp in there too

 

[Piltdownpaul]

I reckon 4 or 5 cherry shrimp crawling around on the sand would look great.