Fluval Flex 15 Stocking

[fishguy330]

Hi,

I'm currently cycling my Fluval Flex 15, but I don't know what to stock it with. I want to avoid the generic tetra or rasbora and go for something I haven't tried before like a Gourami or Endler.

Here's what I'm thinking based on AqAdvisor:

10 Male Endlers
1 Dwarf Gourami
3 Otocinclus Catfish

My pH is right around 7.3, the tap water gH is 2 and the kH is 2 as well. Temp is at held at around 76-77 degrees F and as I said its cycling still so no fish being added yet. I would love to hear some suggestions from all of you. Thanks!

 

[Tacocat]

Hi,

I'm currently cycling my Fluval Flex 15, but I don't know what to stock it with. I want to avoid the generic tetra or rasbora and go for something I haven't tried before like a Gourami or Endler.

Here's what I'm thinking based on AqAdvisor:

10 Male Endlers
1 Dwarf Gourami
3 Otocinclus Catfish

My pH is right around 7.3, the tap water gH is 2 and the kH is 2 as well. Temp is at held at around 76-77 degrees F and as I said its cycling still so no fish being added yet. I would love to hear some suggestions from all of you. Thanks!

what you could try is at least 3 gouramis (they are schooling fish so their colours are more vibrant when in a group), maybe a few endlers, you could try breeding them, but if you have more than 3 gouramis you might not be able to fit endless, and maybe otocinclus and amanos would work as a cleanup crew.

 

[fishguy330]

what you could try is at least 3 gouramis (they are schooling fish so their colours are more vibrant when in a group), maybe a few endlers, you could try breeding them, but if you have more than 3 gouramis you might not be able to fit endless, and maybe otocinclus and amanos would work as a cleanup crew.

Now I'm thinking all Endlers instead. Just males. How many do you think I could fit?

 

[Tacocat]

Now I'm thinking all Endlers instead. Just males. How many do you think I could fit?

10 then, but you're going to want a small cleaning crew of otocinclus and amanos, maybe 2 otos and 3 amanos

 

[Essjay]

Your water is too soft for endlers I'm afraid. But there are several small soft water fish you could look at - ember tetras and one of the Boraras species spring to mind. Other members will have more suggestions, bearing in mind that this tank is almost a cube at 16 x 15 x 15 inches/41 x 39 x 39 cm, so less swimming length than rectangular 15 gallon tanks.

Dwarf gouramis can be a problem. If they are bred in the far east they are very likely to be infected by one of a couple of incurable diseases by the time the arrive at the fish store. If you can source locally bred ones, they'd be OK but not those imported from fish farms.
Honey gouramis are a betta choice for a small tank.

Leave the otos for several months, until the tank has grown a lot of algae. Many otos will eat nothing but a particular species of algae when first bought and they starve to death before they realise algae wafers are actually food. If there is plenty food for them when they are first bought, they stand a better chance.

 

[fishguy330]

Your water is too soft for endlers I'm afraid. But there are several small soft water fish you could look at - ember tetras and one of the Boraras species spring to mind. Other members will have more suggestions, bearing in mind that this tank is almost a cube at 16 x 15 x 15 inches/41 x 39 x 39 cm, so less swimming length than rectangular 15 gallon tanks.

Dwarf gouramis can be a problem. If they are bred in the far east they are very likely to be infected by one of a couple of incurable diseases by the time the arrive at the fish store. If you can source locally bred ones, they'd be OK but not those imported from fish farms.
Honey gouramis are a betta choice for a small tank.

Leave the otos for several months, until the tank has grown a lot of algae. Many otos will eat nothing but a particular species of algae when first bought and they starve to death before they realise algae wafers are actually food. If there is plenty food for them when they are first bought, they stand a better chance.

So my water hardness is in NYC, 65 ppm. I'm new to the whole gH kH thing so how's that 65 look?

 

[Tacocat]

actually, what you could do is try and make the gh/kh slightly higher so that you can have a pair of ram cichlids - they prefer 3-6 gh and 3-5 kh, so by upping it a bit you could make it nice for them. Only thing is is that you have to make ph slightly lower, but that can't be too hard.

Otocinclus and amanos can also live comfortably in those ranges, so you could have a pair of rams along with a cleanup crew.

 

[Essjay]

65 ppm is soft. It converts to 3.6 dH for those who prefer that unit.

I would not keep rams, or any other cichlid, in a tank with a footprint of 16 x 15 inches. Rams need a footprint of at least 24 x 12 inches. They also need water warmer than most other fish can cope with making it difficult to choose tank mates. (As a side note, rams' GH range is as low as 18 ppm/1 dH)

For soft water, suitable shoaling fish in a 15 gallon Flex include ember tetras, green neon tetras (Paracheirodon simulans, if you can source any), chili rasboras (Boraras brigittae or one of the other Boraras species)
Honey gouramis are suitable, as are sparkling gouramis (Trichopsis pumila)
I would go with shrimps rather than otos as 15 gallons is quite small for a fish which needs to be in a shoal and eats a lot of algae.


Seriously Fish is the best place for researching species. Here are the profiles for some of the fish I have mentioned.

Paracheirodon simulans – Green Neon Tetra (Hyphessobrycon simulans) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Search Results boraras — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Trichopsis pumila – Sparkling Gourami (Ctenops pumilus, Trichopsis pumilus var. siamensis) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com