Hello all from CA

[kabong167]

Hello everybody I'm getting back into the aquarium hobby after a 3 year break. I had a 60 gallon previously when I lived in NY but had to leave it behind due to moving across the country. I decided to keep it small this time and purchased a Fluval Flex 15 gal. I really like the way the tank sets up with everything incorporated into it, just a much cleaner look. Anyhow this time I am doing a planted tank which is very new to me, I have started out with a few mollies and a peppered cory to cycle the tank. I added an anubias and a few vallisneria to start with. It's been about a month now and the tank water has remained pretty consistent with no spikes. I figure another month and I'll add some tetras for color and possibly a betta but the tank has pretty good flow and I don't think a betta would fair well with that. I've been looking for some taller drift wood that will block some of the flow around the tank to calm it down a bit. Looking forward to gathering information on here and making a few new friends!

 

[Colin_T]

hi and welcome to the forum

 

[RickieWells]

Hi , i am also new one for this forum from California.

 

[NoLa24]

I used driftwood in my tank before and quit because it was too much trouble getting it to not tint the water brown, but that's purely just my taste. if the water has a good current it may be best to forgo the betta. Have you considered adding more corys? They are a schooling fish and quite a bit of fun to watch together I have 7 currently and they are so lively and playful and you can mix and match the colors, I have pandas, greens, albinos, peppereds, etc. Anyway I'm from CA too so hope your enjoying it here!

 

[seangee]

Hi and welcome. What are your water parameters? We need to know pH and hardness (GH & KH). If you don't have a test kit to measure these you should find them on your water suppliers website. (we need the unit for hardness as well as there are sevral different ones in use.

The reason for the question is that Mollies and Corys have very different (and largely incompatable) water requirements. If you post the results someone will be able to advise what would work in your tank and what won't.

To be honest your tank is too small for the fish you are planning (tetras and corys both need to be in good sized groups). I also have a 15G Flex and it was quite a challenge (and lots of research) to figure out what I will keep in it

 

[Byron]

I concur with seangee. Water parameters (GH, KH, pH) of your source water are important to know before considering fish as they have very differing requirements.

To the fish mentioned. Betta is not a community fish. Mollies must have moderately hard or harder water, but even if you have this, a 15g is much too small for a fish that will attain 3 inches (males) and 5 inches (females) with some even getting to 6 inches.

Cories must have a group of five minimum; you have space for this, but I would want to know the water parameters first. Tetras can work, in groups of 6-7 minimum, but not every species would work here. For this small a tank, "nano" type fish are better because you can have more of them for more interest in a small space. But again water parameters are necessary; many nano fish are wild caught and more particular.

And, welcome to TFF.