New "Micro" Tank help. Thanks!

[BlessingOfChaos]

First of all thanks for reading, I have not personally had a tropical tank since I was a child, so working a lot from a messy memory here.
I would love to get a small tank to have a nice fish setup for a small apartment, I have so far been looking at a 15Litre tank (TMC Micro Habitat 15) and would like to have a Tropical Setup.
I'm quite realistic on the size of the tank. I am not looking to cause fish trauma with it being too small for them. Ideally I was thinking a few Neons, Shrimp, a Siamese fighting fish and a Pleco kind of tank cleaner (if there is one that does not get large as adult, recommendations would be helpful!) A total of around 5-6 fish/shrimp.
I have no idea on gravel / plants so would also love recommendations on that too!
Don't be afraid to tell me if anything isn't good with the plan I have, I only would go ahead with this if it would be correct for the animals.

Edit: I said I have no idea on the gravel, I do know that on the particular tank I like the look of so far they reviewers have mentioned not to get fine gravel as it enters the pump.

 

[Essjay]

I'm afraid a 15 litre tank is too small for fish. Maybe possibly a betta on his own, or shrimps.

I will explain:
Bettas can be kept in tanks as small as 2.5 litres/10 litres, but most of us would not keep them in less than 5 gallons/20 litres.
Neon tetras need a tank with a footprint at least 60 x 30 cm
The smallest plecs seen commonly in shops are bristlenoses and they need a similar sized tank to neons. And plecs don't keep the tank clean; they create a huge amount of mess for the size of them.
There are no 'clean up' fish I'm afraid. It is the fish keepers job to keep the tank clean.

OK, so now I've destroyed your ideas, where to go now.

If you really do want a 15 litre tank, a betta on it's own is do-able as long as you maintain the tank properly. This means cycling it first - either a fishless cycle https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/ or by having lots of live plants. The other option for 15 litres is a shrimp only tank. Again it would need to be cycled, and shrimps do enjoy live plants.
Water changes need to be at least 50% per week - if you've not kept fish for some time you may be surprised at current thinking on tank maintenance.

Alternatively you could go for a bigger tank. A 60 cm long tank would give you a lot more fish options.


Finally, we will need to know your tap water hardness before suggesting fish. We are now aware that fish should be kept in water with similar hardness to the water they come from; and it is much easier to choose fish that come from the same hardness as your tap water than to change the water to suit the fish.
Look on your water provider's website for hardness. If they give it, we need a number and the unit of measurement rather than some vague words.

 

[CryptFan]

i agree, all you can do with that size tank is a betta or some shrimp

 

[BlessingOfChaos]

Finally, we will need to know your tap water hardness before suggesting fish. We are now aware that fish should be kept in water with similar hardness to the water they come from; and it is much easier to choose fish that come from the same hardness as your tap water than to change the water to suit the fish.
Look on your water provider's website for hardness. If they give it, we need a number and the unit of measurement rather than some vague words.

Thanks for the response, I guess a bigger fish tank would need to be thought about then.

Hardness Clark

17.98

I got this from the information on my area. Hope it helps!

 

[Essjay]

There are several hardness units, fish keeping uses two of them but Clark is not one.

Your 17.98 Clark converts to 14.4 dH and 257 ppm - fish profiles will give a species hardness range in one of those two units; look for fish with your hardness towards the middle of the range.

You have hard water so you need to look at hard water fish. For a tank 60 cm long, suitable fish are guppies and endlers - males only as females will give birth to lots of fry and overpopulate a tank -and some of the fish in the Pseudomugil genus https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/search/pseudomugil Of course, with a bigger tank there are even more options
I have soft water so I am more familiar with soft water fish. We have many members who have hard water so they'll be able to suggest other suitable fish.

But first, buy your tank.
You can use gravel or sand on the bottom; I have sand in my tanks which I find easier to clean than gravel. Play sand is cheaper than the sand sold in fish shops.
If you intend to have lots of live plants, get them and plant the tank then wait until you see signs that they are growing. Our plant experts will be able to help you choose plants that like hard water. Once the plants are growing well, you can get the first batch of fish. Monitor ammonia and nitrite for several days to make sure the plants are taking up all the ammonia made by the fish.
But if you don't want live plants, you'll need to do a fishless cycle before getting fish. The link I gave you earlier in post #2 explains how to do this.

 

[BlessingOfChaos]

Okay great thanks for the advice again

There are several hardness units, fish keeping uses two of them but Clark is not one.

Your 17.98 Clark converts to 14.4 dH and 257 ppm - fish profiles will give a species hardness range in one of those two units; look for fish with your hardness towards the middle of the range.

You have hard water so you need to look at hard water fish. For a tank 60 cm long, suitable fish are guppies and endlers - males only as females will give birth to lots of fry and overpopulate a tank -and some of the fish in the Pseudomugil genus https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/search/pseudomugil Of course, with a bigger tank there are even more options
I have soft water so I am more familiar with soft water fish. We have many members who have hard water so they'll be able to suggest other suitable fish.

But first, buy your tank.
You can use gravel or sand on the bottom; I have sand in my tanks which I find easier to clean than gravel. Play sand is cheaper than the sand sold in fish shops.
If you intend to have lots of live plants, get them and plant the tank then wait until you see signs that they are growing. Our plant experts will be able to help you choose plants that like hard water. Once the plants are growing well, you can get the first batch of fish. Monitor ammonia and nitrite fro several days to make sure the plants are taking up all the ammonia made by the fish.
But if you don't want live plants, you'll need to do a fishless cycle before getting fish. The link I gave you earlier in post #2 explains how to do this.

Thanks for the help once again, I will definitely look into what you have said!