Stocking (and food) recommendations, 15-gal non-planted community

[Freeway8]

Hi, back in the hobby after 20 years or so, I won't mind if y'all consider me a newbie. I have a Fluval Flex 15-gallon with heater which I am currently cycling (fishless). It is NON-PLANTED, sparsely decorated with a few plastic plants and a resin ornament. The gravel is the only natural material.

Rather than asking blindly "what kind of fish", I thought I'd start with what I would LIKE to have, and let you run from there. It will be a community tank.

Cardinal or Glow Light Tetras
Fancy Guppies (male)
Panda Cory Cats
Rasboras
Red Fire (or Cherry) shrimp

I'd appreciate your thoughts on quantities of each, and compatibility. If the best groupings of this or that require pairing this list down, I 'd drop the Rasboras. Other species recommendations are welcome.

Lastly, the selection of foods available is overwhelming to me. I don't mind using a couple of different ones (sinking and floating), but I really don't know where to start with food selection.

Thank you!

 

[connorlindeman]

Hi and welcome. To start, what are your tap water parameters? Gh, kh, ph.
They can sometimes be found on your water provider's website.

 

[Freeway8]

Thanks for the welcome. From my county website, average values are gH=7, kH=4, pH=7.2

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

The GH is too low for guppies but fine for everyone else.

Tetras and rasboras do best in groups consisting of at least 10 (preferably more) of their own kind.
Corydoras should be kept in decent sized groups as well and must be kept in groups of at least 6 (preferably 10 or more).

Shrimp are fine in smaller groups (3 or 4) but will also be happy in bigger groups as long as there is sufficient food for them.

------------------
Food can be dry flake, frozen and live. Frozen food can be fish, prawn/ shrimp, marine mix (prawn, fish & squid blended up), mysis shrimp, brineshrimp, daphnia, bloodworms.

Live foods can be brineshrimp, daphnia, fruit flies, ants or ant eggs, small flies and mozzies that are free of chemicals, mozzie larvae, and various worms that are small and can be cultured at home.

With dry food, look at the ingredients and avoid fish foods that have flour, wheat, or grains in the first 5 ingredients. Fish can't digest grains and they are used as bulking agents/ fillers and binders to reduce the cost of the food.

A good fish food should have whole fish, whole shrimp, and maybe some algae or spirulina as the main ingredients.

If you see ingredients like various herbs and spices people might use to help their skin or do whatever, they are generally rubbish too. Fish food companies add things to attract caring humans who think "it's good for me so it must be good for the fish too". Humans and fish have different dietary requirements and fish don't do well on human based foods.

I'm pretty sure @AbbeysDad has a nice write up on fish food with fish meal vs whole fish. He might pop on and post the links.

 

[Coryking]

Well all the fish other then guppys are fine to keep as previously stated. Some other alternative are clown Killifish, chilli rasbours, celestial pearl danio, pygmy Cory, Otocinclus , dwarf anchor catfish, and green neon Terra are some other fish to try as alternatives.
There all compatible at least 12 of each for most there. Ottos need 3 or more, clown killi 8 or more and dwarf anchor need 5 or more.


For food frozen brine shrimp is a food to try feeds all the fish. Floating pellets would work but if you get chilli rasbours or green neon flakes would be better. For Cory and other catfish any sort of sinking pellet would be fine Ottos and other alage eater would need algae wafers. If you want bear minimum sinking pellets for Cory's and other catfish flakes or floating pellets for other fish and algae wafers for ottos

 

[Freeway8]

Thanks for the great info! The tank dimensions are 16"L x 15"W x 15"H, pretty much a cube. And very good food info - looks like I need to study up on the ingredients.

I'm familiar with overcrowding concerns, and the (very general) 1" per gallon rule. 12 tetras or 12 rasboras (but not both) eat up most of the allotment. Skip the corys and add 3 or 4 shrimp, and I'm pretty much up against the limit, according to that general rule.

Now thinking:
12 Cardinal or Glow Light Tetras
3 or 4 Red Fire (or Cherry) shrimp

Do I have room for 2 or 3 smallish mid-dwellers to replace the guppies? Again, 15 gallon, 16x15x15", non-planted, sparsely decorated. Appreciate the suggestions so far!

 

[Coryking]

Do I have room for 2 or 3 smallish mid-dwellers to replace the guppies? Again, 15 gallon, 16x15x15", non-planted, sparsely decorated. Appreciate the suggestions so far!

I would imagine you would have room for one center piece fish. You might be able to get three mid dwellers but I would say one would be better and it would be your center piece fish. A honey gourami would be one of the best options. Dwarf gourami should work but they can be more aggressive than honey gouramis. A Betta may work but it could eat the shrimp. If you do want to get one choose one with tiny fish or with shrimp. If you are interested ask betta4ever she should know more on Bettas compared to me. A ram may work but I would not recommend it.
Also I would recommend getting some floating plants this would give cover for the fish which would make them feel more comfortable. Just any floating plant would work all you have to do is remove some here and there. Just don't get duckweed it's a pain to remove from the tank

 

[Slaphppy7]

Thanks for the great info! The tank dimensions are 16"L x 15"W x 15"H, pretty much a cube. And very good food info - looks like I need to study up on the ingredients.

Welcome to TFF

Those measurements equal a volume of a bit more than 17 US gallons....

 

[Freeway8]

Re: the volume measurement, the dimensions I gave are the overall. The Fluval Flex 15 has a divided off area in the back for filter/pump/heater that takes about 3" away from the width, and goes full height. It also has a bit of a bow (top-to-bottom) of the front glass, and the water level would be about 1/2" or so from the very top. I did not measure the amount of water I used to fill. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Freeway8]

I like the idea of a "center piece" fish. Would a honey gourami do well on its own? I also like the suggestion of some floating plants. Thanks!

 

[Slaphppy7]

I like the idea of a "center piece" fish. Would a honey gourami do well on its own? I also like the suggestion of some floating plants. Thanks!

A single HG would be fine, as would a single pearl gourami (my preferred of the two)

And floating plants are pretty much a "must" with gouramis, for them to be most comfortable

 

[Coryking]

A single HG would be fine, as would a single pearl gourami (my preferred of the two)

A pearl is a little two big for the tank I my opinion. Dwarf, honey and sparking would be fine in a 15g. Just don't get duckweed for the tank.

 

[Slaphppy7]

I avoid the DGs, too high of a risk for disease

 

[Byron]

The GH and KH numbers, I assume these are in degrees, rather than ppm? They suit soft water species whichever, but there are some more delicate species that cold work here but may have stronger needed for soft water, so best to clarify.

Cories for the lower level would work, the "dwarf" species, but they need a soft sand substrate, so keep that in mind.

I personally would not look for any sort of "centerpiece" fish, if this means larger, given the tank space. A tank with different species of small-sized shoaling fish (in groups of 10-12) creates a better display, at least to my thinking. A honey gourami for example can visually make the space seem smaller.

 

[Coryking]

I personally would not look for any sort of "centerpiece" fish, if this means larger, given the tank space. A tank with different species of small-sized shoaling fish (in groups of 10-12) creates a better display, at least to my thinking. A honey gourami for example can visually make the space seem smaller.

Unlike Bryon here I would go for a centerpiece fish. It is the fish you see first and it's your show off fish. It can make the fish seem smaller but that makes the fish it self look better. Normally gouramis have personally that's another reason to go for it.