Stocking ideas for a 15 gallon

[OohFeeshy]

Once I am a better fishy keeper I want to buy a 15 gallon tank. It is a bit small I know but it's all I can afford to have both through money and space. So- What to do with it? This is what I need to know-
Size of filter (brands available in UK)
Wattage of heater (is is 50 watts?)
Wattage of lights
Ideas for fish other than the normal guppies, platies, tetras and other small shoaling fish.
Plants- real or fake
And any other nessecary info.
Thankee for all you helpful people!

 

[glolite]

Hiya. Just a thought but why don't you look at buying a 15g "all included) tank. It might work out cheaper. If you have a "Pets at home" near you they sometimes do special offers with tank inbuilt filter lighting and heater with free gravel and some food. I wouldn't buy fish from them as although they're cheap the fish are very small. However, the equipment is fine. Their testing kits/fish food is usually cheaper too.

 

[WILDER]

Or a reckord 70 everything built in.
http/www.norbreck-aquatics.co.uk/Rekord_sizes.htm

 

[clutterydrawer]

Hiya

On my 15g i have a fluval 2+ filter which I really like. I won't recommend a heater size cos it depends a bit on the surroundig temperature - have a look on the boxes at the lfs and they should tell you. go to practicalfishkeeping.co.uk for reviews of different brands.

You might have trouble fitting more than the standard 15W light to it, as that's all most tanks that size will have space for.

Real or plastic plants is up to you, but personally i love real ones and they help keep the fish healthy, too. try easy ones like vallis, java fern, java moss, hygrophila polysperma, anubias, and amazon sword.

Nice fish for small tanks: cories (small ones! not bronze or peppered), most rasboras, tetras, guppies, endlers, dwarf/honey/sparkling gouramis, otocinclus, cherry barbs, hatchets...lookthem all up and see which ones would suit you. have fun

 

[freddyk]

Live plants are undisputably better then fake, but it's also a whole other area of aquaria to learn about, and will also raise the total upkeep costs of the tank a bit. If this is your first tank then fake is probably the best way to go, that way you can concentrate on the fish.

A 50 watt heater is plenty. Lighting doesn't really matter if you go with fake plants. If it's live, then total wattage depends really on the type of lighting you go with and how tall the tank is (is it a short or tall tank?)

Hang-on-the-back power filters tend to be the best way to go for smaller tanks, they're effective, inexpensive, and easy to maintain. I like Aquaclears myself, because they don't have a proprietary cartridge, but almost any brand will do the job (I recommend staying away from whispers though).

 

[littlefishie]

Everything I use on my 15 gallon is in my signature. With the exception of lighting but my hood's still being built.

I also keep 2 german blue rams, 2 panda cories, 6 neons, and 3 otos [though one died and is being replaced tomorrow] in my tank, with live plants, black sand, and such. It works nicely.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Hmm... WEll I did see a tank in Freeads for £15 with filter, lid etc. It is 24"x12"x12". I need to work out gallons. Thanks for the info, luckilly I think my nitrite is spiking on my 5 gal (finally) so if I do get a larger tank I can use the filter media/gravel. I don't really want otos, they are too fragile for my liking I asked for seperate info becuase pets at home only does one or two brands of each item and it ill probably be cheaper online.