15 Gallon Tank Stocking

[Oatsy]

Hi, I am starting up a new tank (15 gallon as the title says) my tap water is pretty hard (ph of 8) and I am currently cycling it. I can change the ph with peat and ph down but I would first like to know my stocking options for its current state.



thanks

 

[DanTheFishMan11]

A 15g is a pretty small tank (i know cheek to talk as i only have a ten gallon ) so you need to be very careful about stocking it and plan carefully, there's no need to go rushing into anything! Fishkeeping should teach neverending patience.

Don't forget to cycle your tank properly before you buy any fish!

Have a read of this:
http/www.theaquariumwiki.com/Stocking_…

 

[Oatsy]

I appreciate the response. I'm just interested into what type of gallons we're talking about here? it is 15 UK gallons but 17 US gallons. I have never seen that site before but it looks good, thanks for the link. And don't worry I'm not new to this (despite only recently joining the forums) I know how to cycle

 

[cambojnr]

I appreciate the response. I'm just interested into what type of gallons we're talking about here? it is 15 UK gallons but 17 US gallons. I have never seen that site before but it looks good, thanks for the link. And don't worry I'm not new to this (despite only recently joining the forums) I know how to cycle

In mine I currently have 7 neon tetras and a bristlenose plec, but I'am rehomeing the plec as it is such a messy fish for a small tank so do not get a plec as I have to clean the tank every day to rid it of big streaks of poo. The neons are great and I plan on getting 3 more to make a group of 10 and possibly a pair of honey gouramis to complete my tank as I would rather have it understocked than over.

 

[Blitz]

I would just put in little fish. Like... 5 cherry barbs, and maybe 2 or 3 platys. OR, 5 cherry barbs along with 3 julli corys. Over stocking? Sorry I got the idea from a friend. I know someone with a 15 gallon (US), and she has 5 cherry barbs, 2 platys and 3 julli corys.

 

[fluttermoth]

What are the dimensions of your tank, OP?

 

[cambojnr]

I would just put in little fish. Like... 5 cherry barbs, and maybe 2 or 3 platys. OR, 5 cherry barbs along with 3 julli corys. Over stocking? Sorry I got the idea from a friend. I know someone with a 15 gallon (US), and she has 5 cherry barbs, 2 platys and 3 julli corys.

Overstocking is where you have more fish in the tank than the tank is supposed to hold, as in a rule is 1inch of adult sized fish to 1 gallon of water so in a 15gal you could have 15inch of fish, which is why I would have 10 neon tetra which have a max size of about and inch and I would have 5 inchs left of space for 2 honeys possibly which grow to about 2inches so if you follow that rule once all my fish are fully grown I would have 1gallon spare. think that explains it anyways am still sort of a noob but thats what i've been told.

 

[fluttermoth]

All corydoras really deserve to be kept in groups of at least six of their own species. I would consider most (with the exception of the three dwarf/pygmy species, and possibly pandas) too be too chunky to keep in a 15g. It wouldn't leave much stocking space for anything else either.

 

[Oatsy]

Sorry, not entirely sure about the dimensions, I will measure them tommorow. but in litres the tank holds 65 if that helps at all. I'm pretty sure the tank is actually 17 gallons rather than 15, sorry about that

 

[cambojnr]

Sorry, not entirely sure about the dimensions, I will measure them tommorow. but in litres the tank holds 65 if that helps at all. I'm pretty sure the tank is actually 17 gallons rather than 15, sorry about that

If your U.S.A then a gallon for you is 3.7 litres whereas in the UK a gallon is 4.5 litres only a slight diffrence but in large quantities = alot more american gallons than UK

 

[Oatsy]

Sorry, not entirely sure about the dimensions, I will measure them tommorow. but in litres the tank holds 65 if that helps at all. I'm pretty sure the tank is actually 17 gallons rather than 15, sorry about that

If your U.S.A then a gallon for you is 3.7 litres whereas in the UK a gallon is 4.5 litres only a slight diffrence but in large quantities = alot more american gallons than UK

I'm from the UK but I'm not sure which is the typical type of gallon that people refer to. I'm only assuming it's the U.S gallon because the majority of people are from the US as opposed to the UK

 

[hensonc4098]

For starting out, stick to the inch per gallon rule, but remember this is in more small fish rather than one large fish! Beware of neons in a new setup - they're not good in new tanks and have a delightful tendency of just dying on you if you get them too soon.
If it were me, I would have a nice shoal of some other tetra species and then a centrepiece fish of something like a scarlet badis, gourami, ram or any other non-shoaling stand-out species to give a focal point.
Some people prefer not to have a specific centrepiece fish and just have a shoal of smaller fish. It's all personal preference.

 

[Justaerin]

When.you say inch per gallon rule is.that UK or US gallons? 65 litre so I'm guessing something in the region of a 2x1x1 probably slightly bigger on the 1's

 

[hensonc4098]

It's vague. Everyone says different. To be cautious, I'd say UK, but if you're stocked to UK gallons, everything seems fine and you've got plenty of filtration, you can top up to about US gallons. Just be vigilant with water changes if you're not heavily planted - I don't water change one of my tanks, but that's because there's a lot more plants than fish

 

[Justaerin]

I hadn't thought about going from UK to US, will have to think on that once I've been keeping for a bit longer

As for the OP, cherry barbs are nice little fish and gourami don't get too big ( here's looking at dwarves and honeys ) or there's always livebearers ie guppies