15 gallon stocking ideas

[GoofyGarra]

In the next few weeks i will be setting up a 15gallon tank (24x12x12). However, im not quite sure on stocking yet so i want some ideas, here are the limits:

1. No bettas; the people this tank is for arent the most educated in aquatic welfare, and i dont need to go through a "why does it need all that, cant you just put it in a bowl"
2. Cost; its a very low budget project so anything would have to be less then say $30
3. Bioload; I will be using lots of plants in the tank, but its possible there will be times i will have to skip a wc, so bioload should be low.
4. No cories; I love cories and they are great, but they rummage around the bottom of the tank and stir things up clouding the water.

So far i was thinkng maybe a small tetra (glowlight, cardinal, etc...)  or maybe a colony of Endler's livebearers.

However im open to ideas, what do you guys think?

[JettsPapa]

First, you mentioned a colony of endler's.  Since you said the tank is for an inexperienced fish keeper I wouldn't recommend that.  They likely won't want to deal with the fry.  However, a group of all males would be a good option.

Eight to ten of any of the nano shoaling fish (chili rasboras, ember tetras, celestial pearl danios, etc) should also work.

[anewbie]

I'd recommend some of the following:

ember tetra

green neon tetra (similar to size of ember tetra) (go with these over cardinals or neon for a 15 gallon tank as they are smaller).

kubotai rasbora

pygmy cory ( you said no cory but the pygmy have a different behavior than larger cousins and are adorable)

sparkling gourami (very pretty nano fish but can fight among themselves at times)

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all mentioned fishes i've personally kept and found easy to keep and robust. the ember tetra are nice but kind of boring unless there is something else in there to stir the pot. I'm a big fan of pygmy cory - highly underrated fish. I've had mix success with sparkling and found them a bit more fragile. My kubotai rasbora keep on ticking but only negative is they are very active and a 15 gallon is a bit small. green neon a little more active than ember but not bad. I truly enjoy kubotai rasbora and in a smaller tank the colours are stunning - details which get miss in a larger aquarium - not as happy with the cdp i've kept - never had chili and some of the more exoctic rasbora which are also quite lovely. 

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One thing to keep in mind all the above fishes prefer soft water - if you have very hard water you definitely better off with endlers or guppies.

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by anewbie

[beastie]

Question is feeding too. Will the people keeping the tank be going to be using dry food exclusively or can they mix and match with at least frozen food. Based on the level of care they are willing to provide, we can narrow it down a bit

[GoofyGarra]

On 10/23/2023 at 9:34 AM, anewbie said:

One thing to keep in mind all the above fishes prefer soft water - if you have very hard water you definitely better off with endlers or guppies.

I still need to test the source water, ill do that later.

On 10/23/2023 at 9:39 AM, beastie said:

Question is feeding too. Will the people keeping the tank be going to be using dry food exclusively or can they mix and match with at least frozen food. Based on the level of care they are willing to provide, we can narrow it down a bit

The tank would be fed on dry foods.

 

On 10/23/2023 at 9:34 AM, anewbie said:

sparkling gourami (very pretty nano fish but can fight among themselves at times)

That is a bucketlist fish for me, it might work well as it would be heavily planted tank with lots of floating guppy grass.

 

[beastie]

On 10/23/2023 at 5:36 PM, GoofyGarra said:

The tank would be fed on dry foods.

Based on this i would do only hardy fish, not small mouthed like microrasbora. Hengeli/eques rasbora, zebra danio, all male endlers or guppies, ... For cheap fish people gift a lot of live-bearers or ancistrus i assume. Not rare or 'fairs best on live food' like  sparkling gourami in my opinion. I need to translate how much is this in liters if i am not giving some bogus replies 🙂

[beastie]

Yup, i checked (was typing on my phone). Espei could work too

[GoofyGarra]

Im thinking maybe white clouds right now. Good size and color, i should be able to colony breed them in the plants, they are hardy and resilient temperature wise, and if im lucky ill be able to get the feeders for cheap, otherwise ill just get the normals or the golds for full price.

 

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by GoofyGarra

[GoofyGarra]

the other thing that this tank  might have is rescue fish. If my friend finds anyone getting rid of fish, as long as it fits the tank size, that sounds like a good option for this tank as well, considering the livestock budget is nearly nothing.