Fish choice advice for 15g Tall Tank

[Daingurse]

Hi there, I've recently come into the possession of a 15gallon tank. It unfortunately is tall, however being that this is a birthday gift I have no right to complain and only want to do the best with what I have . Despite being a true newbie to proper fish keeping, I do know that these tall style aquariums are not ideal and limit the stock and fish I can keep especially with this small size.

The tank is 18 inches tall, with a depth of 13 inches, the base shape however is a hexagonal not rectangular, 8 inches on all six sides. So my geometry being so rusty I can't figure out the volume of the tank to even know if this is truly 15 gallons, but I hope this allows you to picture it. I want to plant it, but fish selection has me stumped. I know that a lot of fish need room to swim that this tank won't have i believe, so danio's and a lot of tetras are out right? I was thinking maybe platy's/mollies/swordtails/guppies, can't decide what mixture or one to choose, and something compatible like a few cory's, I'm not sure how many I can have though in this tank. I have heard that a single dwarf gourmai or angelfish is a possibility because of the height, I'm not sure if this is true though. I would love an angel if that is the the case but would it have to be totally alone or could anything else be in this tank with it?

I'd love some input on what would be good choices of fish for my small tall tank, it's really not what I would have picked out for my first tank in so long, but hey what can you do.

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

For short term an Angel would work but eventually you will need to get bigger tank

 

[TotallyCoral]

First of all, welcome to the forums and congratulations on your new tank!

In my experience, Cory cats are one of the most playful and one of the most entertaining tropical fish species I've ever owned. I'm sure you could fit a couple Cory cats in there but just be careful on the size. I'd recommend pygmy Cory cats as they only get to about an inch or so in length, while regular Cories get to about 2-3 inches. However, it's just among personal preference. They are schooling fish so a group of 4 or more is ideal. I've heard that they also are compatible with the Betta, so that's always a possibility. Haha, ever thought about a Betta?

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

Or dwarf gouramis

 

[Daingurse]

hmm haven't considered a Betta really, pretty fish though. Hmm if I go with a Dwarf Gouramii would I have room for pygmy cory's and/or any of the live bearers I mentioned or would he have to "go it alone"? I kinda like the look of mollies and swordtails, and the Dwarf Gourami was always a neat looking fish to me.

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

You can have other fish with dwarf gouramis

 

[TotallyCoral]

I'm almost 100% sure you can include one Dwarf Gourami with a group of pygmy Cory cats. You could also use AqAdvisor as a reference for your stocking levels but be careful, as it is not always accurate.

 

[Daingurse]

excellent

Hmm so a single dwarf Gourmai, 4 pygmy cories, and maybe 2 mollies sound alright?

 

[TotallyCoral]

Sounds great to me! If I'm not mistaken, just the right amount although you may want to double check with AqAdvisor. Oh and don't forget to add your fish gradually! Good luck with your new tank!

 

[Daingurse]

Yeah I'm slowly learning about everything so I know to go slow now with stocking. Not knowing about the cycling process definitely is responsible for many a fishes death in the past for me

 

[TotallyCoral]

Well, ya gotta start somewhere! And oh yeah I forgot to tell you, you may want to rethink the mollies because they actually prefer harder water than the rest of your stock. However, Gouramis and Cories in general are relatively hardy and can adapt to different water conditions. Overall, I think your best bet would be to leave the mollies out and search for another species like guppies or platies. Sorry about not informing you earlier. :/

 

[Daingurse]

yeah I think your right Platy's are a better fit, smaller too. Bah mollies/platies/swordtails all look so similar to me I'm not too upset

 

[TotallyCoral]

Haha, yeah same here! Especially from long distance... But yeah, despite that, you should be good to go!

 

[Daingurse]

Sounds good, thanks for the help!

 

[TotallyCoral]

No problem, and best of luck with your aquarium!

 

[eco23]

Yeah I'm slowly learning about everything so I know to go slow now with stocking. Not knowing about the cycling process definitely is responsible for many a fishes death in the past for me

Welcome to the site . I invite you to check out the link in my signature and get some info on fishless cycling. We'll all be happy to help you along the way if thats the option you choose (the only way to go IMO).

 

[Ches]

Hi, I thought I'd like to add from my experience that sometimes fish stores incorrectly label "dwarf gouramis" and they can get quite big so be sure it's a true gourami. I'm slightly hesitant on adding livebearers with a gourami in a tall tank. It seems to me that there might be fin nipping. Sometimes livebearers can get frustrated if there's not enough room to swim around in (lengthwise) and if you keep them in small numbers, they will nip other fish. This is just my experience though. I think the tank would look beautiful if it was planted with 2 dwarf gouramis and a school of cory cats.