Help! Need stocking advice for 15 gallon column tank

[jenelle]

Hi there, about a week ago we got a 15 column tank and followed every bit of advice given to us from the store. We are absolute beginners.

I used the biologically prepared gravel, have added stability every day, am watching for ammonia and nitrite, etc. It has a reasonable filter and I added a air stone to add oxyen given the tank proportions when I read about surface area.

The tank seems to be doing well. On the day i go the tank they sent us home with 1 platy, 1 red danio and 1 harlequin rasboro. They are doing well so far.

The problem is that I am getting conflicting advice about how to add more fish eventually given that I've now discovered the danio and the rasboro should be in schools but I don't have room for large schools especially not two of them. I really like the platy and would like another.

I was planning 2 or 3 guppies for the top level and Corys for the bottom, but I can't figure out the middle now or what I should do to keep the danio and rasboro happy. Maybe fewer guppies or corys so I can add more in the middle?

I LOVE this tank and want it to thrive.

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[junglefowl]

Some guppy endlers would be good too...and shrimps on the bottom!

 

[courtanee]

I would go with 6 harlequin rasboras, another platy make sure its the same sex! And maybe some pygmy Corys. Other corys get pretty big and they need bottom area so the smaller variety might be a better choice for you 15 high. You could add some amano shrimp in there too. Maaaaybe another male guppy or 2. I would say that's pretty set.

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[jenelle]

I really appreciate the ideas. If I go with another 5 rasboros, will the red danio I have be okay on his own? I will investigate the suggestion about amano shrimp. How many - just 1 or 2 in addition to the small Corys? Are corys best in a small group? I'm thinking about how to keep the numbers low enough to be healthy yet also have a vibrant and active tank.

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[courtanee]

You could probably take it back to the shop. Try trading it in for more rasboras. But he would probably be alright on his own if you wanted to keep him. I would probably get 2-3 amanos. They don't take up a lot of space. Yes definitely get Corys in a group. Maybe 5-6 of those. They're very small

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[jenelle]

Good news! I talked to LFS and they said I could trade in the red danio. So it looks like I can build a school of harlequin danios. Still trying to track down amano shrimp. All I can find so far is rili shrimp which I don't think will help clean the tank. Are there any other peaceful choices for the top level besides guppies?

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[courtanee]

Rili.shrimp will definitely clean the tank. They're a bit smaller and they are prolific breeders with the right water quality. Similar to cherry shrimp. You might have a few get eaten because of their smaller size, but I think they will be fine. I say go for it.

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[courtanee]

Hm... Other than guppies, you could try sparkling gouramis. They're small you could try one or two. They aren't super popular you might have trouble finding them. But also a cool fish.

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[absolutangel04]

Glad to hear you are loving your new tank!
A few notes about your fish keeping that are not always the first info available:
1. Not all swimming space is equal. You seem to already have a good grasp on this, I am just re-affirming you. Congrats on trading in your danio. They are a very active species and generally should have more like 2 feet of horizontal space. Often, you will see a description of a species with a minimum tank size. Not all fishkeepers agree on what that should be, but I daresay many hobbyists do not agree with the minimums given by a lot of large fish sales franchises. Realistically, a 15g column tank should be stalked mostly like a 10g tank. The extra vertical space will not be utilized by most species. You have a bit of wiggle room because the extra water space gives more leniency with the parameters, but the actual swimming space is limited. Most schooling fish swim primarily horizontally.
2. Always research things yourself rather than just listening to lfs. Again, I can tell you seem to know this since your very first experience at the store included them giving you inappropriate fish. Just a heads up, the lfs may or may not actually know what they are talking about. So, best to make sure you know about the fish in question. After you have done this for a bit you will get a better feel for knowing the quality of advice given to you.
3. Nano fish are tough to find and you will likely have to look into special orders. If you are interested in fish like the sparkling gourami or pygmy cories, you will likely have to look into ordering fish online. It is usually easiest to order from the country you live in (appears to be Canada?). Also, feel free to ask you lfs about special orders! Many fish stores get their stock from the same handful of places, they just happen to only order stock that they feel they will sell. If they know you will buy it, they may be able to help out a bit with some special stock.
4. Stock slowly. It helps. As you get more fish in your tank, and see how they interact with each other and the environment, you will get better at understanding how much can go in your tank. Keep up with pwc, and keep up with testing your parameters. In a little tank like that, I wouldn't add more than a few fish at a time. When I stock a 10g, I tend to add between 1-5 fish. I only add 5 or more if they are all one school. In that case, I do extra pwc so the fish will have he group and not get stressed.

Ok, that is my best basic advice for your situation. Sorry it is so long! Lol. You have been given some good suggestions of species. A few more to look at are the honey gourami and Endler's livebearer. Also, keep ghost shrimp in mind as an alternative. You could support a trio of otocinclus IMO. I would be a bit cautious with rili shrimp because they might just get eaten by everybody else. I suggest figuring out the rest of your stock before getting them. Ghosties tend to do better in small spaces because they have the bright color that seems to attract predation. Also, ghosties are a much cheaper investment than rilis are if you want to test out shrimp.
Let us know if you have more questions.

 

[jenelle]

Thanks for the excellent advice. I was in Vancouver today and went to an amazing shop called
Aquariums West which specializes in planted aquariums. They helped me select another 3 beginner, low light plants.

I also got 3 Amano shrimp. Excited!

My new stocking plan:
4-5 harlequin rasboros
4-5 embers (or not if this is too much)
2 platys
3 peppered corys (- small enough?)
3 Amano shrimp
1 oto

Now that I write it all down it sounds too much. What should I cut back on?

Having so much fun learning and planning.





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[courtanee]

I would cut back on the embers, and the oto to be honest, yours is still a new tank and they need an established tank yo be able to survive well. I would up the number of peppered Corys. Maybe 1 or 2 more. There a sigh called aquatium advisor that is great at telling you stocking levels, and why something won't work.

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[courtanee]

http://aqadvisor.com

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[Mama Karoti]

Agreed on the Oto advice. And they are happiest in groups, minimally 3 or 4. Very neat and helpful fish. I love mine.


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[jenelle]

Thanks for the aq advisor tip. The ember idea is definitely out. Once my tank is well established would it make sense to get 3 or 4 otos instead of peppered corys?

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[jenelle]

Also, I have 1 female platy already. Could I get one more female and avoid problems or would that result in an aggression/pecking order issue?

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[courtanee]

I think platys would be ok. It might be an issue if you add 2 males or something.
I think the otos would be fine instead of the Cory's.

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[Dallascowboys16]

I would recommend ottos over corys in your tank as the footprint is just too small for cores IMO. Just let your tank get established over about a 6 month period as ottos mainly feed on bio-film and aged tanks are the only kind suitable for them with a lot of grazing surfaces.

 

[jenelle]

Here's how the tank is shaping up after I added new plants


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[courtanee]

Looks good!!

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[amyb_70]

i have ottos and corys. my understanding is they are happiest in groups of 4. being fairly new myself but as someone said you dont really need hard core clean up crew yet. i would suggest maybe going for a few shrimp. i have ghost shrimp they are very cheap and they do great on cleaning up what falls to the substrate... if there was bad advice to be giveen believe me i got it . i now have 3 tanks and will be posting my own thread as how to stock just 1 as i am selling all my other fish.... my personal experiance i have had the hardest time keeping guppies alive. i have had at least a dozen differant kind of fish but for some odd reason i always have issues w/ guppies.. my other suggestion, and you seem to be doing it is read, read, read.. do NOT trust the stores... ive been sold chinese algae eaters and told they are great friendly community fish... now i would beg to differ and so would the guppies whos eyes got eaten.... most people here are so helpful... keep up the great work and research
your set up looks great right now