Help with new tropical tank

[Princess1982]

Hi everyone. I have been keeping fancy goldfish for 3 years now and would like to start a tropical tank. I have a 54 litre tank set up which I have been using for a goldfish I have recently rehomed. The tank is cycled, can I add tropical fish to this water or do I need to start again?

I love mollies and was wondering what other fish I could put with them. Do you have any stocking suggestions? Can you tell me how I work put how many fish I can put in this tank?

I know goldfish but this is completely new for me so any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Stephanie

 

[Mebbid]

It's common belief that mollies need a 30g aquarium, 15 might be cutting it a little small.

Have you looked at platies? They are both very similar fish.

Either way, community fish that I would suggest that can go with either of them in a tank that size are Dwarf Gourami, harlequin rasbora, guppies, neon or rummynose tetra, and danios.

As for using the same water, as long as there iis 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and below 40 nitrates then I would say go ahead and use it.

 

[Princess1982]

Thanks this is really helpful. Would an imperial Pleco be too big for this tank? i know other breeds grow quite large other than the bristlenose. But imperials are lovely and I have always wanted one.

 

[FrogFrenzy]

I'd put some tetras in. Leave the gourami out if you're using guppies, gouramis like to nibble on their tails. Cardinal tetras and zebra danios are great beginner fish. That's pretty much what I have in mine. I also have ghost catfish but they're more of an intermediate level. Hope I could help!

 

[Samzter]

Thanks this is really helpful. Would an imperial Pleco be too big for this tank? i know other breeds grow quite large other than the bristlenose. But imperials are lovely and I have always wanted one.

No plecos in a 15g could try otos if you have a sustainable algae source

 

[Fishperson]

No plecos in a 15g could try otos if you have a sustainable algae source

Yeah, I agree about the plecos. I have heard that Nerite snails decimate algae too.

 

[Princess1982]

That's great everyone. Thank you. How many fish should I limit myself too in this size tank? How frequently should I change the water and can I use all the same test kits and water treatments I use for my Goldie's?

 

[Princess1982]

I have been looking at smaller fish recommended for smaller tanks online and these are the ones I like the look/sound of

Mollies
Guppies
Blue rams
Platties
Pleco (smaller ones such as bristlenose)
Betta
Shrimp
Dwarf crayfish
Frogs
Glofish danio
Dwarf puffer

Would any of you disagree with any of the above? Do you have any recommendations as to which would be a good combination ti have together or are there any that should be avoided to to aggression etc?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks

 

[librarygirl]

You could probably do something like:
1 molly
3 guppies (suggested to get all of the same gender)
2 platy (again, same gender if possible)
6-8 small schooling fish like the glofish

guppies and platys are livebearers so they tend to breed very easily; it's recommended to get the same gender if you can to avoid being overrun with baby fish (fry).

I wouldn't try to mix fish with frogs or crayfish in such a small tank. Even the smaller plecos need a good size tank (usually 30 gal minimum). When the tank is more established you could try Ottos which are essentially very tiny plecos. A betta can be hit and miss in a community tank but if you want fish with long fins like guppies, platys and mollys I wouldn't try a betta. You could also do the shrimp if you wanted.

If the tank hasn't had fish in a while, you should be adding an ammonia source or else you're going to lose your bacteria and hence will have to recycle the tank. This link might be of some help: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium-186089.html

 

[Princess1982]

This is a great help. Thank you so much. The tank has been free of fish for about 5 days but I've left the filter and everything running still so hoping that will make a difference.

 

[AngelFishGirl]

I have been looking at smaller fish recommended for smaller tanks online and these are the ones I like the look/sound of

Mollies
Guppies
Blue rams
Platties
Pleco (smaller ones such as bristlenose)
Betta
Shrimp
Dwarf crayfish
Frogs
Glofish danio
Dwarf puffer

Would any of you disagree with any of the above? Do you have any recommendations as to which would be a good combination ti have together or are there any that should be avoided to to aggression etc?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks

I would say no to the plecos and mollies. Unsure about the crayfish and blue rams. Other than that, the others seem fine.

 

[Princess1982]

So I added 10 neon tetras to the tank to start off with and they are doing just fine after 10 days. Water parameters all good so looks like the tank wont cycle again.

I would like to add a couple more fish in the next few days. Is the correct ratio 1 inch of fish per gallon of water? The fish I have are tiny, all less than an inch. Could I get 3 - 4 more fish? I was thinking fancy guppies.

 

[Samzter]

So I added 10 neon tetras to the tank to start off with and they are doing just fine after 10 days. Water parameters all good so looks like the tank wont cycle again.

I would like to add a couple more fish in the next few days. Is the correct ratio 1 inch of fish per gallon of water? The fish I have are tiny, all less than an inch. Could I get 3 - 4 more fish? I was thinking fancy guppies.

Ten neon tetras, IMO is too many for a 15g... And they really are not cycling fish the 1 inch per gallon rule is very old and shouldn't be used. All those fish will grow. You have to think of the ADULT size of the fish, not the size they are now. You might be able to get away with a badis badis pair. I don't really know be aide of the amount of neons

 

[Princess1982]

I didnt realise that neon tetras grow much bigger. The guy in my lfs said they don't get any bigger and that I needed to take a big group of fish as they are schooling fish. Then said I can add more fish .... Clearly another lfs with staff who don't know what they are talking about.

So if I was to have just 5 neon tetra (I can give some to my mum), could I add some guppies then?

 

[Samzter]

I didnt realise that neon tetras grow much bigger. The guy in my lfs said they don't get any bigger and that I needed to take a big group of fish as they are schooling fish. Then said I can add more fish .... Clearly another lfs with staff who don't know what they are talking about.

So if I was to have just 5 neon tetra (I can give some to my mum), could I add some guppies then?

Hm actually come to think of it they might not get much bigger sorry my mistake I think I messed up. You might be able to do a trio of guppies in there