15 gal coldwater

[steeledarren]

i was wanting to know if anyone could tell me how many fish i could safely place in a 15 gallon tank, could anyone advise me, i dont want a goldfish!. hahaha. i would like small playfull and colourfull fish if i could thanks. maybee a bottom feeder too they look cool

 

[asudavew]

No heat?

 

[RoseHippi]

White mountian cloud minnows. 4 or 6. As long as the temp stays stable with no heater they well be ok but if the tanks does not stay stable I would get a heater.

 

[missileman]

If you use a heater you would have a much wider choice of fish.

 

[eja206]

i have danios in my unheated tank. (5 leopard danios). they can be kept with minnows, or just in schools - they are very active, and quite a few different patterns are available.

 

[steeledarren]

thankyou eople, i have a heater but thought i would try and get a bit of experience with cold first, is that a good idea?

 

[beglely]

its probably better to drop 20-30$ on a heater and keep ur fish warm. Temperature changes, especially large ones, arent good for fish. Like someone said above, if the temp is stable youll be fine but if not get a heater. i know before i got a heater i would see temp fluctuations of 5-8 degrees which isnt great for them

 

[missileman]

Even if you go cold water the heater will help cycle the tank faster.
The bacteria is more active at higher temps 80*-82* or so.

 

[jsoong]

He has a heater, & the tank was cycled (had a baby koi that is going to a pond).

I would just go ahead & use the heater. There is no advantage in "practicing" with a cold water tank. Even if you keep cold water fish, it is nice to have a heater (set to low 70's for example) to decrease temp fluctuations.

you have lots of choices at mid to high 70's. White clouds, danios & most of the smaller livebearers will be fine in a 15.

 

[steeledarren]

thankyou, i am going to put the heater in now. cant wait for my new fish.

 

[steeledarren]

got my w fish today, i got 6 gold minnows, 4 platties, 2 ottos and a gold apple snail, i have one concern though, one of the platties has a white spot on his tail, could it be white spot or ich?

 

[missileman]

Ich looks like a grain of salt. It the spot raised or just a discoloration?

 

[steeledarren]

its hard to tell, it looks raised a little, what should i do