Would it be okay to add some more fish to my community tank?

[ReyK]

I have a 15-gallon column tank that's lit, heated, filtered, and planted. It's currently got one black moor goldfish and two black mollies and that's it. It's 13 inches wide by 13 inches deep by 18.5 inches tall.

I know that eventually, my black moor will become too large for this tank, but he's only about two inches long right now and I know he'll probably get to be about 6 inches in length. When I told my local PetCo that I'd bought him from Walmart on impulse and didn't realize how big he'd get, a sales associate told me that I can bring him in and they'll take him, but I don't want to get rid of him any time soon because I really like him. Maybe by the time he gets big enough to be unhappy in my tank I'll be able to afford something along the lines of a 30-40 gallon tank, but that's not right now.

My question is, would it be okay to add 1-2 more mollies or 3-4 guppies to my tank? Also, I'm thinking about getting either a couple black mystery snails or about 10 ghost shrimps for clean up and maintenance. What do you think?

EDIT: If the black moor was relocated, would the stocking I suggested be okay? That's what I'm really wondering.

 

[54seaweed]

With the black moor alone you pretty much overstocked as it is .
black moors can reach a size of 10 inch and that 15g tank will not be big enough to support him .
this is why we always recommend you do your research before buying fish ,
certain types of fish need larger tanks as others do fine in smaller tanks ,
live aquara is a good place to see if a certain fish is compatible with your tank size.

 

[ReyK]

With the black moor alone you pretty much overstocked as it is .
black moors can reach a size of 10 inch and that 15g tank will not be big enough to support him .
this is why we always recommend you do your research before buying fish ,
certain types of fish need larger tanks as others do fine in smaller tanks ,
live aquara is a good place to see if a certain fish is compatible with your tank size.

I understand that the black moor needs a bigger tank. Like I said, by the time he grows to about 3-4 inches, I'll probably be able to get him a bigger tank. My concern is whether or not I can get a couple more mollies or not. He is eventually going to be removed within the next 1-2 years, but a 3,100 cubic inch tank with only 2 fish looks super boring, which is why I posted this question in the first place.

 

[SherLar]

IMO, don't put any more fish of any type in your tank until you relocate your moor. Not only do goldfish grow larger than people think, but the amount of waste they put out is unbelievable.

 

[Toad]

Column tanks are not the best for most fish tbh, there is not enough horizontal swimming room, and that tank is not big enough for the moor or the mollies. You will not have 1-2 years with the moor until getting a bigger tank. This thread is from our cold water section, and shows a telescope goldfish at the size most stores sell fancies vs the same type of goldfish at 2.5 years old

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265871

They do a lot of growing, and in a small tank you can stunt them for life :/

That tank would be fine for a few guppies, but with the current fish and the shape of the tank we can't really recommend getting any more fish until the moor at the very least is removed

We aren't trying to be mean, just don't want to set you up for failure and have the fish suffer

Sent from my SM-G930T using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[mim]

I understand that the black moor needs a bigger tank. Like I said, by the time he grows to about 3-4 inches, I'll probably be able to get him a bigger tank. My concern is whether or not I can get a couple more mollies or not. He is eventually going to be removed within the next 1-2 years, but a 3,100 cubic inch tank with only 2 fish looks super boring, which is why I posted this question in the first place.

Unfortunately you won't really be able to tell when he starts to stunt, by the time he grows to 3-4inches the damage would already be done. Think the recommended tank for one alone is 20g.

 

[54seaweed]

Unfortunately you won't really be able to tell when he starts to stunt, by the time he grows to 3-4inches the damage would already be done. Think the recommended tank for one alone is 20g.

your close live aquara recommends at-least 30g see below

Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Black Moor Goldfish

 

[ReyK]

Alright, so I'll either take him to PetCo or give him to someone in my area with an adequate tank. Then what do I do with the mollies because Live Aquaria says the same thing about them: minimum 30 gallons. Should I do the same thing?

Also, what would you suggest for stocking then? I have a black theme to my tank so far: black gravel, black background (taped to the outside of the tank), and black fish (that I'm now getting rid of?). Would 4-5 guppies be an okay stocking even though Live Aquaria says they need at least 20 gallons? I want fairly slow-moving fish that have pretty fins (which is what drew me to the black moor and the mollies in the first place). I already have a betta in my 3-gallon cube, and I don't want to put him in the bigger tank because I want it to be a community tank (meaning 3-5 individual fish in my case, not necessarily multiple species of fish). If guppies will work I'd like to get probably 4 or 5 black phantoms (to continue the black theme) or blue cobras (since they have black on them, but can also be quite colorful at the same time). If that won't work, what would you then suggest?

 

[GuppyGuy333]

though this was already said goldfish are extremely messy. their bioloads make them pretty high maintenance

I also don't think they are compatible with mollies or guppies because they are considered coldwater fish and mollies and guppies are tropical.

as for mollies it is recommended to at least have them in groups of 3 with two females for every male. in my personal experince i think this is kind of a lowball figure. I would suggest having at least having 3 females for every male with more the merrier.

for guppies, all the research i have done says you need to keep them in odd numbers and have at least 3 ( i think this is a lowball number too). I say get 5 at least. make sure they are all male too......you do not want to have a population explosion!.

and as for your betta, 3 gallons is too small. the bare minimum is considered 5 gallons and this is once again a lowball number.
I keep my betta in a 55 gallon community tank and he does fine (granted he was a smidge aggressive at first but i think he was a bit overstimulated). having a betta in a community tank is a gamble but you can always try it. i have written a post on here about the whole experience if you want to give it a read.

 

[maybe_gabby]

you could add a couple more fish, i would add just one more molly, because 3 is the minimum recommended, you could add 3 guppies or neon tetras too, but unless you remove the goldfish it would then most definitely be in full stocking capacity. but if the moor gets any bigger you would have to re locate him.

 

[ReyK]

you could add a couple more fish, i would add just one more molly, because 3 is the minimum recommended, you could add 3 guppies or neon tetras too, but unless you remove the goldfish it would then most definitely be in full stocking capacity. but if the moor gets any bigger you would have to re locate him.

I've switched around my stock a lot because the mollies started being aggressive towards everything else in the tank so I took them back to the store and exchanged them for other things, and I gave my moor to my sister, who had a good tank and wanted him, so he's taken care of. Now, my current stock is 1 male baby betta (he's very peaceful and gets along with my guppies great), 1 male guppy, 2 female guppies (it was three, but one of the mollies killed one), 3 ghost shrimp, 1 zebra merits snail, and a black mystery snail. For now, I'm not changing the stock at all unless I'm adding a couple more female guppies or my LFS gets in some African Dwarf Frogs, in which case, I might get a couple but for now, I'm content with this stocking. I need to get some more substrate and some rocks or drift wood to add hiding places because at the moment, I only have one small moss-covered structure that's only bout 4 or 5 inches tall and it's at the bottom of the tank and my Anacharis is still very short so I have nothing to occupy the middle and top of my tank. I want to get the aquascaping done and let the plants get more established before I think about changing the stock again.