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That tank it too small for Angels.
I have a 12 gal setup with Glo Fish (altered Danios) in it. Just set it up and only have 3 to start..planning on getting a few more over the next few weeks.
I have also had a male paradise fish and a Chinese Algae Eater in this little tank..or you could have some other similar sized semi aggressive bottom feeder.

hey everyone, I'm a noob in this hobby and i currently own a 15 gal tank. I have everything set up but the only thing missing are the fish. I want to get tropical fish because I would like to have angel fish. I was wondering what combination of fishes I can have in my tank and if any of you think that tropical fish will be hard for me to maintain as a beginner. If tropical fish wouldnt work for me which fish would? thanks in advance.

aaron, a few things we need to know first - do you have a heater? do you have a filter and if so what kind and what is the PH of your water - all these things will determine what kinds of fish you can have. Some species have some pretty specific water requirements. Two types that are pretty tolerant of everything are guppy's - either get one male or one male and 2 -3 females (you'll have lots of babies) or start with 2 cherry barbs. Once we know the water parameters we should be able to help you a little more.

So I take it almost everone here is totally against 1" of fish per gallon?

In some ways, yes.

If someone new to the hobbie goes out and gets fifteen inches of fish for his first fifteen gallon tank it will result in a disaster.
Personally I think the inch per gallon rule is silly. Stocking levels have less to do with water volume than they have to do with filtration, surface area, and species characteristics. The end determination of how many or what size fish will live in a tank is the water quality. If you can't maintain the water quality you are overstocked no matter how few fish you have.

Hey Aaron and welcome. I am a newbie at tropical fish. Currently I am cycling a 20g high tank. I am going to be putting swordtails and possibly some harlequin rasboras in it. I am also getting a 10g for dwarf puffers and a 2-3 gallon bowl for a betta. If you are starting out with a tropical fish tank DEFINETLEY read about cycling,stocking,plants and heating. This forum is great I have learned 99% of what I know about fishkeeping from this web-site. Just do alot of reaserch if your starting out. Good luck.

hey its me...do any of u have tropical community tanks? if so wuhatt fish to u have in there? what are your experiences with tropical fish?

So I take it almost everone here is totally against 1" of fish per gallon?

It just seems like all the post I have read suggesting what kind of fish to get for this or that threads have been a little low. Especially the 1000 gallon tank thread. 30 Cichlids and only a few others. That's it, come on it's 1000 gallons.

And don't worry my 20 gallon isn't over populated.

Go with Tropical community fish. Your local fish store should have these types of fish marked in diffrent sections so you know what temperment the fish are. My petsmart does this. You could check them out and give us some ideas of the fish you like/want and we could give you suggestions. An easier way to do this is to surf the web and find fish you like. Good luck

Tropical fish will work for you, as long as you have a heater, but a 15 gallon is too small for angel fish.
Some easy to care for first fish are zebra danios or guppies. Start out with just a few fish until you get a little experience with maintaining water quality.
You will need to research a little on the care of fish before buying. It isn't complicated, regular water changes, feeding the right amount etc. I don't know how far along you are in setting up your tank, but read about cycling the tank before adding fish.

how about i put a school of 6 corydoras with the rams? would that be fine?

how about some tiger barbs?

I agree with phoneshannen, that along with two rams, a school of six smaller tetras would be fine.

I really doubt you would fine a selection of cichlids at a chain store, check out stores that are locally run. Sorry, I can't give names, as I live on the other side of the country.

so if i were to put 2 bolivian rams....is that all i can fit? if not what good tankmates would i be able to fit? anybody live here in southern cali? if so do u know any good spots to find these rams? thanks a lot

If you go with the rams 2 is all I would put in a 15 gal. Sorry TigerAngel they they need their own territories, and there isn't enough room in a 15 for more than 2 rams.

I would go with 2 Bolivian rams and a large school of tetras, gloelights would be very pretty.

hey thanks for the links....one person told me that chain stores dont carry rams..and local family owned stores carry them...how much do the these rams cost at retail? and what are some ideal companions for them? thanks

3aaron3, Depending on the rams. The Bolivian Rams are hardier than the Blue Rams which do not like Medications/water changes. Very sensitive. The Bolivian Rams like a higher PH than the Blue Rams. The Bolivian Rams seem to grew bigger than the Blue Rams.


http://petfish.net/bolivian_ram.htm

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/southamerican/p/bolivianram.htm

http://hjem.get2net.dk/Best_of_the_Web/blue%20rams.html

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=1084

The last site has a bit of interesting information. Stating the Blue Rams only have a short life span of a year.

http://www.aquaworldaquarium.com/The_Super_Blue_Ram.html

I say 3 rams of either specie. For 10 gals tanks and up.




[span class="edited"][Edited by TigerAngel 2004-07-24 05:02][/span]

hey its aaron and i read in another post that ppl were saying rams would b able to fit in a 15 gal.....ive seen pics of them and i would love to have some...i also checked out the dwarf gouramis and they look pretty nice too....if i were to get some rams how much would i be able to fit? thanks

I agree with beth that livebearers are a good fish and colorful. I personally like swordtails but if you are going with a 15g you would be limited (they get to be about 5 inches). There are many small schooling fish you could get.

First off, I agree that you should go to a LFS and write down what you like and let us know... then everyone can give you advice as to which ones might be easier to take care of for a beginner.
Now, my personal favorites and the ones my hubby and I first started out with are platies... they come in some pretty cool colors and they are very hardy. They are livebearers like guppies so you will have fry to deal with but leaving the fry in with the grownups we only ended up with 2-3 each time surviving... with some floating plants for them to hide in. As platies have a lifespan of about 2 years this means you will continually have new ones to replace your more mature fish as they die but you might want to ask your LFS if you want to get livebears about taking extra fry if a lot of them survive each time. We started in January with 4 and now have 17 of them.
Anyhow, good luck setting up your tank and please post if you have any more questions... and we will do our best to help.

-Beth