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Hey ppl, I'm debating bringing my 15 gal to school with heater and biofilter, school can allow me to bring up to a 20 gal tank. What size is most managable?
I also need Ideas for stocking if I decide to bring the tank! I like very colorful fish, like bettas, swordtails, mollies, guppies, platyies,
But what are your suggestions for such a small tank and how many fish?
My friend told me the lfs had female bettas even though they aren't colorful are they good community fish?
Thanks for the help
BL



Last edited by bettalife at 22-Oct-2005 19:53

Hi there,
really, for a 15g tank, swordtails and mollies grow too large. You could have guppies, but keep in mind that there will be 40-100 fry born every 30 days, unless you keep only male guppies.
A better choice would be to go with some small, colorful tetras, cyprinids, or cichlids.
Heres some choices:
Glowlight Tetra
Neon Tetra
Lemon Tetra
Cochus Blue Tetra
White Cloud Mountain Minnow
Harlequin Rasbora
Shell dweller Cichlids
Bolivian or Blue Rams
Threadfin Rainbowfish
Pencilfish
Dwarf Puffers
Yes, Female bettas can be kept in a tank in a group. (no males)
There are many other choice out there as well.

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Female bettas can actually be quite colorful. They aren't all good community fish, though it will depend on the individuals involved. In general, if you're looking for multiple females, try to get siblings that haven't been jarred yet.

wow thanks for the instant responses now I have a lot of choices. At the moment I'll leaning towards the female bettas- are they really expensive more so than males? and how many could I house in a 15? If I buy a smaller tank like a 5 gal could I house two betta?
...Still I'm thinking about the other fish. If I bring the 15gal how many schools could I house and how many of each? or should I stick to one school?
I'm interested in:
white cloud minnows
glowlight tetra
Cardinal tetra
splash tetra- can I find these at my lfs ex: petco?
Threadfin Rainbows
Bolivian Ram

Thanks
BL

Last edited by bettalife at 22-Oct-2005 20:15

In a 15 gal. tank i would go with some Tetra's. You can choose some of these:- Glowlight, Rummynose, Cardinals & Lemon.


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In a 5g tank your options are really limited.
Heres some choices:
1 Male Betta
Put a divider in and have 2 male bettas,
or one male on one side, and 1 female on the other side.
Female Bettas are not any more expensive than males, usually less expensive.
3 Pencilfish and some ghost shrimp
6 Neons or Glowlights if you are meticulous on
water changes
A couple of african dwarf frogs
A shrimp only tank
Go Brackish and Get a bumblebee goby or dwarf puffer.
Other than that, not a lot of choices.
A 10 would give you much more options, and keep in mind
that a 10g tank is only 4 inches longer and 2 inches wider than a 5g tank, so essentially they will take up the same space. 15g tank are usually the same foot print as a 10g tank but a little taller, so really any of these 3 tank sizes will occupy almost exactly the same amount of space.


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SVS: you are so right bigger is better but I'm new to big tanks. This is random what are the dimensions of a 20, 25 and 30 gal? Maybe I'll setup a tank at home instead of lugging all of my equipment to school and back again.
BL





Last edited by bettalife at 22-Oct-2005 20:32

Hi Betta life,
the standard dimensions of a 30g tank are:
36" x 18" x 12
A 33g tank is similar, but the tank itself is longer
and less wide. 48 x 12½ x 13.
25g tanks again come in 2 types, long, or tall.
A 25g tall tank measures 24" x 12" x 20"
I am unsure the dimensions of a regular long 25g,
but i think its probably only 12-14 inches tall and then the length is more.
On my 25g tank I run a Cascade 300 hang on the back type filter, which does 300gph, or gives me a 10x per hour turn over rate approximately.It is a superb filter.I also run a sponge filter that is for a 50g tank, as this tank is quite fully (over)stocked. In my 25g tank I have a breeding pair of angelfish, 9 corydoras aeneus, and 1 stone lapping barb.
In a 25g tank you could have many options, if you went with the tall tank you could stock for top medium and bottom, like
6 White Cloud Minnows (top)
8 Rummynose Tetra (middle)
6-8 Corydoras Catfish

It really depends on what you like.
What I would recommend is, pick the size you are going to get, and then pick a filter (try to go for 6-10x per hour turnover rate), some good filters are:
Cascade Hang on the Back
Eheim Canisters
Fluval Canisters
Rena XP series canisters.
A Canister filter has a greater amount of media in it, and requires a lot less maintenance while providing superior filtration. They are more expensive though. The rena is probably the mid price, the fluval the cheaper, the eheim the most expensive.
Then, once you know what filter and what tank you have, have a look at some fish either here on the profiles, or at local fish stores. Then come back and ask us about them.
Find what you like and we can help recommend numbers and/or compatibility issues for you.


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Wow thanks for the advice, it's great.
I have to double check the dimensions of my moms old tank I think it's a 20gal any recomendations for a hood with flourescents and what watt of bulb? What is the average price for filters and heaters? Also what should I invest in for more oxygen, I'm not planning to over crowd my tank with plants would only having airstones be ok?
Thanks again
BL




Last edited by bettalife at 22-Oct-2005 20:36