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I recently set up my first 15 gal freshwater aquarium about 1.5 months ago, with one fish...an albino paradise fish. Is there any difference in albino fish for the amount of light exposure that is good for them? I currently leave the light on the tank on for about 8-12 hours per day, with natural daylight bulbs. Also, I live in the pacific northwest so there is not a large amount of natural daylight getting to the tank.

I am also curious as to what other species of fish paradise fish are compatible with, as I hope to add 1 or 2 small fish, or small schooling fish in the future, as well as small bottom feeders. My tank is not huge so I'm curious if my paradise fish will harm smaller fish. Also, not sure whether or not it is male or female.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks!

Lighting should be fine As far as I'm aware there is no issue with albino fish being more sensitive to standard tank lighting than other fish.

Are there places in the tank he can go if he is feeling exposed? Some plants or a cave or something?


Paradise fish are funny things. I've kept a group of 4 together, I've kept one that couldn't stand other fish, I've had a friend keep them in a pond with goldfish... to be honest I think that what they are likly to get along with and what they'll actually tolerate could be very different. Err on the side of caution and be sure you have an evacuation plan for any new additions in case your guy doesn't like his new tankmates.

I'd say corydoras are a safe bet, as well as being quite active. Ideally you want a group of 6, but that tank will not handle that, so perhaps 3 could work. I'm not a big fan (but I'm in the minority there!) and they really do better in bigger groups, but they would be a safe choice in terms of behaviour.

Kuhli loaches should also be ok, but be careful as they like scooting into your filter

Zebra danios also work, and as much as people think they are boring, you wait til you have a small group in a tank like that. Those guys are personality plus. I find them quite aggressive, but their size means they can't really do anything much. They are certainly very interesting to observe!

White Cloud Mountain Minnows are also an option, and as with the danios they are amazing in small groups.

The best part of all these fish is that they come in pale/albino/white variants I'm not sure if that is something that interests you, but it could make for a very interesting tank indeed

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Yes, he has plants and a nice cave which he sleeps in...though he spends the majority of his time near the surface or chasing his reflection.

I'm researching the species you have suggested to me, and am going with the albino theme so I will speak to my local fish store about the possibility of arranging that.

Would a Pygmy Gourami be a good match? I've read they do well in smaller tanks.

Also, I do not have a heater at this time because the temperature of the tank water is stable for this fish...do any of the fish you recommended need a heater?

And one more thing I've read recently is that albino Paradise fish tend to be less aggressive than coloured paradise fish...is there any truth behind that? As he does jump at me when I feed him

Thanks

I'll tell you what I decided to do regarding heating the water v. not heating the water. I have tank water that naturally sits around 74/76 degrees. I could have let it go without a heater, but I was worried that the water would eventually fluctuate too much, so I went with a heater and set it at 77 degrees to keep the water temperature stable and decrease the risk of disease (such as ich). I would suggest a heater, but that's my preference.

I just purchased a heater for the tank, because I've noticed a decrease in energy and activity in the fish. He already seems much more active and definitely enjoys the heater being in there.

My suggestion would be to say no ont e pygmy gourami, when mixing labyrinth fish is discouraged usually. i'd stick to the paradise fish as your center piece and get a few albino cories and maybe a small group of WCMM or another small albino fish if thats what you are going for. I have had a 15g tank before and they are a great sized tank! I would just suggest that you take it easy and put only a few fish in at a time and keep the stocking pretty low because I had shrimp overload the system once and it all crashed and I lost probably 200$ worth of shrimp and plants while gone fore two weeks on vacation.
Just acclimate the fish slowly (1-3 at a time with at least 2 weeks in between additions) and add no more than 10 fish to err on the safe side.

Hope this is helpful!
-Brandon

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"