Looking to stock my smaller tank 15 gallon 19.7"×13.8"×13.8"

[miniman]

Hi All,

As the title says im looking to set up my 15 gallon tank ( forget the wave maker in the pic) and just looking for suggestions? I know its quite small so a lot of species I couldnt do but was thinking about a Borelli pair?

Would it be worth getting some dither fish too or just leaving it? was thinking about some pygmy corys?

The problems with community tanks is its hard to make sure all the fish get fed as usually apistos are "slow" eaters so i dont want anything too crazy.

I understand its a small tank so I definitely dont want to overstock or get a bigger or agressive species.

Any suggestions would be welcomed!!

 

[MacZ]

Not the biggest footprint and even with A. borellii... I wouldn't go for any Corydoras but some pencilfish, preferrably N. marginatus. They are small, not half as greedy eaters as tetras and should give the tank some movement in the upper regions. A group of 8-10 and you're stocking is done.

 

[miniman]

Not the biggest footprint and even with A. borellii... I wouldn't go for any Corydoras but some pencilfish, preferrably N. marginatus. They are small, not half as greedy eaters as tetras and should give the tank some movement in the upper regions. A group of 8-10 and you're stocking is done.

Yep! Went borelli and 8 pencil fish

 

[anewbie]

Lousy shape for borelli - be sure to pick up a pair where female is not too aggressive....

 

[miniman]

Lousy shape for borelli - be sure to pick up a pair where female is not too aggressive....

What do you recommend?

 

[anewbie]

What do you recommend?

It just isn't a great tank for a polygamous species since the female will frequently (but not always) be quite aggressive towards the male when she has frys. a. pucallpaensis are a bit tamer and the male is not so aggressive - i have mine in a 10. Also like borelli they do not require super soft water - but they are not as colourful if that matters to you - also the male - at least mine are much shier than borelli and will frequenlty hide from you - the borelli is a bit more eager for food and will come up to you for feeding. dario dario i've not kept but are frequently kept in small aquariums. they are fairly colourful - can't comment on behavior and from my reading will frequently require live food but are otherwise an easy species to keep.

 

[miniman]

Lousy shape for borelli - be sure to pick up a pair where female is not too aggressive....

What do you recommend?

It just isn't a great tank for a polygamous species since the female will frequently (but not always) be quite aggressive towards the male when she has frys. a. pucallpaensis are a bit tamer and the male is not so aggressive - i have mine in a 10. Also like borelli they do not require super soft water - but they are not as colourful if that matters to you - also the male - at least mine are much shier than borelli and will frequenlty hide from you - the borelli is a bit more eager for food and will come up to you for feeding. dario dario i've not kept but are frequently kept in small aquariums. they are fairly colourful - can't comment on behavior and from my reading will frequently require live food but are otherwise an easy species to keep.

thanks. the borelli atm are relatively shy, i just want an active tank, not too concerned with breeding, and want a decent combination, weather its cichlid or not

 

[anewbie]

Oh! If you don't care about breeding just get a borelli male and skip the female.

 

[miniman]

Oh! If you don't care about breeding just get a borelli male and skip the female.

i mean it would be cool the tank is in my lounge room, and is full of anubias want some colour in there

 

[anewbie]

i mean it would be cool the tank is in my lounge room, and is full of anubias want some colour in there

You can do the borelli and some red pencil fishes (the species @MacZ mentioned was targeted towards breeding); or some ember tetra. Without breeding things are a lot easier to deal with and you don't need to worry about special scapeing required to block line of sight since that is only relevant if they are breeding.

 

[miniman]

decided im going to move everything to my bigger 25 gallon Waterbox Peninsula Mini 25 when I get the main scape in, gives me that 30l of water to play with extra

 

[MacZ]

(the species @MacZ mentioned was targeted towards breeding)

Actually not with breeding in mind, but mainly with the space in mind. Bigger species of pencils (like N. beckfordi or N. eques) require more space and bigger groups, as they can harrass each other quite harshly and quite often to death.

I also recommend a single male actually, but the past days have been very hot weather, I have a flat under the roof and had tooth/jaw surgery last monday, for once I'm a bit tamer than usual.

 

[miniman]

Actually not with breeding in mind, but mainly with the space in mind. Bigger species of pencils (like N. beckfordi or N. eques) require more space and bigger groups, as they can harrass each other quite harshly and quite often to death.

I also recommend a single male actually, but the past days have been very hot weather, I have a flat under the roof and had tooth/jaw surgery last monday, for once I'm a bit tamer than usual.

Lol.

I’m upgrading to 25 gallon anyway

 

[MacZ]

The pain was bearable, but the heat is not laughable. Significantly over 30°C in the night makes for really bad sleep.

Anyway, good decision to upgrade.

 

[miniman]

The pain was bearable, but the heat is not laughable. Significantly over 30°C in the night makes for really bad sleep.

Anyway, good decision to upgrade.

Yeah 20 litres more display water and 30l more capacity in total. Think it’s worth it’s weight in gold

 

[miniman]

Yeah 20 litres more display water and 30l more capacity in total. Think it’s worth it’s weight in gold

I’ll use the current tank as a breed out tank or something