CatLady

Hello!

We got our daughter a small tank a few weeks ago and we've had so much fun with it. We're looking to set up a second, bigger tank and I was hoping that I might get some advice please on what sort of fish would live well together.

We're beginners so we're looking for fish that are not too difficult to keep.

I really like zebra danios and the dwarf gouramis. Could these two types of fish live together? Would a 15 gallon tank be large enough for them?

Thanks!

BettaGirl92

Nice fish to keep in a 15 would be Mollies, Platys and a couple of Cory Cats. Or some tetras.
They're easy to care for as long as you keep up your water changes!

A 15 is a little small for dwarf gouramis and danios, but you could still do it.

ThisGuy

Welcome to fishlore. The best idea is to get the biggest tank that will fit your space and that you can afford because you will just end up buying more tanks(MTS). The general rule of thumb is one inch of full grown fish per gallon. 15Gal 15 inches of fish. The links below is for there profiles. Dewarf's grow to be 3 inches and zebras grow to be 2 inches, zebras are schooling and will nip fins if not kept in schools of 6 or more. 6 zebras 12 inches of fish a 15 gal is pretty much maxed out and thats how MTS starts. I have a pair of dwarf blue gouramis with 8 neon tetras and no one has bothered anyone. I have never had zebras before but they are a similar peaceful schooling fish.

good luck

http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-DwarfGourami.htm
http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-ZebraDanio.htm

Barbrella

You could put one dwarf gourami and 5 danios in the 15 gal tank.

Don't be tempted to overcrowd your tank, as that will end in disappointment.

Agree. Larger tanks are more versatile concerning what fish you can keep down the road, and larger volumes of water are much more stable.

angelfish220

and bigger tanks are more fun!

ninilie

A all male guppy tank would look very nice and you could have any color of the rainbow almost. Just dont get females with that small of a tank.

Jugglo

A male swordtail and a few corys!

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

If you put Danios and Gourami together, watch for the Danios nipping at the feelers on the Gourami. Danios nip less usually when you have 6 or more, so you'd want to start out with 6 of them, which would really just leave room for 1 Gourami.. 20g or larger would let you have 2 or more Gourami with the Danios.

HatchetHaven

Danios and Gourami are aren't an ideal pairing. The Dwarfs are slow moving fishes, that don't compete well for food. Danios on the other hand, are zippy movers who can easily outcompete the Dwarfs for food. The result is you have to feed your Dwarfs bottom feeder pellets! Personally, I think this combo is best avoided in a small tank like 15G. Also, Danios are a little nippy as Dave (COBettaCouple) said and they could end up taking a bite or 2 out of the Gourami's feelers. Either way, I think it would work out better with 8 Neons and a Dwarf gourami, but if you are careful you may be able to combine the 2 species. Just don't forget to cycle your tank!

Also, can we know a bit more about your daughters tank? It would be nice to know.

CatLady

Thank you everyone for all of the ideas! I'm glad I asked before getting the smaller fish. Because of where we want to put the tank, 15 gallons is as big as we'd like to go for that room. I may have to go to the pet store today and have another look through the fish room and check out some of the neons and corys.

My daughter's tank is 5 gallons and we have a dark blue betta named Sam in there and three little cloud minnows.

The store where I got the bigger tank from offered to test a water sample after I had the new tank running for a week or so to let me know if it was ready for fish. Is there a test I can do from home?

HatchetHaven

Ah. Bettas and white clouds don't tend to get along - they seem fine one day, then the next the poor little Betta is ripped to shreds... It is also unhealthy for the fish because you have twice the amount of fish that can fit in a 5gal (5" of fish go in a 5g, 1 betta + 3 minnows = 9.5"!) However, WCMM's would make a really nice school of fish to have in your 15gal. So, move the minnows to the 15gal when it's ready, then after a few weeks get 3 more minnows. Then after a few more weeks, get your gourami. That would be a really nice and interesting tank, plus you wouldn't have the problems with overstocking and nipping in your daughter's tank.

There is a test you can do at home. Get an API mastertest kit (The most accurate!!) and you are sorted. Cycling could take a few weeks to a month. Just don't forget to keep adding fish food/ammonia!

CatLady

That's really good to know. I was told at the store that they would get along well.

joy613

Stores go by general information usually. Getting your gourami last is an excellent suggestion as HatchetHaven said since they are territorial. I am stocking a 40 gallon tank now I have an angel fish in in from another tank. Two out of 3 stores suggested a grourami but I know that there would be a fight over territory. White clouds and a gourami is very nice a tank a long time ago like that.

HatchetHaven

Or...
"Stores go by totally ridiculously stupid information usually".... I was once told by a fish shop guy that corys nip guppys. Corys are the most peaceful fish we have!

COBettaCouple

Stores tend to give all kinds of crazy advice.. mostly driven by sales motivation. Your daughter's Betta will be very happy without the minnows and you may notice more personality coming out.

If you want to cycle the 15g tank with fish, it is more work since you need daily water changes of 25-40% but with that and using Prime to treat all of the tap water you can minimize stress on the fish.

HatchetHaven

Well, I personally reccomend doing it fishless. It's quicker, easier, and no fish are stressed or killed! Or, you could use Bio-spira. But that is expensive stuff, Bio-spira, so you may not want to use it.

CatLady

I have started cycling the bigger tank. I will wait until its ready before moving the minnows. They all seem fine together at the moment, so I would rather wait unil their new home is ready.

I haven't heard of Bio-Spira. What's that?

angelfish220

Its basically 'Bacteria in a Bag!' its the only 'instant cycle' product that works. its pricey and hard to find, but it really gets the job done for all the impatient people who dont want to go through the whole cycle.