15 Gallon Tank Stocking ideas for small community tank?

[humomo]

I am currently cycling a 15 gallon planted tank and I am starting to settle on a general idea of what kind of fish I'd like, but would really appreciate some help and advice since I'm still a beginner in the hobby!

My water is pretty hard (GH gets up to 14, KH up to 10 - usually at 6) and my pH is around 7.0-7.2 at all times. The temperature stays around 25°C (sometimes a bit hotter these days, and I also have a heater ready for colder days).

I have 6 bigger plants in the tank, a piece of wood, some rocks and black substrate, so it is pretty full with a lot of hiding places and some decent swimming space.


On to my general stocking idea:
- 1 honey gourami
- 10 chili rasboras /
or 10 harlequin rasboras (I am worried about water hardness) /
or a small group (3-5) of guppies/endlers (could I keep males only?)
- 10 cherry shrimp (hopefully establish a colony, I don't mind some of them or the babies becoming food)
- 1 assasin snail (to control pest snail population)

What do you think the best combination would be? Would you recommend against some species due to my tank parameters?

I would really love to have a nice community tank, so a centerpiece + a group of smaller fish + shrimp. I could also settle for a trio of guppies and a school of tetras but I don't know what tetras would do well in my tank. All advice is much appreciated!!!

 

[CoryMaster151]

Hey There!

I would get some Corydoras as they are quite a peaceful fish and love to just cruise around the tank and they don’t disturb any of the other fish. If you were wanting to get some, keep them in a group of 5 or more as they are quite a social fish and are a lot happier in a group. They also eat any remaining food that any of the other fish have not eaten. Hope this helps
Best of luck!

 

[JettsPapa]

Welcome to the forum. I like your general plan, but have a few things (since you asked).

• Most gouramis, while not shoaling or schooling fish, are social. With that in mind, I'd get three honey gouramis instead of just one (preferably one male and two females).
• I haven't kept chili rasboras, but as far as I know they should be fine. A few male guppies would also be good, especially if you have access to some that are hobbyist bred instead of from a chain pet store. Many locally owned fish/aquarium stores buy guppies locally, and those fish are generally much hardier than the ones mass produced at the commercial fish farms.
• Do you already have pest snails? If not, I believe I'd wait with the assassin snail, but getting it right away shouldn't be an issue.
• I like the suggestion above from CoryMaster151 about adding a small group of corydoras, but if you do please get one of the smaller species for your tank. I'm a big fan of Corydoras pygmaeus, but there are a few others that would also work.

 

[carsonsgjs]

Thats a good looking tank. In addition to the suggestions above, I think endlers will work well with those water parameters.

 

[Jragan23]

Welcome to the forum. I like your general plan, but have a few things (since you asked).

• Most gouramis, while not shoaling or schooling fish, are social. With that in mind, I'd get three honey gouramis instead of just one (preferably one male and two females).
• I haven't kept chili rasboras, but as far as I know they should be fine. A few male guppies would also be good, especially if you have access to some that are hobbyist bred instead of from a chain pet store. Many locally owned fish/aquarium stores buy guppies locally, and those fish are generally much hardier than the ones mass produced at the commercial fish farms.
• Do you already have pest snails? If not, I believe I'd wait with the assassin snail, but getting it right away shouldn't be an issue.
• I like the suggestion above from CoryMaster151 about adding a small group of corydoras, but if you do please get one of the smaller species for your tank. I'm a big fan of Corydoras pygmaeus, but there are a few others that would also work.

Yeah I agree. I would go with like 3 honey Gouramis. They are pretty small so shouldn’t really be an issue? That should be a cool tank though! Have fun stocking it!