Can you help me out in a tank i plan to put fish with?

Question

i plan to use my mom's 15gal tank which is unused or my dad's 20gal tank when his flower horn fish is gone.(i dont hope for it to be gone).
-just thinking about future use of the tank.
-i want another tank

can you choose fish for me which i like to put in either tank?
i am really a newbie in fish care but i done my research.
i am now having tetras in my own tank and they seem to be well now.
i want a colorful and peaceful tank(community tank)
choose from:
neon tetra
glowlight tetra
black molly
red lyre swordtail
redtail black shark
rainbow shark
varitail guppy
fancy guppy
zebra danios
cherry barb


(i dont ask you to choose all,choose only what you think would be best for my tank.
tell what fish and how many.)
thanks in advance.

use this as a reference
http://www.tropicalfishdata.com/

Answer 1

i have my a tank with a bunch of different types of freshwater sharks in it. my faves. are red-tailed. rainbow sharks are fun to watch too. so id have to say go with the sharks

Answer 2

If you want other fish, it's going to be a community tank and you'll have to stay away from aggressive fish (pet store should be able to point them out). I find it really hard to keep small tanks like that clean and the filters running good, so maybe think about upgrading to at least a 25 gal. A cory catfish or algae eater will help clean algae and leftover food. Neon tetra's, mollies, guppies, and platy's are good beginner fish and should get along with the beta. Remember to put de-chlor in the tank each time you change the water and most tropical fish will need a heater according to the gallon size of the tank (the heater box should have a chart). I also believe it's 1inch of fish to every gallon, so once you put the gravel in, it might be 9 gallons left or something like that, the fish will also like live plants to play and hide in.

Answer 3

Well, as far as a nice colorful community tank goes, all of the species you have selected will work. I would strongly caution againt the live bearers(guppies, platys etc.) In my 20 plus years of aquarium keeping experience, I have found the schooling fish the most pleasant and relaxing to watch. I prefer the tetras(neon, whitecloud, rainbow and penquin are a few of my favorites), also zebra danios and cherry as well as tiger barbs are a colorful addition you can actually get green tiger barbs, but I prefer the traditional. If you decide on sharks remember this, they do get big and they do tend to take up a lot of tank space. The sharks also can be agressive at times, not all are, but some tend towards it as they grow. As far as how many fish you put in ... well that should depend upon the size of the tank you choose and your filtration system. It is a good rule of thumb to go with an inch of fish per gallon for example : a ten gallon tank can support ten one inch long fish. If you branch into saltwater keeping the rule is two inches of fish per gallon. so only five wold be apprpriate. HOWEVER I have had a few too many in my tanks over the years and they have done well, I made sure I had an adequate filter system and regular maintenance though! If you decide to start up you tank remember to only start with one or two"disposeable Heroes" These are fish you put in to start the growth of the good bacteria and algae that keep a tank running smoothly, they may or may not live it depends on how hardy they are. They are the start-up fish, so don't worry if they die, they are helping to begin the support system of the tank.
Currently I have a ten gallon tank running with cherry barbs, zebra danios and gold tinfoil barbs all school and are quite energetic. They also eat like pigs, but thats normal. also keep your temp good and constant between 76 and 78 degrees, todays heaters are set and forget varieties so that shouldn't be an issue for you. I hope this has helped you some, and I wish you the very best in your tank. Remember: patience and time are your friends when dealing with tank set up. Thank you kindly and have a good day.

Answer 4

I think have a nice colorful tank would be good, to achieve that, try something simple like neon tetras, zebra danios, cherry barbs, or gold barbs. From experiance, the gold barbs and zebra danios are very active and breed easily. If I were you, I would simply put a school of one fish in the 15 gallon, that way you will see more activity from the fish, and some neat swimming patterns. I would suggest at least 5-7 if you plan on one type of fish schooling.
Good luck.

Answer 5

You should tell your dad that flowerhorns need much bigger thanks that 20 gallons. 50 gallons is a bit better but still too small. They aren't cheap fish, so if he doesn't want to get a bigger tank, he should tell the flowerhorn. They fetch a decent price as adults.

Anyway, with tetras, it is important to remember that different types don't school together (they might if they have to, but they much prefer schooling with their own types), so in a 15 or 20 gallon tank, you're limited to one type of tetra. As for which type, well, that's up to you. Of the two you mentioned, I prefer glowlights. Or cardinals instead of neons - cardinalds are IMO a little prettier. In the 15 gallon, you should get a school of 8 or 9, in the 20, 11 or 12.

I would avoid getting mollies or swordtails. You could get a trio for your 20, but mollies and swordtails can grow to 3-4", so they're a little on the big side.

The sharks are too big.

Guppies and cherry barbs are fine. Get 3-4 of whichever type. They aren't schoolers per se, but they enjoy each other's company at times. In your place, I would get:

10 glowlight tetras (only 8 if it's the 15 gallons)
3 guppies (1 male, two females)
4 cherry barbs (the guppies OR the barbs if its the 15 gallon - I'd get the barbs but that's just me ;))

In case you aren't already aware, please make you cycle your tank. First of all, have you cycled your tank? In the wild, and in established tanks, there are nitrifying bacteria that break down toxic ammonia from fish waste and excess food into less toxic nitrates. In a brand new tank, these bacteria don't exist, so any fish in the tank will produce ammonia, which, not being broken down by bacteria, will kill or weaken the fish. So, it is vital to cycle your tank.
There are a few methods. These bacteria live in the gravel and in the filter cartridge, so if you can get some from another tank, you can put the bacteria right into your tank (don't let the gravel or filter cartridge dry out). If you do this, in a day or two, your tank will be ready for fish.
Another way is to get Bio-Spira. It is the actual live bacteria in a little pouch, and your tank will instantly be ready for fish.http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html

Other methods, which include putting a source of ammonia in the tank and letting the bacteria build up on its own, or putting a fish in and letting the fish produce ammonia (which borders on animal cruelty, because the fish will suffer from the ammonia in the tank), take 2 to 6 weeks before your tank is ready. If you rush that, any fish you buy may die, so try one of the instant methods I mentioned above (bio-spira or gravel from another tank)




Edit: In regards to what sharkb8 said: I know you weren't planning on it, but in case someone reads what she wrote, do NOT use a 15 or 20 gallon tank as a starter saltwater tank. With fishtanks, all fishtanks, bigger is better, because it is easier to maintain stable water conditions for fish, and SW fish are much more delicate. A 15-20 gallon SW tank in the hands of a newbie would fail, 99% of the time (whereas a 50gal would succede just fine).
Also, more barbs are nippy. Tiger barbs in particular are well known for pestering and nipping the fins of other fish. Cherry barbs are not like other barbs, they are quite placid and will not nip anything (there is some debate as to whether they even are barbs).
The 1 inch per gallon rule is completely bogus, by the way. With small fish, it can more or less apply, like tetras and guppies, as long as you have a base tank (ie you can put 10 neon tetras in a 10gal, but you can't put 2 in a 2 gal). But with anything bigger than 1.5-2 inches, you need to go to 5, 10 or more gallons per fish. Each fish is diferent. But let me put it this way - would you put a huge, 10" oscar fish in a 10gallon tank? Of course not.
Also, I don't see any fish as "disposable". There is no need to use a fish to initiate the cycle of a tank. Other than the fact that it is a cruel process that burns and eventually may kill the fish, it is lengthy. Using a fish or two, it takes 2-6 weeks to cycle a tank. The instantaneous methods I mentioned take a day or two.

Answer 6

if you are gonna have that many fish in a community tank you should start with at least a 55 gallon.rule of thumb is 1 gallon of water per inch of fish.plan accordingly and good luck

Answer 7

Those are all baby fish man. No offense. Go get a blue convict, or a redbelly piranha. Those are the fish that make a tank, not those little p*ssy fish, sorry im sure i was no help.

Answer 8

hi,
you can put two pairs each of neon tetra,cherry barb, serp eye tetra, rosy barb, widow tetra,for tank bottom fishes you can put rainbow shark and red tail shark.you can add lot of natural water plants and give them lighting thru an aqua lamp.they grow very well with plants.

Answer 9

just call your local pet shop or you go to that site for your own reference you know exactly what you want in your fish tank and you can also pick the colors you are looking for we can't do this better than you can.

Answer 10

I'd like to suggest the neon tetra because when i had one it would glow when good light hit it. It was just so beautiful. Good luck in your choosing.