Good Community fish for a 15 Gallon Freshwater

[Newman]

Horn wort lol. you can build a collection of "wort" plants xD
im joking. hornwort is great to have though.
I'd say ditch the gourami unless you REALLY want it.
You need to add pure ammonia to that tank asap. the cycle starter stuff you added, some form of bacteria, needs ammonia to survive. if you dont add ammonia, it will die within a day and youve basically just thrown your money out the window.

 

[OrangeCones]

we added the plant food, the decore, some aquarium salt, the declorinator, and the cycle speeder stuff and turned on the filter and air pump. Heres some pictures. *twirlysmi

Plants generally don't do well with salts, and the air pump is going to off-gas any CO2 in the water.

Just a suggestion....

 

[paperdog9]

Oh...well I didn't buy the cycle stuff, it came with the tank (it was a starter pack tank) so I'm not to worried about that, but wouldn't you think they would either include it or tell you on the bottle (those cheapstakes ). I did add water from my asstablished tank into it and waved the filter around if that provides any ammonia. Oh, and the air pump is going to go only at night, because the plants take in oxygen when in the dark, right? Or is that a myth?

 

[OrangeCones]

Oh, and the air pump is going to go only at night, because the plants take in oxygen when in the dark, right? Or is that a myth?

No, its not a myth. All plants actually take in oxygen 24/7. If there is enough light for photosynthesis, they will also take in CO2 and give off oxygen during the light period. Once the lights are out, they are just (very small) consumers of oxygen. Some put their lights and an airpump on a timer so that one goes on and the other off.

There is no need for an airpump at night unless you are having problems with the levels of CO2 using a pressurized system. Good to have on hand (very useful if you need to medicate a tank and had to raise the temperature as a result --warm water does hold as much oxygen --), but not really needed on a day-to-day basis. By the time morning comes again, you've likely depleted the tank of CO2 with the airpump, so the plants would rely on the fish expelling it once the lights come back on.

 

[Newman]

you need to get pure ammonia and a liquid testing kit so you can start cycling that tank of yours...

 

[paperdog9]

Oh,you NEED to use ammonia to cycle? Can't I just do water transfers from the five gallon and some decore transfers?

 

[OrangeCones]

Oh,you NEED to use ammonia to cycle? Can't I just do water transfers from the five gallon and some decore transfers?

Why are you adding water from another tank?

Hard surfaces will have SOME beneficial bacteria, so the decor may help establish some bacteria. But the bacteria need to EAT ammonia. With no ammonia source, they will die.

 

[paperdog9]

Well, I am adding the water partly because the fish waste will help my plants grow, and I thought it would have ammonia in it because there are fish in the five. Do plants produce ammonia? Oh, and I was wondering, why do you NEED pure ammonia because I used no pure ammonia cycling my old tank, and it turned out fine. I'm sorry if I seem so clueless and question filled, I'm pretty new to all of this stuff.

 

[Newman]

plants would maybe produce it if they were dead and rotting...
anyway you need ammonia because its the fastest, most direct and humane way of growing and feeding your bio-filter throughout the cycling process.
get your self a bottle/jug of pure ammonia and a liquid test kit to monitor your progress and the the cycling fun begin

 

[paperdog9]

Is there another fast way (sorry funds are low, not to sound like I'm just being stubburn) acctually how cheap is it? I might get some if I have time, oh and thanks for all your help!!

 

[paperdog9]

Oh, and check out the site in my signature, It isn't anything fancy, but it is the yellow bullhead I caught last summer that I'm releasing next summer!

 

[Newman]

nice catfish!
anyway the ammonia comes in a big 2-3 gallon jug for only $3
THAT'S IT. lifetime supply for cycling tanks (not really, but it'll last you years)
So dont be stubborn and get out and hunt for it. the only problem is finding one w/o surfactants. you need PURE ammonia. 100% or diluted with water, it dont matter. ammonium hydroxide is good enough.

 

[yhbae]

OK...So 100 percent is just the maximum? Oh... that makes sense!!

Just one comment on this - people will recommend lower % numbers because they are easier to keep and maintain. There's no rule that says you cannot exceed 100% though. As an example, I have an mbuna tank that is currently sitting at 130% and they are healthy and breeding constantly. The key thing here is that you need very good filtration and very frequent/large water changes in such setups. I also made sure they are compatible from aggression perspective.

More heavily stocked your tank, more difficult and more time you need to spend on it. So in general, I too, recommend more lightly stocked tanks for those who are getting into this hobby.

 

[paperdog9]

OK, I was just wondering, the water is still kind of cloudy, but it cleared a little bit, so is that anything to be worried about? Also, my heater is not doing that great of a job. I set it to the temp I want, so it starts warming it, but the problem is that the heat sensor isn't picking up the temp to well. I set it to 75, and I looked at it earlier and it was still heating, but the temp was 81. I can't figure out whats wrong please help!!!!

 

[littletankbigworld]

I adore cories. I have a peppered cory and an upside down catfish. I'm considering getting panda cories when the pet store has them in stock. They are cute to watch. I definitely recommend them.

 

[paperdog9]

Ya they look pretty cool ! back to the point, The water is still clearing, but very slowly, and also the heater was turned all the way down today, and it acctually didn't turn on. I still need an answer to why it isn't working properly, so please help!!!

 

[Newman]

the african cichlid tanks and tanks that are fully planted can be exceptions to the overstocking rules, but please keep it below 100% if your keeping standard community fish in a relatively non-planted setup.. other wise youll have problems w/ water quality faster than if you didnt overstock.

 

[OrangeCones]

I still need an answer to why it isn't working properly, so please help!!!

I would replace it.

 

[paperdog9]

actually, I found the problem for the heater, it's sensor is just thinking that everything is like 3 or 4 degrees cooler than it really is. I just set it to like 72 degrees and it is remaining at a steady 75 or 76. And about the overstocking thing, I am not going to get the gourami, bring the stocking percent down to about 90 percent, and it is going to be a fully planted tank, so I'm not worried about overstocking anymore!!!

 

[paperdog9]

Ok, the water is slowly getting clearer, so I'm hoping it will clear all the way soon!!! Also heres and update picturewise. note that the flash makes the water loopk clearer than it really is. The first is day one, second day 2, and third day 3.