Capacity of my 15 gallon tank? (and a few amateur questions)

S

Spclk1981

Freshwater n00b
Oct 4, 2004
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Shelby Township, MI
www.wishuwerehere.us
I have a tank that's approximately 15 gallons. I had goldfish and african clawed frogs as a kid, and I'd like to have another aquarium.

I'd like to get 2-3 african dwarf frogs
Some Neon Tetras (8?)
Some fancy guppies
Some ghost shrimp

How many would you all recommend? I've looked online, and it seems that all of these creatures will live together peacefully.

If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd appreciate them too - I am not set on these specific fish. I'd just like a couple frogs, I think the shrimp are cool too. As for fish, I'd like some smaller, brightly colored fish.

Lastly, would it be more beneficial to get some live plants, or should I go with plastic? I have never had live, I hear they can be hard to care for.

Thanks! I'm glad to see such a big community on the subject!
 
Either go with 6 guppies or 6 neons (I prefer cardinals or glo-lights) and you should be fine in terms of bio-load. I wouldn't get any female guppies, they'll multiply very fast.

Live plants does take more effort to maintain. The important thing is the type of plants and the available lighting. Most standard hoods for 10-20 gallon tanks only contain a single bulb that is usually insufficient in supporting most plantlife.

For beginners, stick with low light plants. This way you don't have to add any additional lighting and most of the low level plants are generally easy to take care of. some low light plants are:

java fern
java moss
crypts (lots of varieties)
anubias (lots of varieties)
anacharis
hornwort
 
So, if I went with 6 guppies or anything similar, am I OK with 2-3 frogs and 2-3 shrimp?

Thanks for the plant info! I'm really excited to get started, I know a 15 gallon tank isn't very big, but it's a starting place :)
 
You's be okay with six (male) guppies and the shrimp and frogs. Any similiar species to guppies grow larger than them (mollies and swordtails for instance) and are not suitable for a 15g. Anything about their size (endler's liverbearer) should not be kept with guppies because they will hybridize (which is extremely unwanted).
 
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