Would this work?

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dtn23

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I may be getting a free 15g tank soon from a friend who thinks he has one just laying around somewhere so I've been thinking what to do with it. Was thinking maybe betta sorority, glass catfish only, or the idea I'll be discussing in this thread, but I have a few concerns.

What I'd really like to do is have a planted tank with one centerpiece of driftwood and some lush green low level plants and one centerpiece fish like a gold gourami. Then I'd like to have a large school of neons or cardinals but I'm afraid the tank would be too small for this. I've seen people with huge schools of small tetras and they are so fun to watch but I'm afraid a 15 just wouldn't be enough for them. I could ditch the gourami but I like the idea of that as well. I guess my main questions are these:

1.) Is a 15g tank enough for a school of neon or cardinal tetras to live happily?

2.) If it is, what is the maximum school size I could get away with? With and without the gourami?

On a side note, if anyone knows of or has a really cool build for glass catfish only I'd really like to look into that as well. Something with lower lighting and lots of caves that could keep a larger school of them. Thanks :)
 

tanker

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I would try for a smaller gouramis===maybe a dwarf or "Thick-Lip".

You probably can have a school of 10 or more neons. Less for Cardinals.

IMO---10 Neons and a dwarf Gouramis would be OK (depending on your WCs)
 

Ptrick125

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The glass catfish like to be in groups of at least 4 or more... A 20 gallon by themselves would be best IMO

You could get a school of neon tetras in a 15 gallon, I would say a school of 5 or 6, but I'm not experienced with them...


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kissofcrimson

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For a Betta sorority tank you need at least 5 females, so that's out of the question for a 15 gallon. Glass cats are esp shy & get larger, but you could possibly do 3 by themselves. Either a school of neons/cardinals (8-10) or maybe a smaller Gourami like dwarf with some Ghost shrimp. There are actually quite a few small species of fish that could be setup in a 15 gallon, you just have to look around and see what fits you best.
 

lesleyx

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I have glass catfish their in my 55, very shy & sensitive fish they need a few off them too. Mine are getting big their at 5inches. :)

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rufioman

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Try cpd's or another micro rasbora and some pygmy corys.
 

dtn23

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My girlfriend currently has 3 glass cats in her current 15 setup. They do quite well and are about 3'' each. I'd like to have a tank with a full school of them though. I'll shy away from the sorority for now because I'd like that to be closer to a 29 or so. I really like the idea of a large school of neons. I've seen 125g setups with schools of like 100+ cardinals with discus so logic would lead you to believe 10-12 neons in a 15 would be ok but it doesn't always work like that.

Let me redirect my question:

What is the minimum size I should be using for a school of 15-20 neons and possibly one 4-5'' display fish?
 

tanker

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What is the minimum size I should be using for a school of 15-20 neons and possibly one 4-5'' display fish?
That is really 2 different questions. IMO a 4-5" fish would need at least a 40gal, a 55 would be better.

But a 55gal will hold 50 neons and the 4-5" fish.
 

AquaticAustin

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Id say you could do the 15-20 neons in a 15. Maybe 10-15 would be easier tho

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