Fist Aquarium

[Fishdude]

ok, so i am working on setting up my first aquarium. it is going to be a 15 gal. cold water aquarium, right now i am starting to buy all the thing i need to get this thing up and running, i am planing on starting with 6 white clouds and an undetermined amount of ghost shrimp (of course im gonna let the filter run for 3 days before getting the fish). my questions are as follows : 1) how many ghost shrimp should i have with 6 white clouds? 2) can i use fake plants or do they need live, or is there no difference? 3)can i just feed goldfish flakes or do they need a special kind or food/ live food?
Thank you in advance

[Lexus]

1. as many as you want
2.live plants are always better but you dont NEED them, if you dont want plants dont get any, but fake or live do provide hiding spots and shelter.
3.you can feed the goldfish flakes and they will be fine.

also... your tank needs to be running and cycling for more than 3 days more like 3 weeks
goldfish grow really large and only one fancy would be able to inhabit a 15G and I wouldnt even suggest that with 6 white clouds. Most goldfish should be kept in ponds or very large tanks. They also produce alot of waste and many water changes are needed to keep these levels down especially in a smaller tank

[turtlehead]

goldfish are very messy in my opinion.

[Fishdude]

Thank you very much i will let it cycle for longer, and i wasn't planning on putting any gold fish in. eventually i will probably add some neon tetras and mabye soem other compatible fish.

[TheOldSalt]

Neons won't do. They need tropical warmth.

There are probably some very suitable fish living in a creek near you. You might be amazed by how much pizzazz our american native fishes have, and most of them make fine aquarium residents.
Where are you, Fishdude?

[Fishdude]

i live in Colrado. i guess i wasn't completly clear, i meant i would add a heater and some neons, i was told that white clouds can live at the same temps as neons, or in a cold water aquarium. However i am not sure how credible this information is....

[garfieldnfish]

In a 15 gal you could put 6 white clouds in to cycle the tank. They are great cycling fish. Once they have cycled the tank a great combo with the white clouds would be 2 small corys like panda corys and 2 otos for algae clean up. But if you decide on otos you need to have live plants or they won't do well. All those would go great with ghost shrimp. But I hope you have more luck with ghost shrimp that I did. Mine all died one by one and I have added calcium and iodine to the tank (my water is very soft) but they just won't survive in my tank. Now I have one Burmese mountain shrimp and one Singapore Wood shrimp, much hardier. The Burmese Mountain shrimp is a scavenger and the Singapore Wood shrimp is a filter shrimp both great in keeping the aquarium cleaned up.

[Fishdude]

thx. for the sugesstions, i am actaully thining about going w/ a 20 gal. its not musch biger i knwo but i was adding up the amount/size of everything and 20 gallon just seems to give a little mroe freedom (working on teh idea of 1" of fish per 1 gal). becasue withe the 6 white clouds and 3 ghost shrip a 15 gallon is almost full, only leave room for another ghost...

[Lexus]

I'd go even bigger if you have the money and space... you'll want to upgrade eventually anyways

[Fishdude]

ya, i want to but i don't really have the money to buy a bigger aquarium/filter/more decorations

[garfieldnfish]

The price difference between a 15 and a 20 gal is not much, since you need the same equipment anyway and the tank itself is not much more expensive. As far a space goes both have the same floor layout if you get a 20 high, it's just a bit taller, but gives you more options. I would definitely go with the 20 gal.

[Fishdude]

yeah thats what i am going to get is a 20H, planning on getting a bio wheel filter, have a air pump, and use abotu 1/4-1/2 in of gravel. should i use sand instead? but then i will use a few fake plant and put in some rocks and hiding places

[Fishfirst]

do a fishless cycle, do not use white clouds to cycle the tank please!

[Fishdude]

this is actaully the decision i was just contemplating, i was leanign tward the fishless cycle, but if i can get some gravel from a established aquarium from where i buy my fish i may do a fish cycle...or mabye a fishless cycle and ask for some gravel anywyas...

[Lexus]

Fish or fishless is up to you. I dont see anything wrong with cycling with white clouds they are fairly hardy, danios are another good cycler.