15G FW Planning Help

Cody

I will be putting some sort of FW tank underneath my 40br reef. It will be either a 10 or 15 (or even 20), but I am leaning more towards the 15. I know everything I am going to do as to filtration, heating, decor, etc, but I have this idea that I don't know will work or not.

I want to try Dwarf Puffers. I know about all their feeding habits, and feeding frozen or even live foods is fine. But I still want to get back a betta or two, without the addition of more tanks. I think you know where I'm going here...

My plan...
15G Tank (24"x12"x12"). Divide off 4" on both ends of the tank, leaving about 2.5 gallons in each end, which makes the middle compartment 10 gallons. I would put 3 DPS in the middle (3.33 gallons per puffer), and then two bettas on the outsides. I would make sure that the dividers I get have small enough holes so that the DP's can't fit in. I could also probably put a wall of plants in front of the dividers.

The filters (Penguin 100) will be in the middle, so the flow is still slow for the bettas. Heater in the middle as well.
I will also most likely be using fake plants and both real and fake decor.

Thoughts?

onefish2fish

i think it will work, id prob prefer seeing the 20 leaving 5 gals on either end for the bettas but i think the 15 can still work.

try to get 2 female and 1 male puffers and plant the center well with lots of hiding places. you might also want to start a breading pest/pond snails in a glass bowl

Cody

Oh, I know about the snails. I have this 5G tank that is basically on Cruise Control. Planted with a few plants, a big piece of driftwood, 7 Cardinal Tetras, and snails galore.

But I am still 100% undecided on what to do with this... if I even decide to do something.

onefish2fish

use the space and tank for a sump?


i have dwarf puffers now and im trying to get rid of them honestly lol. im not interested in the freshwater anymore as much as i used to and plus i need to get rid of the tank before i move my next tank in.

Cody

I'm not doing a sump. I know almost nothing about plumbing, and things need to be very quiet.

onefish2fish

its not to hard putting together a few pieces of PVC and in my room i only hear the dang protein skimmer humming and doing what it does.

i guess its your tank your rules

( BTW i responded to Kim's post about the triggers )

Kim

I think it sounds like a good idea. Just make sure the dividers are secure. When I divide my 10 gallon for 2 bettas I will be cutting the top opening flap in half so that I can open one compartment at a time eliminating the jumping over the divider hazard. I'd go with the 20 gallon though so that the bettas can have a little more room. They like more horizontal swimming room than vertical and 4" really isn't much room to move even if the front to back length is longer. Plus you'll be able to see them better and decorating will be easier if they have 5 gallons each. Good luck!

Cody

Another idea that I have been tossing around is just a small community of FW fish that I have never kept.

I think I would do a 15G, and this would be my plan:
-3 Cories/5 Pygmy Cories
-2 Male Swordtails
-1 Honey Gourami
-5 Cherry Barbs/5 Lemon Tetras/Some other mid-level shoaling fish

I know it is a bit overstocked. But I have no problem with doing water changes every week, especially since it would only be 15G (and FW). Biweekly sometimes if I have to.

Is there any compatibility issues here?

Cody

Ok, scratch some of that. I just did a bit more research...

I need to go to a FW LFS soon to see their stock.

Cody

I'm going to bump this back up...

More idea.
I was thinking about doing like 8-12 Cardinal Tetras in the tank, with maybe a Clown Pleco. Having a Black BG on the tank and some black sand laying around, I think it would really make their colors pop. Thoughts?

I am also interested in Cichlids. Not so much the Dwarf Shellies (don't want to deal with fry), but I was thinking maybe one of something alone by itself it that is possible?

Same idea as above, but anything I can keep alone in a 10G? Looking for a decently-sized fish.

And then, open to all ideas.