[Seren]

Hi! My friend wants to get a fish tank. He's kept fish before, but he's not sure how many to put in a 15 or 20 gallon tank - preferably 15, but if that's impossible, a 20 would be okay. Dimensions would be helpful too, but not necessary! I'm willing to research more.

This is what he's interested in:
Platies
Guppies
Mollies
Loaches
Bumblebee Catfish
Shrimp
Nirite Snail

We know the catfish might be semi-aggressive, but aren't sure if any of these fish might get along with it. We're pretty sure platies, guppies, and mollies could peacefully coexist, possibly alongside shrimp. Whichever loach is best for a 15 or 20 gallon tank is best.

What are some good combinations for one of these tanks? After some research I'm thinking (for a 15 gallon):
2 platies, 3 guppies, 1 nirite snail or 2 shrimp
3 guppies, 1 mollies, 1 shrimp or 1 nirite snail
3 loaches, 2 guppies, 3 shrimp or 1 nirite snails
1 bumblebee catfish, 2 mollies or 3 guppies, 1 nirite snail

Is there a way to have molies, guppies, and platies all at once? I'm not that experienced with anything other than bettas though, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Seren]

Thank you! We'll definitely try that.

I'd still like a second opinion, though, if anyone is available!

 

[Seren]

@lilnaugrim

Thank you very much! We'll definitely be getting all males and leaving out the mollies. We might adapt what you have there a bit, but it's a very good starting point.

@nympxzie

Thank you, also! We'll make sure to research everything very, very carefully, and thank you for the information on the sand bottom! Didn't know that. Same for the inter-breeding!

---

So, my friend is thinking (after lots of research and debating, plus the info given), possibly:

4 black khuli loaches (there will be plenty of horizontal space for them, since estimates seem to range from 10 to 30 gallons)
2 platies
3 guppies
10 ghost shrimp
1 nirite snail

Would this be appropriate? We'd be using the Aquaclear 30 for the 15 gallon, so the filter should be nice and strong. If it's pushing the bioload, though, I'd like to know - we can always add more fish if things are going well, but it's much harder to deal with an overcrowded aquarium.

 

[Seren]

Thank you! Adding 2 loaches and 1 platy woudn't push it over the bio-load? It says so on aquadvisor, and even bringing down the shrimp to 5 doesn't help much...

Do I need to shuffle some things around or take out everything but the platy, guppies, and loaches?