Hello all,
My son (6yo) has become really interested in keeping fish, so I've been researching a lot/watching youtube videos, etc. I'm new to the hobby too, aside from the research I've done.
I've purchased a 20 gallon high tank to go in his bedroom, and was hoping I could get some feedback on what I've tentatively come up with. Already got a sponge filter and air pump. I'm planning on having a co-worker run it in their tank for a few weeks to get some bacteria started in it so I can hopefully jump start my tank cycling.
First of all, this does not conform to the 1 inch per gallon rule... It is more congested than that, which has me a bit worried about it possibly requiring more periodic maintenance than desired. I'm hoping to get away with water changes/etc once weekly or less once the tank is fully established.
I wanted the tank to be kind of exciting/interesting for my son, so I'm thinking a community fish tank with a "centerpiece" fish.
6 x neon tetra
6 x zebra danio
1 x honey gourami (male)
5 x pygmy corydora
3 x amano shrimp
2 x nerite snails
Does this sound reasonable, or should I take some things out to reduce the bioload?
I'm thinking about putting some plants in too, although I don't have those selected yet.
When looking at the different inhabitants required water parameters, I came up with using this spreadsheet I threw together. The pH window seems kind of tight. I'm not sure how hard it is to regulate pH. Any insight you could provide on this would be helpful. I haven't tested my tap water yet... I ordered some master test kits for that last week that haven't come in yet.
Temp Min (F)
Temp Max (F)
KH Min
KH Max
pH Min
pH Max
Water Parameters
72
77
6
8
7
7.5
Originally, I was thinking about getting silvertip tetras instead of the neon tetras and zebra danios due to their neat behavior where they will kind of swarm to your fingers when you put them on the glass, but I was deterred by what I was reading about possible nipping/aggressiveness.
For substrate, I'm thinking about sand due to the corydoras. I guess I would need to supplement that with root tabs when I start planting.
Thoughts and opinions are appreciated!