Morpheus

@Fish FolkThanks for the encouragement and advice! You're absolutely right that I'm sure something isn't going to go right and fish or plants are going to get sick and/or die. But I just want to make sure I do my research ahead of time to give them the best shot at it. But it's also encouraging that sometimes the recommendations for water parameters can be stretched a bit. Thanks again!

Thanks everyone for your feedback! I should have the plants (various crypto, anubias, and a java fern) early next week. @CalmedByFishI took your advice and made a table of the critters with their temp, ph, and hardness preferences. I'm going to target 76-77 degrees for the temp and 7.0 for the ph. That should keep everyone happy. For hardness, it looks like there may be a potential issue. From what I've read, kuhli loaches like a soft water (3-5 dgh). But the bamboo shrimp likes it a bit harder (6-8 dgh), and the clown pleco and dwarf platys like it even harder (10+ dgh). I'll test my tap water this weekend to see what I'm dealing with at baseline, and go from there. I've also heard that ADF can be hard to feed in a community tank. What if I fed them in a breeder box?

Hi Everyone! I've been consuming as much content on here and the Co-op YT as I can. I'm new to the hobby... my first project is to get a 20 long planted community tank going for the kids (three boys aged 3, 5, and 7) to enjoy. I'm planning to start the tank in the next couple days with some java fern, various cryptos, christmas moss, and maybe some anubias. After I get the tank cycling, I'll start slowly stocking with fish, etc. Our wish list is long! 1 betta 3 dwarf red coral platy 6 cardinal tetra 3 african dwarf frog 1 bamboo shrimp 3 kuhli loach 1 clown pleco Q1: Is this too much for a 20 long planted tank? Q2: I should introduce the betta and the shrimp last, correct? Does the order of introduction for the others matter that much? Thanks in advance for the advice!