FishRBeautiful Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to do with my 20 gallon. I have 7 female platies, 3 not full grown yet. Peaceful tank but needs more. Thinking to add cories but first need to figure out which centerpiece fish to get. Lots of experts say you can do a ram, maybe a a German blue? Others say a dwarf gourami. I can’t do honey gourami because only one local store has them and I don’t feel comfortable buying fish from that store. Also considered hillstream loach or Bristlenose Pleco. My platies seem to like the top of the tank. Could I do just maybe 3 or 4 cories and a ram? And also a pleco? Or is that too much? Super protective of my platies so I don’t want anything that may chance attacking or scaring them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 I wouldn't recommend a German blue ram. They don't usually thrive long-term unless the tank water is in the low to mid 80's, and that's too warm for your platys. They also prefer softer water than most livebearers. I wouldn't recommend a dwarf gourami due to their frequent health and/or aggression issues. A Bolivian ram might be a good option. They do well in a wider range of water parameters than German blue rams, and are generally peaceful. Personally, I wouldn't get just three or four corys, though it would probably be okay. Like most shoaling fish, they seem to do best in larger groups. If you do want them I'd encourage you to get one of the smaller species and get at least six. If you choose Corydoras pygmaeus you'd probably be okay with 8-10. All of this is assuming that you won't be having platy offspring in this tank to deal with. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sora Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 you could do a dwarf gourami, not sure if the corys would be too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Of course you can try a number of options. German Blue Rams like it hot: 80°-87° F. If you keep them in the mid 70s, they tend to breakdown. But if you heat Platys up that hot… they struggle too. It is best to keep your temperature consistent. A BNP will hide a lot. You need to figure out if you like that or not. 20 gal is limiting. A single Apistogramma might work. Borelli, perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfisher Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Have you thought of a good number of schooling fish. Instead of one fish a group of some colorful tetras. I have a tank a green neons are the centerpiece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishRBeautiful Posted April 21, 2023 Author Share Posted April 21, 2023 OK, I’ll probably look into some Corys. That was my original plan. and I thought of schooling fish like tetras, but I think some of them can be nippy and I don’t feel like they interact with you as much. if I had a bigger tank, I would definitely do a schooling fish also. My tank is 81. I didn’t know that was bad for my platies. I keep turning the temperature down, but I guess I haven’t turned it down enough yet. I heard apistogramas can be aggressive. Is that true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 On 4/21/2023 at 9:24 AM, LoveMyPlatys said: OK, I’ll probably look into some Corys. That was my original plan. and I thought of schooling fish like tetras, but I think some of them can be nippy and I don’t feel like they interact with you as much. if I had a bigger tank, I would definitely do a schooling fish also. My tank is 81. I didn’t know that was bad for my platies. I keep turning the temperature down, but I guess I haven’t turned it down enough yet. I heard apistogramas can be aggressive. Is that true? That is very unlikely to be a problem if you have at least 8 of one species, and there is enough cover to make them feel comfortable (they have places to hide if they feel threatened). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 (edited) I would like to recommend sparkling gouramis. they are very curious, always active and a joy to watch. Also random croaks are fun. Last morning they croaked 8 times in a row 😄 ! they were like an alarm clock. Who needs a rooster?! I have 3 in my 33g. You can home 3, ideally 1m:2f in a 20g and can be fun imo. Edited April 21, 2023 by Lennie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grin Ghost Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 A single sparkling gourami, bolivian ram or kribensis should work well. I think an apistogramma can also work if ph is not too high. If you don't have a breeding pair they shouldn't be agressive to the cory's or platy's. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 On 4/21/2023 at 7:40 PM, Simon Buys said: A single sparkling gourami, bolivian ram or kribensis should work well. I think an apistogramma can also work if ph is not too high. If you don't have a breeding pair they shouldn't be agressive to the cory's or platy's. My sparklings interact with each other all the time. So I would say 3 at least personally. They like to socialize and croaking each other is worth to see 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishRBeautiful Posted April 21, 2023 Author Share Posted April 21, 2023 Thanks! I’m probably going to get Cory’s and then keep this post to see what else I can add. So all of these recommendations work with Cory’s and Platys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 My suggestion would be, if you wanna keep corys, lean towards small ones like pygmys or pandas. I used to keep my sterbais in 29g and when they reached adulthood it became really annoying with breeding actions. They were stressing other fish constantly due to glass surfing and being super active. When I moved them to 3ft tank it is at least better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The endler guy Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 On 4/21/2023 at 9:51 AM, JettsPapa said: I wouldn't recommend a German blue ram. They don't usually thrive long-term unless the tank water is in the low to mid 80's, and that's too warm for your platys. They also prefer softer water than most livebearers. I wouldn't recommend a dwarf gourami due to their frequent health and/or aggression issues. A Bolivian ram might be a good option. They do well in a wider range of water parameters than German blue rams, and are generally peaceful. Personally, I wouldn't get just three or four corys, though it would probably be okay. Like most shoaling fish, they seem to do best in larger groups. If you do want them I'd encourage you to get one of the smaller species and get at least six. If you choose Corydoras pygmaeus you'd probably be okay with 8-10. All of this is assuming that you won't be having platy offspring in this tank to deal with. Bolivians are a good idea but depending on the individual (mine is quite rambunctious) they do get quite large though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavdad45 Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 I have a pair od apistogramma C. They provide good entertainment value and my pair seem pretty much team players in my tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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