Centerpeice fish for 20gallon high

[GoofyGarra]

Recently i lost my betta, which was sad, but my tank is now open to new opportunities to centerpiece fish that dont work with a betta. Im looking for ideas and recommendations what people here like for 20high tanks.

Here are some details about my tank, stocking:

a larger school of albino cories

2mystery snails

1small BNP

a bunch of platies

and

a panda garra

(i may need to rehome a mystery snail and/or the bristle nose pleco to keep myself from overstocking)

water parameters are around 7.4pH and pretty hard water. Temp stays at 76.

Here were my ideas, what do you think? Or if anyone has something to add id be happy to hear it.

1. Bolivian Ram
2. Honey Guorami
3. Apisto of some kind
4. peacock goby

 

[Guppysnail]

Of the ones you listed Honey gourami is the only one that does not risk being outcompeted for food by the corydora. The rest are slow eaters in my experience with the exception of the goby. I have zero experience with them. 
 

My Honey gourami have all the wet pet personality of a betta. Every morning all of mine come to the glass in their area and touch my finger on the glass with their feelers. 
 

Mine each have their own floating betta log they use and love. 
 

Mine all eat either from my fingers or a pippette/ coral feeder. 
 

Incredibly peaceful and hardy. They are adaptable to not only a wide variety of water parameters but fluctuations in water parameters. 
 

rather than being a “centerpiece” that does not interact with me.  They are a full on pet that knows me. This makes them the centerpiece as well as they are gorgeous. 

[GoofyGarra]

On 11/19/2023 at 7:49 AM, Guppysnail said:

Of the ones you listed Honey gourami is the only one that does not risk being outcompeted for food by the corydora. The rest are slow eaters in my experience with the exception of the goby. I have zero experience with them. 
 

My Honey gourami have all the wet pet personality of a betta. Every morning all of mine come to the glass in their area and touch my finger on the glass with their feelers. 
 

Mine each have their own floating betta log they use and love. 
 

Mine all eat either from my fingers or a pippette/ coral feeder. 
 

Incredibly peaceful and hardy. They are adaptable to not only a wide variety of water parameters but fluctuations in water parameters. 
 

rather than being a “centerpiece” that does not interact with me.  They are a full on pet that knows me. This makes them the centerpiece as well as they are gorgeous. 

that sounds super fun, i didnt realize honey gouramis were so personable. I have a tunnel that my betta loved that i could use for these guys, the feeler action is super cool as well, a side perk is ive heard they are adult shrimp safe.

Would a pair or trio work or should i stick with just one? im looking for more breeding projects.

[Guppysnail]

On 11/19/2023 at 9:01 AM, GoofyGarra said:

that sounds super fun, i didnt realize honey gouramis were so personable. I have a tunnel that my betta loved that i could use for these guys, the feeler action is super cool as well, a side perk is ive heard they are adult shrimp safe.

Would a pair or trio work or should i stick with just one? im looking for more breeding projects.

Mine have bred but I never raise the young. I heard they are super hard to raise. Mine are just pets not one of my breeding projects. 
 

Fish that are high interaction high personalities are pets to me just like my cats. 
 

Theyvare so personable it really does not matter how you stock. Some keep a loner however they are highly social. I tried splitting mine to a breeding pair in the tank next door. Both groups stayed at the glass in the tanks so they could see one another. Neither group would eat for 2 days. 
 

I returned the pair to the colony and within seconds they all congregated to reaffirm bonds. 10 minutes later all fish were back in their chosen preferred locations. 
 

I’ve kept a betta before. Personality wise my honeys win hands down. Health and robust activities my honeys also win. 

[Sherry]

On 11/19/2023 at 6:49 AM, Guppysnail said:

Mine each have their own floating betta log they use and love. 
 

Mine all eat either from my fingers or a pippette/ coral feeder. 
 

Incredibly peaceful and hardy. They are adaptable to not only a wide variety of water parameters but fluctuations in water parameters. 
 

rather than being a “centerpiece” that does not interact with me.  They are a full on pet that knows me. This makes them the centerpiece as well as they are gorgeous. 

I have been thinking of adding a honey gourami to my 20L. It didn’t occur to me that it would be interactive like a betta.

Would it get along with Mystery Snails?

[Guest]

@GoofyGarra Im a huge sucker for shrimp and betta fish (Sorry about your loss...).  Maybe you could also try a bigger school of small tetra like Neon, Black Neon, X-ray, or Cardinal. Maybe try a school of Celestial Pearl Danio? Back to the shrimp thing though, maybe try a big colony of shrimp on the bottom level while having bigger top-dwelling fish (if that made sense). Might I ask although, is it a planted tank? 

[Guest]

If anyone wants, contradict me if I'm wrong please lmao. Or add on to my advice if you so choose.

[Guppysnail]

On 11/19/2023 at 9:14 AM, Sherry said:

I have been thinking of adding a honey gourami to my 20L. It didn’t occur to me that it would be interactive like a betta.

Would it get along with Mystery Snails?

Yes. I have kept a bunch of different snails with them. They have a thriving shrimp colony with them. They are so peaceful.

Honey gourami are a fish I cannot recommend enough. I adore them and their playful antics. 

[Sherry]

On 11/19/2023 at 10:36 AM, Guppysnail said:

Yes. I have kept a bunch of different snails with them. They have a thriving shrimp colony with them. They are so peaceful.

Honey gourami are a fish I cannot recommend enough. I adore them and their playful antics. 

Good to know! My granddaughters had trouble with their betta and mystery snail they had together. The snail ended up with stubby antennae and then passed away, so I was nervous when I heard that Honey Gourami and Betta are similar.

[JE47]

@Guppysnail Has completely sold me on the idea of getting honey gourami. Now I have got to run and find a new tank 🏃‍♂️😂

[GoofyGarra]

New idea. Does anyone have any experiences with killis? I was thinking more of the mop-spawning variety that could get along well in a community tank.

@Fish Folk@Schuyler

[Schuyler]

From the species I'm familiar with, it seems like you'd have the best luck with something from the Aphyosemion genus. Or you could go with clown killis.

Aphyosemion Australe and Aphyosemion striatum are the ones you're more likely to find.

You'll just need to make sure you have a good lid that you keep closed. They tend to like temps that are lower than average.

I have limited experience with them but the ones I have a little on the shy side compared to other fish. Not as shy as a khuli loach or pygmy Cory but still.

To get the full impact of their color it's best to have low light, indirect light, or shady spots. A golden Australe may be different since it seems like their color is less based on iridescence.

They do mainly feed on invertebrates so mix them with shrimp at your own risk. I haven't had them mess with snails that I've seen.

[GoofyGarra]

On 11/30/2023 at 6:44 PM, Schuyler said:

They do mainly feed on invertebrates so mix them with shrimp at your own risk. I haven't had them mess with snails that I've seen.

ok, maybe not then, i do want to try some shrimp in my community tank once my population takes off. It was just an idea. Thank you.

[Schuyler]

On 11/30/2023 at 4:01 PM, GoofyGarra said:

ok, maybe not then, i do want to try some shrimp in my community tank once my population takes off. It was just an idea. Thank you.

If it's a well established colony and they have plenty of places to hide then they may be fine. You could also try it out and have a 5g ready to move them to if there is a problem. They don't really need much space

[Fish Folk]

On 11/30/2023 at 6:44 PM, Schuyler said:

Aphyosemion Australe and Aphyosemion striatum are the ones you're more likely to find.

^^ I agree 100% ^^

Australe…

Striatum…

Now, I personally have raised many Scheeli. I do get some really nice colors from them. Here’s a few photos from my line. Different fish, different lighting, different maturity…

Let me add… most Killis are fin-nippers, and jumpers. Generally speaking… they need to be carefully watched in any community tank setup. 

Edited December 1, 2023 by Fish Folk

[Schuyler]

On 11/30/2023 at 7:30 PM, Fish Folk said:

 

 

Those guys look awesome! They remind me of my Fundulopanchax Gresensi:

Depending on the light the spots on the tail look blue or yellow

Then there's the guy the Aphyosemion Ocellatum:

[Fish Folk]

On 11/30/2023 at 11:00 PM, Schuyler said:

Those guys look awesome! They remind me of my Fundulopanchax Gresensi:

Depending on the light the spots on the tail look blue or yellow

Then there's the guy the Aphyosemion Ocellatum:

O my . . . that Ocellatum . . . WOW! 

[GoofyGarra]

ok, im gonna throw another idea into the ring:

a Kribensis?