2 schooling groups or 2 schooling groups with 1 centerpiece fish?

[Shrimpee]

I've been thinking about getting a centerpiece fish for my 20 gal with CPDS, neons, and shrimp. Do you guys think the tank would look better with 1 showpiece and 2 large groups or just 2 large groups? If a showpiece fish would be better which one is your favorite for an aquarium with shrimp? I am completely fine with occasional shrimp fry loss also. 

[Lennie]

That is a question that is all about personal liking really

If you ask me, Id rather have one schooling middle column swimmers, one school of bottom dwellers, and one centerpiece fish. Centerpiece fishes usually end up being more characteristic and have a name. You bond with it more. To me, schooling fish are just visually nice, but that's about it. It is very unlikely you will feel bonded or name a schooling fish

That being said, you will be the one looking at your tank everyday. As long as you pay attention to their needs and maintenance, it is up to you really. There is no "better". But, I think especially in smaller sized tanks, it looks nicer and less crowded and balanced nicer if you keep fish from different swimming levels. Both cpds and neons are fairly same level swimmers mainly, so keeping the stock as it is, and adding bottom dwellers for some new variety and a centerpiece fish for character can be nice. But again, it's me

Edited May 13 by Lennie

[Shrimpee]

Do the cherry shrimp count as bottom dwellers? @Lennie

Edited May 13 by Shrimpee

[EricksonAquatics]

Agreed with @LennieIt totally is up to preference. For me I love having a centerpiece fish because they’re like having a “wet pet” that you look forward to seeing and give it a name etc. 

A honey gourami is a solid option for a centerpiece that usually won’t bother adult shrimp. They might snack on the babies but most all fish do. 
https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/top-5-centerpiece-fish-for-your-small-to-medium-sized-community-aquarium

Here is an article the Co Op put out about some centerpiece options. Keep in mind many of them will snack on shrimp so just do a little research if one catches your eye. Best of luck 🙂

[Beach Cruiser]

What's the tank like? If you're going for a zen Amano-style look where the plants are the stars... I'd say the former choice.

If your fish are the main focus, get you a Diva that likes center stage! 😁

[Lennie]

On 5/14/2024 at 12:04 AM, Shrimpee said:

Do the cherry shrimp count as bottom dwellers? @Lennie

In my opinion, not really. Those little guys are everywhere from bottom up to floating plants in my experience.  In a heavily planted and scaped tank, they spend time at every level and surface. I love shrimp, and they are pretty interesting to watch. But I would not classify them as a certain level dweller in a tank.

In your tank size, suitable bottom dwellers are corydoras (I would avoid big species myself, I found sterbais problematic when fully grown in such tank size and much happier once moved to a bigger tank, so any small to mid size ones sound great, small might be an issue for centerpiece be careful), kuhli loaches, red lizard whiptails and dwarf chain loaches I believe. Some consider otos are bottom dwellers too, which in my experience, just like shrimp, spend time and feed on everywhere and no specific level. You can also look for borneo loaches/hillstream loaches, rosy loaches(no experience with this one unlike others, just thinking aloud).

 

Panda garras are great looking fish. I have never been able to find a healthy good looking stock to keep a group of them, but you can also keep them in mind. My friend @beastie has them, and they look beautiful. You can check her journal below. You can see her panda garras and hillstream loaches in these pictures:

 

 

[johnnyxxl]

I love shoaling fish hence my soon to be 3 shoals of barbs

[flossy]

Up to preference but I prefer a massive school of fish rather than a single center piece fish. 

[Schuyler]

A centerpiece fish with shrink will be pretty tricky. Unless you count a fancy pleco as a centerpiece, that could work with shrimp.

I've also heard of people having luck with killifish in the genus Aphyosemion. My Aphyosemion Ocellatum are in with some cherry shrimp and they're more or less left then alone. That said, they are very well feed on lots of life Daphnia and worms so they don't need to try finding the shrimp.

Edited May 14 by Schuyler

[Tanked]

Two schools and a centerpiece fish would be my choice.  Variety is important, as is having some activity in all levels of the tank.  The centerpiece fish can be a welcome visual diversion.

[Shrimpee]

I might go with a fish like a pearl gourami or betta. I'm still deciding on which one though. I think getting bottom-dwelling fish would be overstocking.

Probably a betta since pearl gouramis need to be kept in a pair.

But also a betta is more likely to eat shrimp. 
 

Is it ok for Pearl Gouramis to be kept alone but with other fish around them?

I could also probably keep 2 pearl gouramis or honey gouramis though

If so which one though?

Edited May 14 by Shrimpee
contemplating

[Lennie]

On 5/14/2024 at 6:57 PM, Shrimpee said:

I might go with a fish like a pearl gourami or betta. I'm still deciding on which one though. I think getting bottom-dwelling fish would be overstocking.

Probably a betta since pearl gouramis need to be kept in a pair.

But also a betta is more likely to eat shrimp. 
 

Is it ok for Pearl Gouramis to be kept alone but with other fish around them?

I could also probably keep 2 pearl gouramis or honey gouramis though

If so which one though?

Pair for gouramis does not sound good to me. I would go for at least trios, but I found them not crowded enough too. I would say 4 as the lowest should be a better idea.

That being said pearl gouramis are fairly big and calm fish, your schools might be too active and small. And 20g tank is too small for pearls too. My 100x40x40cm tank felt small for my gold gourami trio if I gotta be honest

[DebSills]

I agree that Pearls are too big for a 20gal - also, a Betta could be a good community fish, or could be a nightmare, if you go with a Betta make sure you have a backup plan for him/her.

Honey gouramis are super peaceful and are ok as a solo...if you want more than one, I wouldn't go with a pair, I would go with at least trio as long as you can find someone who can gurantee that you have more females than males...otherwise, just stick with one. I had a honey in my 29 and he was great with my CPDs,, Ember tetras and amanos.

All that being said, I am in the process of stocking my 65g and I'm not going to put a centerpiece in there...I have CPDs amanos, blue neos, pygmy cories, paleatus cories and I just got 9ea of glolight danios and gold white clouds that are in quarantine for a few more weeks, so a tank with a few groups of fish is also really cool 🙂