Ken 153 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 My 20 long is finally ready for fish. Ammonia-0 Nitrite-0 Nitrate-30ish pH-8.1 KH-240 maxed out the strip GH-18 maxed out the strip A Marineland Pro 125 and a medium CoOp sponge for filtration. I have a few characteristics in mind but would like help finding the fish fulfills them. Something that tops out in the 3 inch range, I only plan to have 6-8 in the tank. Not aggressive, but active. Pretty but not flashy. I kind of don’t want to deal with livebearers and lots of babies. Probably the only tankmates will be Hillstream Loaches, and whether I want them or not, snails. I'd like to hear your personal experiences. What am I looking for? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andy's Fish Den 543 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 I would go for a pair of kribensis, then maybe some rasbora swimming around the upper levels. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Colu 644 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 With the higher pH I would go with some BUTTERFLY GOODEID males 2.5in females 3.2in 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Ellsworth 46 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Maybe a small group of threadfin rainbows? 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JettsPapa 369 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 I was all ready to suggest you duplicate the stocking in my 20 long with sparkling gouramis, celestial pearl danios, and pygmy corys, until I saw you want larger and fewer fish. Since that's the case, maybe a single school of one of the mid-sized tetras, like lemon, serpae, or pristella? Or a group of honey gouramis? 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan S. 54 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Rainbow shiners with hillstream loaches is what I have in my 20 and I love it! Both are cooler water and enjoy stronger filtration. Shiners are active, look really good and are hardy. I also have cherry shrimp in mine and they do quite well also. With your rock piles you could easily pull this off. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
H.K.Luterman 617 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 I've had no experience keeping them, but I'd love some Florida Flagfish. They really look neat and they're not something you see often. I think they'd do well in a 20 long. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ArneDoug 14 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 @Ken hi what a lovely tank, I would stock it with 6-8 danios like of a zebra or leopard variety, I recommend these fish because in my experience they like a twenty long because it gives them the room to swim. I would not get these if you don’t want something fast or flashy, since danios want to dart around and some when the light hits them can actually “flashy.” If this tank is in the living room that can be really cool but places like in your bedroom can be really annoying. Best of luck, please upload pictures when it’s done! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
James Black 1,045 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 As soon as I saw that tank I imediatly thought, Apistogramma. You could do one apistogramma and then some harlequin rasboras or some rummy nose tetra. That would look GREAT 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MAC 733 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 (edited) I like the suggestion above or threadfin rainbows. Another thought would be a group of bigger body tetras like black skirts, bleeding heart or diamond tetras. I've never personally kept them but I think the diamonds would really pop in that tank. Edited February 6 by MAC Really like those yellow rocks by the way. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jmcloonan 5 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Loaches, Kribs, and Furcatas? More importantly I wanted to say your aquascaping is awesome! Very well done. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rickf 2 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Cpd and dwarf corys! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kat_Rigel 255 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 So many good suggestions! I second the danios suggestion, but keep in mind there are different types than the plain zebra danio. For example, I have kyatgit danios, which I really like. Tetras are a good one too, and I am a fan of pencilfish, but those may be a tad small. What about emperor tetras? They have these cool blue and yellow eyes that can really stand out, and they are also a larger tetra. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ken 153 Posted February 7 Author Share Posted February 7 Thank you for all the suggestions, this forum is great. I'm busy googling all of them. There are so many that I either hadn't considered or didn't know existed. Analysis paralysis is killing me. 😉 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jmcloonan 5 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I second emperor tetras. One of my favorites. Trying to decide if I can afford a big enough batch for my new 150 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JettsPapa 369 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Black neon tetras would also be a good option, in case you want something to add to your analysis paralysis. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ererer 39 Posted Tuesday at 04:49 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 04:49 AM Lots of great fish being suggested, but I'm concerned that many of them should have softer water with a lower ph, esp. many of the south american fish being suggested, like apistos. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
b_ball34 9 Posted Tuesday at 04:55 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 04:55 AM I would do Praecox rainbows. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
binkysmom 20 Posted Tuesday at 11:55 PM Share Posted Tuesday at 11:55 PM red neon rainbows (psuedomugils). Gorgeous and a very fun, active fish. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElTigre 8 Posted Wednesday at 12:59 AM Share Posted Wednesday at 12:59 AM A dream fish of mine is a chocolate gourami. I think it would look awesome in that scape with maybe some corys on the bottom and a small group of chili rasboras while the gourami would be the star of the show! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ken 153 Posted Wednesday at 11:37 PM Author Share Posted Wednesday at 11:37 PM 22 hours ago, ElTigre said: A dream fish of mine is a chocolate gourami. I think it would look awesome in that scape with maybe some corys on the bottom and a small group of chili rasboras while the gourami would be the star of the show! That really is stunning. I wonder if you could keep a small group in a 20 long. I know nothing about gouramis. Aren't they quarrelsome? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brighamthatcher 6 Posted yesterday at 12:17 AM Share Posted yesterday at 12:17 AM for some reason my first thought is glowlight tetras. they could look pretty good in that tank. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElTigre 8 Posted yesterday at 12:21 AM Share Posted yesterday at 12:21 AM @Ken i would recommend keeping just one chocolate gourami in a 20 long and just have a couple dither fish to hang out with it. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ken 153 Posted yesterday at 05:26 AM Author Share Posted yesterday at 05:26 AM 4 hours ago, brighamthatcher said: for some reason my first thought is glowlight tetras. they could look pretty good in that tank. They would, the lighting and background would really make them pop. I have Glowlight Rasboras (Rasbora Hengeli) in a tank a couple feet away from this one . They are quite similar to the glowlight tetras and really pretty little guys. Here's a not so good picture I just took. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JettsPapa 369 Posted 19 hours ago Share Posted 19 hours ago 14 hours ago, Ken said: That really is stunning. I wonder if you could keep a small group in a 20 long. I know nothing about gouramis. Aren't they quarrelsome? You're probably thinking of dwarf gouramis or 3-spot gouramis (blue and gold), which certainly can be. Other species, like honey gouramis and pearl gouramis, are much less aggressive, and are suitable for community tanks, and can be kept in groups of their own species. They're great fish. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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