Ken Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy's Fish Den Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 I would go for a pair of kribensis, then maybe some rasbora swimming around the upper levels. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 With the higher pH I would go with some BUTTERFLY GOODEID males 2.5in females 3.2in 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ellsworth Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 Maybe a small group of threadfin rainbows? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S. Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArneDoug Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 @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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 (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, 2021 by MAC Really like those yellow rocks by the way. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmcloonan Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 Loaches, Kribs, and Furcatas? More importantly I wanted to say your aquascaping is awesome! Very well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickf Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Cpd and dwarf corys! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat_Rigel Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 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. 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmcloonan Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 I second emperor tetras. One of my favorites. Trying to decide if I can afford a big enough batch for my new 150 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Black neon tetras would also be a good option, in case you want something to add to your analysis paralysis. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric R Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_ball34 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 I would do Praecox rainbows. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binkysmom Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 red neon rainbows (psuedomugils). Gorgeous and a very fun, active fish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElTigre Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted February 24, 2021 Author Share Posted February 24, 2021 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brighamthatcher Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 for some reason my first thought is glowlight tetras. they could look pretty good in that tank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElTigre Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 @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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted February 25, 2021 Author Share Posted February 25, 2021 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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