Honey gourami looking for friendly tankmates!

[Karen B.]

I have a 20 gallons, planted.

it’s currently stocked with a honey gourami and 7 false julii corydoras. 
 

I will be getting a female honey gourami and probably 5 otocinclus because algeas drive me nuts - I don’t have much but my snails are ignoring my anubias 😖

can I still get a small school of 6-8 fishes or will I be too overstocked? I do 30% WC per week and have s HOB filter as well as a sponge filter.

 I am looking for something a bit out of the ordinary but still not too hard to find. 

[Brandy]

I would get fewer Otos. Maybe 3 tops, and you will still need to target feed them. They can be hard to keep fed and while it seems like a lot of algae, they eat a LOT of it. I know they want a school, but they will shoal with other fish, like the corys, and starving is more detrimental than isolation.

I think a school of small fish would be very doable...I wonder if chili rasboras would work with honey gouramis? They are so tiny I think you could have many of them--like a crazy school of 10-15+. Alternatively I think you could do 8 black neon tetras or ember tetras, and of course neons, they are always a good choice.

[Trish]

Perhaps some Amano shrimp if your tank is well covered, they are great tank cleaners, especially the plants.  

[Chrissy]

I second ember tetras if you want dither fish in the mix!

Otherwise, I'd just pump up your school of false julii, nothing wrong with a double-species tank.

A larger group of cories will display more natural behavior, and the tank won't look so busy!

For algae control... Try decreasing the amount of lighting hours on your timer first and carefully monitor how much you feed.

[Ben_RF]

Just remember that water quality often holds an individual back more than the size of the tank.  

[Colu]

I would get a bristlesnose and 6-8 nerite snails for algae control and 6 lemon tetra under the right light they are really colourful