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I have a 20 gallon long. I dont know what to stock it with.

well what do you want to put in it? community fish, aggressive?

do you want peaceful fish

peaceful fish

1- dwarf gourami
4- coolie loachs
1- BN (bristlenose pleco)

I know it will be a while (hubby will not let me trade the MEAN fish we have now ), but I would love to have a nice community, planted tank with some schooling fish. Mainly the tetra family.

Barb

I strongly disagree with the stocking suggestion. Biotope-wise its incorrect, and it is too heavily stocked on the bottom. This will mean lots of nocturnal and lethargic bottom feeders with only one fish you can actually see.

I personally suggest neons. Although many think they're too common and boring, a large school of them is anything but.

I personally am putting together a 20 gallon long with:
8 neons
8 marbled hatchetfish
4 apistrogramma agazzii

Now, the latter two are not beginners fish. But you can substitute hatchets with pencilfish and apistos with bolivian rams and have a relitively good picture of the Amazon river.

I'd like a school of neons and something interesting. I wanted a puffer but know they con't be kept with other fish.

Well, you can have a dwarf puffer with some fish, but it will be more sellective. Namely the bottom-feeding fish that were sellected above.
But I suggest neons 100% more. Other tetras may be nice looking-but for simplicity and size I would say neon.

IMHO pencilfish are not beginner fish.

ummm id go with some rosbaras(sp) and maybe a bristle nose(dwarf), with a dwarf gourami or too for size, or a betta and the rosbaras ( thats what i have in my 10)

me

10 dwarf puffers Would be an interesting species tank

or

2 bolivian rams or 2 MALE mollies
8 cories
3 ottos
&
6 small tetras

It sounds like a cool tank

dispizeme,

First off, I recently got a 20 Long myself and I really like its footprint. The only downside of this tank format, IMHO, is that you don’t really have 3 layers anymore, meaning top, middle, and bottom. Fish that usually can stay out of each others way will have to share space in this tank. So no matter what you are going for, keep this in mind.

And don’t let the gang from FP talk you into a type of fish that you don’t like .
Take any suggestion and read up on the fish. If you like it, keep it in mind and continue with the next one until you found your favorites.

BTW, IMHO, dude_dude’s suggestion seems a little overstocked to me.

And, in case you care, here is my [link=20G Long]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Aquascaping/63901.html?200509052306" style="COLOR: #ff6633[/link].

Hope this helps,

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I would have a school of Cardinals & a school of Corydoras, with 2 Rams or a BN.


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thanks. really like your tank.

what about 2 blue rams, marbled hachetfish, and some sort of algae eater and some small schooling fish? not ALL of them, but a couple, and some other possibilities.