FishProfiles.com Message Forums

So I am thinking of various ways to simple stock a 20 gal long and I have a wonderful LFS that I can find almost anything at. So here are my starting fish and I will ask you to fill it in:

5 Ghost Shrimp
2 Otto's

How many panda corys?
Schooling fish? How many?

I really want color cause I have a nice Life-Glow Bulb that brings out color beautifully. Thoughts?

Hi there,
I think you could add a nice
group of 6-8 Panda corys,
and then maybe a group of 6-8 of
a smaller schooling fish like neons,cards,
or lemon tetras, etc.
Or, maybe go with a nice pair of dwarf cichlids
or dwarf gouramis of some kind?


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

A big group of corys would look great, like SVS said.

My favorite schooling fish lately are dwarf harlequin rasboras (hengli rasboras). They are super-gentle, smaller than rgular harlequins, and they school better than any tetra I've seen. Your could easily have a dozen in a 20 long.

Dwarf cichlids, bettas or gouramis, and most barbs would probably eat your shrimp, so your choices of colorful centerpiece fish are a bit limited. Perhaps a rainbowfish or two would be suitable, and they are certainly colorful. I personally love madagascar rainbows.

I would also up the number of ottos to 4-6, as they very much like to be in groups.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

The smaller gouramis are most likely to eat shrimp so probably not a good choice. Large gouramis like blue, moonlight, kissing.. etc aren't all that likely to eat shrimp but don't fit in a 20g too well. All cichlids go after shrimp and alot of rainbowfish will nip at shrimp. Threadfins would be a safe, small rainbowfish species but don't ship well and so don't seem to be carried by most stores. Maybe a group of 8 pandas and 6 small, non nippy, schooling fish. Some of the fish usually considered nippy will attack shrimp. Neons, cardinals, lemons, and black neons would all be safe. The rasboras probably would too but I haven't kept them.

Yes Indeed these are all good looking ideas. I probably wont go with a pair of anything. I want to try something new and I havent done schooling fish before.

Let me ask...I have read that Otto's needd 10 gal to themselves. So that is why I am using 2. Do I need more?

Anyone have any experience with Killifish? Or maybe Barbs? Instead of Corys maybe a small Pleco? Bristlenose?

Ah this is fun

How about a school of Ember tetras for your schoolers? Here is a link to a picture of them. A school of 8 would be good, as they stay small.

Or if you can find them, [link=Coral Red Pencilfish]Coral Red Pencilfish
(Nannostomus mortenthaleri[/link] are gorgeous and get about 2 inches. A school of 6-8 would look very nice. They may be hard to find though.


You can have more than 2 otos in a 20g. I haven't personally heard that they need 10 gallons to themselves, so that is interesting. I think you could get 2 more. I've found they are happier in groups of 3 or more.

If you are wanting a centerpiece type fish, how about Sparkling gouramis? They stay small, so maybe your shrimp would be ok. I'd ask people who have kept the two together though. But at a max of 1.5 inches (for the gouramis) your shrimp should be safe.


*Kristin*

Sparkling gouramis are horrible shrimp killers. They will spend all day hunting them down and attacking them. They leave dead shrimp bodies scattered throughout the tank. Like I said the smaller gouramis are much more likely to attack shrimp than the larger gouramis. The only inverts safe with small gouramis that won't also eat them are atyopsis species shrimp aka wood, bamboo, flower... or the dwarf crayfish. Everything else will be picked on until it dies.

Otos don't need a 10g minimum but it's often suggested since they are sensitive to water quality and any tank smaller may be difficult to manage unless you have plenty of experience. There also aren't too many other fish you can put in a 10g that won't overstock it and make it hard to maintain the water quality.

Ahh....I was considering getting a trio of Sparkling gouramis for my future 38g but I want shrimp too, so thats good to know.

Smapty I'm not sure if you were planning on having a centerpiece fish, but you don't have to have one. You can have a nice school as your tank feature.

*Kristin*

So I went to my LFS and picked up the following

3 Otocinclus Niger
6 Harlequin Rasbora

Once I have a little more spending money I will end up picking up atleast 2 more of the Rasbora. NOW....I am in a quandry as to where to go from here. I am wondering if I should go with a Pleco (of small nature...any ideas?) and more Rasbora. OR...bring up the number of Rasbora to 8 and get corys? Thoughts?

The otos will handle the algae, so I'd just go with some cories. If you get some that stay 2 inches or smaller like Pandas, then 8 would be fine. If you get any that will reach 3+ inches (Peppered, Albino, Bronze), then I'd stay with 6.

*Kristin*

So I have been thinking...I may increase the number of ghost shrimp for a cleanup crew. They are doing a smash-up job right now and I only have 4...I think. BUT if I increase the number of Rasbora to 10 and no bottom feeders (corys, loaches, pleco) I can have a center piece fish. But what? So I am thinking a nice betta? my LFS has many different types of betta fish. Any thoughts or suggestions?

A male or female, but not both, would work - but then again a betta might pick on your shrimp. It will depend on the personality of the betta.

So this weekend I went to my LFS and picked up 5 more Raspbora and 5 Yamato Shrimp. So that brings my tank up to a grand total of:

11 H. Raspbora
4 Ghost Shrimp
5 Yamato Shrimp
3 Otocinclus Niger

So I have been searching and am wondering about a center piece fish or what else could I put in my tank. Thoughts?

If I got a pair of Dwarf Gourami's would I be pushing the limits of my tank or do you think this would be ok?