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please help me

i'm new to keeping tropical fish and have recently aquired a 18.7 U.S gallon tank (acording to the calculators on this site) and am after some advice on fish to keep in it.
it is fully cycled

i've been looking at fish in my local shop and like the look of the bristlenose.

i was after fish that have alot of character and personality and would be fun to watch.

if anyone can help me i would be very gratefull. thank you

corydoras catfish! they are hyper and cute :-D

and then you could get a school of some small really colorful fish (like cardinal tetras or something), and then a pair of bigger pretty fish like small gourami's or something like that.

that way you would have some active bottom feeders, a colorful school (tight schools can be really cool to watch and very flashy), and a nice centerpeice fish or 2

or that would be my instinct for a first tank anyway hehe

Adding a bristlenose is probably possible, but some types can grow too large for your tank. Also, they tend to be shy fish. I would buy six cories, as mentioned above, a school of small cyprinids or characins, and maybe a dwarf cichlid. Your tank would be nice looking, the cories and the cichlid would add character, and you would not be overstocked.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

it sounds like you are looking for something a little out of the ordinary for your tank. here are a few-

glass catfish- the name says it all. they school really tight, but tend to stay in an area with strong current. my 5 constantly fighting the current reminds me of stationary salmon pushing upstream.

black kuhli loaches- the dozen or so in my tank look like the "blob" oozing around the rocks and the gravel. the larger number seems to give them the courage to forage in broad daylight. the blacks around here are alot cheaper then the normal kuhlis.

butterfly fish- prefers the solitary life in still waters with floating plants. will stay at the very top of the tank and will eat fry and neons that happen by. also e to jumping (mine sounded like a skipping stone late at night). watching them eat a moth is amazing- the darting and thrashing is way cool.

red-clawed crab- some people will disagree with me on this one, but mine are never aggresive towards fish. they seem to lack the speed (and they are not free swimming) to be a true menace towards fish. mine are well fed on tetraminis which may help curb their rumored appetite for live fish. they will climb out of the tank if given the chance.

weather loach- i am not sure of their adult size (online profiles give a wide range), so someone else may be able to advise on adding them to a 20gal. i got a pair several weeks ago and love them- they are inquisiive, active, and they like snacking on snails (a surprising plus). it is supposed to prefer colder waters, but mine have acclimated to the tropical temp rather well.

the list is endless- as you will soon see by the deluge of suggestions soon to come. research fish compatibilty before purchasing anything. welcome to the hobby (and this site- it is second to none)- and good luck.

Any labyrinth fish (gouramis and bettas)or cichlids do have a lot of character but they are also more aggressive and in some cases cannot be kept together at all. Also your tank isn't that big to keep any fairly large fish. You'll have to decide if you want a lot of small schooling type fish or a few slightly bigger fish. You could keep several female bettas, shell dwellers (there's an article here on fp you can read), dwarf gouramis, or have a group of schooling fish and 1 more agressive larger fish. The best way is to look at fish stores around you and pictures of others tanks. Decide what type of fish or tank setup you want and research or ask which ones are compatible.