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Hello all,

First id like yo say thank you for everyone who will respond. Well, i will soon be getting a 15-20 gallon aquarium.There is a few different mixes I was thinking of doing, please just pick whichever you think will make the animals more comfortable and happy.

1- A mix of these three; guppyies,ottos, and ghost shrimp.
T like this combo because it is kind of self-maintained. Ottos eat the algea,shrimp eat the excess food( biggest problem) and I'll feed the guppies.

2-I don't think this will work..but angelfish.One of my favorite fish,will it work in a 20?

3-A corn snake...whcih doesnt really count as a fish

4-Tiger barbs..there a bit nipppy, so i dont think they will be to good.

5- You help decide.

Thank you all for reading my..slightly pointless writings.

I like 1 but instead of guppys, why dont you get something like neons with a dwarf gourami or platies?


10gallon: 8neons 5gallon: 1betta
1oto
2platys

1 yes but not with any live bearers. I would also go for Cardinal Neons as they are far easer to keep than the cheaper plain Neons.

Remember you will basically want the tank established long before you get the Ottos.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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I like #1, and yes livebearers would be fine as long as you stick with either male or female only.

That is unless you have other tanks to move their fry to.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Definitely #1. And with tetras instead of the guppies. Guppies will soon overstock the tank, so I'd leave them out. You could get a school of about 6-8 for a 15g tank or a school of 8-10 for a 20g.

Angels are too big for a 15 or 20g tank. Tiger barbs would be ok in a 20g long tank, but not a 20 high or a 15g tank. They are very active and get pretty big (~3in).

If you go with tetras, you could have some lemon tetras, cardinals, flames, glowlights, or harlequin rasboras (not tetras..but another small schooling fish).

*Kristin*

Thank you so much all.
Well, i do have other tanks alreday so over stock would not be a huge problem.As for tetras,I really really dislike them, they seem to have no individuality. Tetras of any sort or out. I think any sort of live bearer has much more color and an attitude. Maybe I could have a school of Harlequin Rasboras instaed, with maybe a male swordtail or 2 male paltys for an extra color? Thank you all again

I myself have some Rsaboras and I really enjoy them. They will swim sometimes by themselves and other times in a school. They also have some nice color if they are taken care of. They also seem to be pretty hardy fish and tend to hang out in the middle to top areas of the tank. You will want to get a few taller plants as they do like to swim through them. Try to get at least 6 of them to keep them happy. Good luck on your tank and I hope you enjoy it as much as enjoy mine.

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Live life to it's fullest
Who knows what tomorrow holds

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Harlequin rasboras are great fish. I have 6 in my 10g tank and I will hopefully be moving them to a 38g soon and adding more. They are very pretty, like a metallic red color. Very nice!

I think with the harlies, the swordtail and the male platies you will have a nice little tank. I'm not sure if there are any aggression with male platies. If not, then I'd definitely get males so you won't risk overstocking with fry.

I'd try to get a 20g long if you can. More surface area so the fish will have more room to swim around.

*Kristin*

I agree, harlequins are a very nice choice. You could have something of an Asian theme with a school of them plus a dwarf gourami or a pair of cherry barbs.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Thanks all.Could I figure out a way to put like 2 swordtails (males) in the mix?I've see the most beautiful lyre-tail swordtail at a great lfs. The guy there also gave me a free platy. Anyway..lol... I don't want any tetras,nor schooling fish.Not my style . Thanks all.O, keep in mind it may be a 15 gallon.

Male swordtails tend to not get along very well together and tend to battle quite a bit and you may want to rethink keeping them together.

If keeping livebearers you would probably be better off with male guppies or platies as they tend to be much more sociable with each other.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Thanks all.

I think this will be my setup.
If its a 15 gall-5 ottos,3 guppies(2f, 1m),2 swarf guraimis(will help if tomany babies, and a bunch of ghost shrimp
If its a 20-Same thing, but instead of dwarf guarmis school of 7 somethings..lol

Sound ok??

I would go with just one dwarf gourami. In smaller tanks, males don't get along very well. I've had one dwarf gourami kill another in a 10g tank after weeks of bullying.

I'd just get one and not risk the aggression. One will be fine by itself.

*Kristin*

I have to agree with only the 1 dwarf gourami. Also be prepared to have baby guppies survive as there always seem to be a few that do. You are probably going to need some other tanks to move the eventual overflow to.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Thanks all, I think I have everything covered.