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would green tiger barbs and/or red serapes be good together? what else would be considered as good tank mates? i like the following: harlin rasboras, neons, white clouds, and dwarf puffers/bumble bee gobies. 2 rams? if i set up my 20 gal., witch can i add together? could i add 1 or the other with what? also how about 2 german rams with one of those? ex: 2 rams, 5 harlins/neons, and/or wc. Or 5 serpeas/tiger barbs, 2 rams, and maybe 1 or 2 of the following schools of fish 5 neons, wc, and/or harlins?

Barbs, neons, rasboras, serapas and clouds are all schooling fish. A school of 5 or more of each is recommended. As schools, they should all remain peaceful.

The rams might outgrow the aquarium eventually, and are sensitive to bad water conditions. They aren't recommended for beginning aquarists.

Dwarf puffers, or any kind of puffer for that matter, are generally recommended to be kept in a species only tank, meaning they should be the only kind of fish in that tank. They are very messy eaters, and could potentially become aggressive towards other fish in the aquarium. If you decide to go with a species only tank for the dwarf puffers, make sure the aquarium is fully cycled, and heavily planted with plenty of hiding places available. The more hiding places there are, the more you'll see of your fish.

Bumblebee gobies are good community tankmates, and should go well with any of the fish you are considering. Be careful when buying though. There are actually 2 different species of bumblebee gobies, and they have no relation to each other aside from their class. B. Xanthozona is the freshwater species. The brackish/saltwater species is B.nunas, and will not survive in fresh water. Here is a link that describes how to care for them, as well as how to differentiate between the two.

http://joemacho.hubpages.com/hub/Caring-for-the-Freshwater-Bumblebee-Goby

Since you are a beginning aquarist, you should also study up on the nitrogen cycle; the process of turning the highly toxic ammonia that is produced by the fish themselves, as well as decaying food and waste, into much less harmful nitrate that can be removed by 25% water changes once a week. This process is performed by colonies of 2 different kinds of bacteria that settle in filter media and substrate.

Make sure your substrate (sand or gravel) is suitable for your fish. If you go with the gobies, you will want fine sand for substrate. If you go with the puffers, you will want to plant the tank, which will require a plant specific substrate. If you choose not to buy the gobies, sand can still be used, or gravel can be used. If you buy gravel, make sure there are no sharp or jagged edges on it that could potentially harm your fish. Many fish diseases will cause fish to glance off of substrate or decorations. They can gash themselves open on a sharp edge of a piece of gravel if it gets overlooked.

I strongly recommend that you *do not* buy sand from the pet store. It is overly expensive and is the exact same thing that you get in a 50 pound bag of play sand at a hardware store for 3 or 4 dollars. It is perfectly safe to use in an aquarium. Just make sure you wash the sand thoroughly before adding it to the aquarium. The sand will not harm the fish. I have 6 black kuhli loaches that actually sift the sand through their gills as they search for food.

If you plant your tank, plant it *immediately* after adding the substrate. The substrate will leak nutrients into the water that will seriously boost the Ph (acidity/baseness) of the water if the plants aren't there to absorb it. A Ph below 7 is acidic, a Ph above 7 is basic. 7 is perfectly neutral, neither acidic or basic. A ph of 7 is not necessarily the best Ph for your fish. Research your fish selections before buying. Some may not be compatible tankmates because of this reason.

If you smoke in the house like I do, make absolutely sure to keep any air pumps as low as possible, and inside a closed cabinet if possible, in order to keep secondhand some from being pumped into your aquarium. If smoking can kill us, it can kill your fish.

I hope this helps you with selecting your fish and being able to take proper care of them.

Zach