Need Your Advise For my Tank.

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Mollies are especially sensitive
Indeed they are.

Shimmying is a symptom rather than a single disease, and an indication that a fish no longer has proper control of its nerves and muscles. It occurs when fish are under severe stress, most often because of environmental problems.

The classic scenario is when mollies are kept in soft or acidic water conditions. Though tolerant fish in many ways, they do not do well in soft or acidic water, and it is very common to see mollies kept that way start to shimmy. To varying degrees, almost all the other livebearers sold to hobbyists are sensitive to soft or acidic water conditions, and consequently the shimmies may be seen among any of them kept in the wrong water conditions.
https://www.petcha.com/overcoming-the-shimmies-in-tropical-fish/
 
From what I can decipher from the water data, and your own tests, it seems you have water on the soft side. It is hard to see the colour of the chart, but the test strip seems to be brown, which is soft? The Alkalinity in the water data is 40 mg/l (= ppm) so this is low, which would make sense with soft water.

Now, I don't know your level of knowledge with all this, so I will very briefly explain about soft/hard water. Freshwater fish species have evolved over thousands of years to function in very specific water parameters; they will be healthier with fewer problems if they are maintained in similar water. The hardness has to do with minerals in the water, especially calcium and magnesium. Fish that have evolved in water containing higher levels of these minerals need such water to provide them and for their internal functions to work. Soft water fish on the other hand do not need these minerals, and while some species can tolerate some mineral, other species have more difficulty. Soft water fish kept in hard water frequently do not live their normal lifespan and if dissected thee reason is usually calcium blockage of the kidneys. So it is important to keep in mind the requirements of a species and make sure you can provide such water.

Adjust water parameters can be done, but it is not easy and can lead to other issues. It is always safer to select fish species that are closer to the water you can easily provide for them. They will have less stress, which means a stronger immune system and less chance of contracting disease.

Now, the fish you have mentioned are livebearers (though I am not sure about the "black clown fish"?); platy, swordtail, molly, guppy and Endlers. These fish occur in Central America and Mexico where the water is moderately hard. In soft water they simply will not be healthy and they will not last very long. Mollies are especially sensitive but the others are too.

The fish that should be more "at home" are any of the tetras and rasbora. Many of the catfish. Danios and barbs, but these are often very active and need more space. All of these fish are also what we term shoaling species, meaning they live in very large groups and must have a group in the aquarium, so that needs to be kept in mind when thinking about a species.
I truly agree to your suggestion. First i will empty the water as you suggested and run the filter for few days. And am in sync with your advise, i prefer the fishes to be in home rather to my choices. a healthy fish is all that i wanted. given this scenarios and taking into consideration its only 20Gallon tank can you please suggest a good breed and how many.
 
and from what i have read online for softwater fishes, along with Tetras and Rasboras i have seen people advising Apistogramma , Discus,German Blue Rams,Gold Rams ,Gouramis,Dwarf Puffer,Apistos.
i will keep researching..
 
and from what i have read online for softwater fishes, along with Tetras and Rasboras i have seen people advising Apistogramma , Discus,German Blue Rams,Gold Rams ,Gouramis,Dwarf Puffer,Apistos...
Apistogramma dwarf cichlids are the same as Apistos.
Don't touch discus unless you have had at least 12 months fish keeping experience. They are often difficult to settle in and not worth the effort for a beginner.
German blue or gold rams are simply Ramirez dwarf cichlids bred in Germany. They are much better quality than the same fish from Asia but will cost more. However, the added expense is worth it if you want good quality fish. In fact any fish from Germany will probably be better quality than the same species from Asia.
All Gouramis can carry an Iridovirus and must be quarantined for at least a month before you add them to your tank. Dwarf Gouramis are the worst for this virus.
 
thank you, so i am more confused now.. so the only choice being the tetra :)
 
Apistogramma cacatuoides do well in most tanks and the males are quite stunning to look at. Get a pr (male & female) and let them breed in the tank. German double reds are a nice colour form but there are lots to choose from. Do a google search for them and look at the images.
Do not mix different species of Apistogramma together because many of the females from different species resemble each other.

Tetras and rasboras do well. Some of my favorite tetras are Black Phantoms, Rosy, neons & cardinals. You could have a couple of groups of tetra containing 10-12 individuals of each species, and a pr of Apistogrammas and some rasboras or some Corydoras if you like. Go for the smaller Corydoras and rasbora species rather than stuff like scissortail rasboras that need a fairly long tank.

You could look at cherry, checkered or ruby barbs, or maybe some rainbowfish like Iriatherina werneri or Rhadinocentrus ornatus. However, the rainbows might be hard to get depending on which country you live in. But there are rainbowfish societies all around the world and many of their members send fish eggs through the mail.
 
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THank you very much and more happy with your reply. kindly please note that i am not looking for male /female pairs for the time being. if i can prefer all the fish of one type i prefer that, i am not at all experienced to handle frys and still more time to go for that i believe.
 
Apistogramma cacatuoides are easy to breed and the adult fish make great parents and the fry (babies) are easy to rear. And the behaviour of a pr is much more interesting than a single male fish swimming around looking for a girlfriend :)

And just to encourage you a bit more, you can always sell healthy young fish to the shop and use the money to buy a bigger tank, then another tank, and another and another and another and another......
 
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If you go for shoaling fish like tetra or rasbora I would suggest no more than 1 or 2 species. 20-30 of the same species can be stunning (but don't add them all at once).
For more information on specific species check out seriously fish.com or animal-world.com. They will give you a lot more info than just what type of water they prefer, e.g. behaviour, which part of the tank they like to swim / live in and how likely they are to destroy your plants or be agressive to other fish.

If you are going to think about Apistos you will need to create some caves for them. Some Apistos will be happy with a single fish (check out the sites I mentioned), they do get quite territorial when breeding so one may be best (males are brighter). I would recommend some driftwood anyway.

Someone mentioned Corydoras, I would not recommend these in your tank because they really need a sandy bottom. Good luck whatever you decide.
 
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awesome thank you very much .. i will surely update when i decided and going to add fishes. and seriously give a thought about a pair and frys. This is my very first and wanted to take it on ease, will surely add some drift wood and hiding decorations. Selling frys and all.. i am more shy/hesitant/and not willing to be honest.. but i will consider option of giving away to others.. but its still a long road and all i want know is a healthy sturdy fish and how i can keep them healthy..
 
First on the water parameters, can you confirm that the GH is soft on your test strip? As I said earlier, the photo has this colour in a shadow and it is difficult to discern. Just tell us what that test indicated.

Second, to the fish being mentioned. There is much to consider when putting together a community aquarium. This term refers to an aquarium that houses more than one species of fish. As soon as you get into a community tank, you have many factors to consider. Obviously water parameters, and this includes temperature. Common or blue rams for example must have warmer water than many (if not most) other "tropical" fish, and this can limit tankmate options. Temperature drives the fish's metabolism because the fish is an ectotherm, which means it relies on external heat rather than being able to generate its heat internally. This means that temperature is extremely critical to a fish. Then there is the habitat or environment; many fish have similar needs, many different, when it comes to substrate material, wood, rock, water flow, plants, cover, light...lots to consider.

Cichlids are not the easiest fish to maintain in good health. And a 20g is a small tank, especially for cichlids. Apistos, angelfish, discus are all cichlids. I would look elsewhere.

Some gourami could work; I would avoid the Dwarf as has been mentioned above. But there are some other small species like the pygmy sparkling gourami; a group of five would bee suited to a soft water tank. Along with a group of one of the smaller rasbora species, or one (or two) of the smaller tetra species. Just ideas.
 

In one word to answer your question...no.

BioSpira won't hurt, but it is not necessary and you can save your money for something more important.

The second link is along the lines of filter media, and while this might be effective in ponds or aquaponics, I can't see it being helpful in an aquarium. The media in your filter will handle this aspect, along with the plants.

You have live plants, and that pretty well means you do not need any products or additives other than water conditioner and plant fertilizer.
 
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i did the water test yesterday and its clearly showing soft water

f4hBIb7.jpg
 
i did the water test yesterday and its clearly showing soft water

f4hBIb7.jpg

Yes, agreed, so that is resolved. As previously mentioned, livebearers will not do well, so stay with the soft water species. When you see some you like, we can consider them.
 
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