20 Gallon Stock

[KrystaK]

So I have a 20 gallon in my room (And I'll be moving in the next two weeks so I'm not planning to stock for about that long )
I'm having trouble deciding what to put in said tank; I was thinking;

1 Dwarf Gourami (Probably male as that is all my LFS claims to sell)
6 Peppered Corys OR a BNP, (still haven't decided, any opinions?)
Some sort of smaller mid to top level fish, something hardy and colorful (And that wouldn't have immense amounts of fry)

So does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[SombreroBanana]

Dwarf gouramis are notorious for dying quickly, so you should at least take a look at bolivian rams. They're really colorful and generally peaceful.
Peppered cories have way more character and are more fun to watch than plecos, but they don't eat algae, so you could get shrimp with your cories if you want, or swap the cories for otocinclus.
Zebra danios, neon tetras, cardinal tetras, or harlequin rasboras all fit the bill of what you're looking for.

Hope this helps!

 

[chokko]

surely pepper corys will be growth restricted in a 20g?

for my bedroom 20g, i put the smaller corys in it (pygmy, hasbrosus, hastatus)

 

[the_lock_man]

So I have a 20 gallon in my room (And I'll be moving in the next two weeks so I'm not planning to stock for about that long

)
I'm having trouble deciding what to put in said tank; I was thinking;

1 Dwarf Gourami (Probably male as that is all my LFS claims to sell)
6 Peppered Corys OR a BNP, (still haven't decided, any opinions?)
Some sort of smaller mid to top level fish, something hardy and colorful (And that wouldn't have immense amounts of fry)

So does anyone have any suggestions?

Yes I do. Celestial Pearl Danios. Or Chilli Rasboras. Also, the neons, cardinals or harlequins as mentioned by the banana. All must be in 6+ shoals. Alternatively, some male endlers.

Zebra danios

No, no, no, no, no.

No.

And yay again, no.

You need at least a 3' tank, better still a 4' tank. They are also happier in cooler water than the gouramis.

surely pepper corys will be growth restricted in a 20g?

for my bedroom 20g, i put the smaller corys in it (pygmy, hasbrosus, hastatus)

Depends on what else the OP is stocking. A single gourami, and a small shoal of the smaller species I mentioned (or 3/4 endlers) would just about be fine with 6 pepper cories. However, going with one of the dwarf cory species you mentioned would allow a larger shoal of the mid-dwellers.

Krysta, I have to say, if you were considering one of the cory species that Chokko suggests, try for habrosus, I've just bought a shoal, and they are just the most hilarious little things going.

 

[SombreroBanana]

Zebra danios

No, no, no, no, no.

No.

And yay again, no.

You need at least a 3' tank, better still a 4' tank. They are also happier in cooler water than the gouramis.

Whoops. Sorry about that, I was just trying to match what he was looking for, wasn't really paying attention.

 

[KrystaK]

Thanks for the responses!

I have a Pearl Gourami, a school of Zebra Danios and a half dozen Panda Cory's and a BNP in my larger tank, and though the BNP is the biggest in the tank I love my Corys.

My LFS has a limited selection of stock as far as anything you guys mentioned. I said Peppered corys and dwarf Gourami, because I know they do have those on a regular basis. Unfortunately I have never seen any dwarf/pygmy corys at said store. There is another store farther away but I would have to call to make sure they had what I was looking for before I trekked all the way out there. Though they did have a tremendous amount of stock the last time I visited) My pet shop doesn't stock Rams, though I would love to get one or a pair - but I'll have to do more research before I purchase.

If I changed my list to:
- 1 Bolivian Ram (Or a pair) I'll start research on them ASAP
- 6 Corys (Pygmy or Habrosus) I shall look up both and see which catches my attention
A few cherry shrimp ( which i will move over from my larger tank)
And a school of about 6 smaller fish, I was thinking along the lines of Rosbaras or possibly Danios (Though I was under the impression that all types of Danio needed a larger tank)


Would that be rather acceptable? My worst nightmare is to be over stocked and have fish die because I didn't take good enough care of them.
I may need to take myself Christmas shopping down to the fish store Not for all at once of course, that would be silly.

 

[the_lock_man]

Krysta, are you in the UK?

Celestial Pearl Danios (not to be confused with the Pearl Danio) do not need nearly so much room as other Danio species, they are much smaller, much slower, and much more suited to a tropical aquarium. When first offered for sale, they were called Galaxy Rasbora, and subsequently reclassified as Danios, but they are much more like rasbora in terms of their suitability. If you're in the UK, Maidenhead have them in most branches.

Both Pygmy & Habrosus Cories can be hard to find, but well worth it.

 

[KrystaK]

I actually live in Canada. My local Pet shop is a big name store, Petsmart, and they have a good beginner selection; like Live bearers and Gourami but (At least at my local one) they have a terrible selection of other fish.
About 40 Min away is a Fish only pet shop that I've only been to once, but I would love to visit again. I don't doubt they'd have what I was looking for as far as any of the above mentioned fish go.
But I would still call just to make sure I'm not driving that far for nothing