i edited my post - the major gotcha with the food is the are ambush predators so it is not clear they will go for dead worms any more then dead flakes but one never knows till one tries
Think cat needs mouse to run to chase it Counsel - trying the Americas again
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Think cat needs mouse to run to chase it 
A general comment to throw in here
There's a full list here
www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
In the UK, it is illegal to keep all but one Elassoma sunfish species - that one legal species is E. evergladei. That makes it easier to research requirementsOh my it just got more complicated there are SIX species of pygmy sun fishes (all in the genus Elassoma); no clue if they all have different care requirements
There's a full list here
Fish imports restricted - Practical Fishkeeping
www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
I've (legally here) kept 3 species of Elassoma and a few Etheostoma. Don't go there unless you are well equipped with multiple tanks. Almost all darters need cold periods. There are a couple of species that can have year round cool tropical conditions, but only a couple. They're a specialist fish.
I see almost all the small fish I can catch here, and for about 20 hours drive west of here are illegal in England. They all could become invasives.
Elassoma, meanwhile, are lovely little infighters. Create a jungle tank and expect to see the fish once a week out of the corner of your eye. I could never train mine to eat frozen food - they react to movement. I culture live food, but few of us do.
I caught them in Florida (gilberti or okeefenokee - they are hard to tell apart).
The killies I suggested don't need live food.
The question is so vast once you have soft water. There are so many possibilities. I don't know you Matt, but somehow I see you wanting something that you can work with, and that won't be a passive, just look at it fish.
I see almost all the small fish I can catch here, and for about 20 hours drive west of here are illegal in England. They all could become invasives.
Elassoma, meanwhile, are lovely little infighters. Create a jungle tank and expect to see the fish once a week out of the corner of your eye. I could never train mine to eat frozen food - they react to movement. I culture live food, but few of us do.
I caught them in Florida (gilberti or okeefenokee - they are hard to tell apart).
The killies I suggested don't need live food.
The question is so vast once you have soft water. There are so many possibilities. I don't know you Matt, but somehow I see you wanting something that you can work with, and that won't be a passive, just look at it fish.
Ouch poor kids deprived of gold fishes - or maybe that is a good thing ?A general comment to throw in here
In the UK, it is illegal to keep all but one Elassoma sunfish species - that one legal species is E. evergladei. That makes it easier to research requirements
There's a full list here
Fish imports restricted - Practical Fishkeeping
It may be illegal to import goldfish but there are still a lot of them around. I know there's a movement to get them banned from fairgrounds as prizes; many local councils have banned them from fairs in their area but there's no national ban. And fish stores still sell commons and the fancy varieties. Makes me wonder if they're being bred here, or in the EU somewhere.
Probably locally bred - cheaper then imports and they are an easy fish to mass breed. Also when you buy them you are in reality buying little babies most not knowing the grow into giant monsters.
MattW46 162
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Well, after some reading and more reading, I'm still at an impasse 
. The one thing I did decide on was the colour of fish that would suit the tank. That being Red/Orange/Yellow. I ended up looking into the Killi suggestion and found a whole host of them. Along with Barbs, also found in the diverse continent of Africa. There is definitely an attraction to those two. The other was the Tetra proposal. I had found a couple of semi-local stores had Axelrodia riesei & Hyphessobrycon sp.Muzel and even a few Hemigrammus filamentosus. Being the visual learner type, I 'added' them to my tank. I think if I were to add these, a darker substrate mix would make these fish look incredible. A single species group would look better than a mix IMO.
. The one thing I did decide on was the colour of fish that would suit the tank. That being Red/Orange/Yellow. I ended up looking into the Killi suggestion and found a whole host of them. Along with Barbs, also found in the diverse continent of Africa. There is definitely an attraction to those two. The other was the Tetra proposal. I had found a couple of semi-local stores had Axelrodia riesei & Hyphessobrycon sp.Muzel and even a few Hemigrammus filamentosus. Being the visual learner type, I 'added' them to my tank. I think if I were to add these, a darker substrate mix would make these fish look incredible. A single species group would look better than a mix IMO.
Well if you want colours there are kribs:
www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
The Polongwe i have a stunning (yellow/tan) and this one isn't bad from Lokuenji:
Your tank is at the bottom end of large enough.
The regional variants of Pelvicachromis kribensis
Michel Keijman shows off the various patters that the true kribs display across their native ranges. He also outlines how to care for this beautiful dwarf cichlid.
www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
The Polongwe i have a stunning (yellow/tan) and this one isn't bad from Lokuenji:
Your tank is at the bottom end of large enough.
btw you don't want Hyphessobrycon sp.Muzel - they are a larger tetra and your aquarium is small. Rubys are among my favorite and are very small and nice. Not familiar with Hemigrammus filamentosus. Junior tetra aren't bad.
I mentioned kribs above but there are a lot of common dwarf cichild if you go that route - a. nijjensi are among my favorite and are pair forming. This is a male i had some years ago:
Nijjensi mostly look the same there are not 'domestic' colours. a. bitaeniata are relatively peaceful and usually nice looking but there are a lot of locations - i won't mention some of the others that can be more aggressive esp to other fishes.
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Most apistogramma in uaupesi grouping are fairly docile and a. ladisalo are docile. d52 has never been avialable in usa but there is a breeder somewhere in europe making them available over there it is a rather unique and docile fish - i have their cousin - individual can range from very colourful to totally lacking colour and they do best in pure ro water. Also unlike kribs they are americas
One advantage of dwarf cichild over killi is if properly cared they can live 4 to 6 years; another is watching their parenting when raising frys.
I mentioned kribs above but there are a lot of common dwarf cichild if you go that route - a. nijjensi are among my favorite and are pair forming. This is a male i had some years ago:
Nijjensi mostly look the same there are not 'domestic' colours. a. bitaeniata are relatively peaceful and usually nice looking but there are a lot of locations - i won't mention some of the others that can be more aggressive esp to other fishes.
-
Most apistogramma in uaupesi grouping are fairly docile and a. ladisalo are docile. d52 has never been avialable in usa but there is a breeder somewhere in europe making them available over there it is a rather unique and docile fish - i have their cousin - individual can range from very colourful to totally lacking colour and they do best in pure ro water. Also unlike kribs they are americas
One advantage of dwarf cichild over killi is if properly cared they can live 4 to 6 years; another is watching their parenting when raising frys.
Point, counter point. I'm sitting beside a 4 year old gardneri killie as I type!
In general though, Aphyosemions and Fundulopanchax live 2-3 years max. But they replenish their tanks with young.
Dwarf Cichlids need several tanks. You do get fry easily (you only get 'frys' if the heater jams) and that causes a lot of grief, if you are keeping one tank. With many non annual killies, you get a trickle of fry coming of age in a single species tank, but never an overpopulation as you get with an Apisto brood of fifty fry.
My daughter's tank beside me here has half a dozen juvenile C poliaki killies, with one elderly gardneri and a group of Hoplisoma panda corys. The killies grew up in the tank in spite of the company, but the tank isn't crowded.
In general though, Aphyosemions and Fundulopanchax live 2-3 years max. But they replenish their tanks with young.
Dwarf Cichlids need several tanks. You do get fry easily (you only get 'frys' if the heater jams) and that causes a lot of grief, if you are keeping one tank. With many non annual killies, you get a trickle of fry coming of age in a single species tank, but never an overpopulation as you get with an Apisto brood of fifty fry.
My daughter's tank beside me here has half a dozen juvenile C poliaki killies, with one elderly gardneri and a group of Hoplisoma panda corys. The killies grew up in the tank in spite of the company, but the tank isn't crowded.
MattW46 162
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I've done tank tests for the first time in a while. With the new driftwood causing almost complete blackwater at the start, I suspected pH would be neutral or even in the 6s. It would make sense to keep what works with my tap, as that comes out at 7.4 avg. Test was with an API master test kit and a TDS pen.
I am now being drawn towards a group of tetra in this tank. After looking at many profiles online, it seems I have a hard choice ahead.
The results do put the ruby out of contention, sadly. Also, information online about the Muzel Red seems to indicate that a group of 7-10 specimens would be ok in a 20G. There does seem to be conflicting opinions, but the majority seems to be ok with them in a 20G. Seems I have a lot of videos and profiles to read
I am now being drawn towards a group of tetra in this tank. After looking at many profiles online, it seems I have a hard choice ahead.
The results do put the ruby out of contention, sadly. Also, information online about the Muzel Red seems to indicate that a group of 7-10 specimens would be ok in a 20G. There does seem to be conflicting opinions, but the majority seems to be ok with them in a 20G. Seems I have a lot of videos and profiles to read
You should get some of the nice Argentinian species, before they get banned there.
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