New 20 Gallon Tank Stocking Help

[alexpb22]

I have had a Fluval Edge tank for a couple of years now and although I love the tank I want to get a second larger tank for my living room (fluval edge is in my kitchen).

I had a look at some tanks today and a 95litre tank seems to be a good size for the space I have in mind.

I know that this is still a relatively small tank but other than buying a huge expensive tank which I can't afford to do right now I think this is the best bet.

My question is what can I stock it with in terms of really colourful community fish? I originally wanted to have a cichlid tank but realise this is too small, I then thought about Gourami but again know that this is too small unless I maybe have two and nothing else. So now I'm at a bit of a loss as to what I could get which is going to stimulate me visually whilst having a decent amount of fish in there.

Can anyone suggest a good selection of interesting fish that I could stock this tank with? I could maybe look at a bigger one if nothing exciting comes up but ideally I'd like to keep to this size.

My other tank has tetras/guppies in so I would rather go for slightly bigger fish than these.

Thanks in advance.

 

[KrystaK]

Hi there! 95 L is about 25 gal correct? (Im assuming US gal because that's a unit I'm used to working with

)
 
Thats plenty of room for some of the most colourful Gourami species! 
For a tank this size, with a tropical community in mind (And relatively hardy) I have several suggestions for you to look into
Dwarf Gourami (I'd get 1 for a tank this size, because stores generally only sell males and this isn't quite enough room for 2 males in my opinion)
Honey Gourami (Their smaller than dwarves, so a pair or trio (1 male to 2 female) ratio would work)
A school of just about any sort of tetra, I like Neons. 6 or so is a god number though more is always merrier. 
Platys and Guppies are very hardy live bearers. if you don't want babies I'd suggest getting all one gender.
You could also look into some smaller Barb's i.e: Cherry barbs.
 
If you don't want bottom feeders than you could probably get away with something like:
2 Honey Gourami (1M, 1F)
3 Plays (Or) 3-5 Guppies
6-10 Tetras, depending on the species.
 
Just a suggestion

 

[Ninjouzata]

I like KrystaK's suggestion! Though I think I'd drop the platys/guppies for a pair of peacock gudgeons. They tend to stick to the bottom but will go all over the tank.

 

[attibones]

I would also drop the guppies or platy (unless you just really like the idea). 
 
Perhaps ember tetras, X-ray tetras (I personally think these are neat), emperor tetras (space may be a little tight with these guys), or the cardinal tetra. Though small and frequently said to be too "common" a good school of cardinal tetras is lovely to watch. The striking red adds a nice splash of color and the super shiny blue stripe makes them easy to see from a distance too, which is good news if the tank isn't going to be five inches from your eyeballs when you observe it.

 

[alexpb22]

Hi there! 95 L is about 25 gal correct? (Im assuming US gal because that's a unit I'm used to working with )
 
Thats plenty of room for some of the most colourful Gourami species! 
For a tank this size, with a tropical community in mind (And relatively hardy) I have several suggestions for you to look into
Dwarf Gourami (I'd get 1 for a tank this size, because stores generally only sell males and this isn't quite enough room for 2 males in my opinion)
Honey Gourami (Their smaller than dwarves, so a pair or trio (1 male to 2 female) ratio would work)
A school of just about any sort of tetra, I like Neons. 6 or so is a god number though more is always merrier. 
Platys and Guppies are very hardy live bearers. if you don't want babies I'd suggest getting all one gender.
You could also look into some smaller Barb's i.e: Cherry barbs.
 
If you don't want bottom feeders than you could probably get away with something like:
2 Honey Gourami (1M, 1F)
3 Plays (Or) 3-5 Guppies
6-10 Tetras, depending on the species.
 
Just a suggestion

Thanks for that, that sounds a really good suggestion Krystak and sounds a great combo. I also like the peacock gudgeons and I love tetras anyway but good point attibones regarding the cardinal tetras being viewed at a distance.

I do like platys but whenever I have had them in the past they have ended up being aggressive, the same with mollies. However they may be worth revisiting as it were as I saw some lovely bright orange ones yesterday.

Would it be too much to have the suggestion that Krystak gave with the three platys and also have a couple of peacock gudgeons or is that pushing it too far?

 

[alexpb22]

Ok, I've just got back from the London Pet Show and they had a Fluval stand there. I saw the new Fluval Fresh 90 tank and completely fell in love with it, it's a really beautiful tank.

I reeeeally want one of these so I think I'm going to hold out and get one otherwise Ill just be having fish tank envy.

With that in mind it is around 129 litres, what could I stock it with with that size? Not so keen on cichlids now anyway but other colourful fish would be great including gouramis.

 

[508]

129 litres is quite a lot, lots of options.
 
As said before, a Dwarf or Honey gourami would be perfect. I personally like the Pearl Gourami, it may look bland for others but I think they're lovely.
 
Even though you're not keen on cichlids german blues, electric blues and gold rams have stunning colours. 
 
Along side that a school of cardinal tetras or harlequin rasboras would work, they're both pretty and colourful.
 
If you're looking for something unique, kuhli loaches would be good. Just make sure you have sand or very fine gravel if you decide on them.
 
EIther way, I think the best way to pick fish is to go to the store and see what catches your eye. Easy enough to take your phone with you if you want to do some quick research.
 
Good luck

 

[fluttermoth]

Do you know the dimensions of the tank, OP, and is your water hard or soft?

 

[alexpb22]

I am in a hard water area, the tank will be fully cycled before adding anything.

Dimensions are as follows: 35x90x85cm

Going to check out those gouramis and cichlids

 

[508]

Are you sure? Those dimensions make 268 liters 

 

[alexpb22]

Oops, sorry I meant 35x90x45cm I initially read the stand measurements

 

[KrystaK]

Do you know the pH of your water? As I recall German blues (And most other south american fish such as Angels) tend to prefer acidic water. 
If you live in a hard water area that means that whatever your pH is you're pretty much stuck with unless you have an RO unit. (And from experience, hard water areas tend to have basic water, but thats just how it is here in Canada.) Gourami are more accepting of basic water conditions, though if your whole area is basic on the pH scale any locally bred Blue rams or angels would be tolerant to your pH. 
 
129 L is about 35 gal (I have to do these conversions becaue even though I'm on the metric system I'm used to working with Gal in this particular area.)
 
I have a 30 gal tank and my stock is:
1 Female Pearl Gourami
3 Platys
7 Neon Tetras
1 BNP
(And 6 Panda corys in the future)
 
So going off that, I'd say that 1 Pearl (Gender doesn't matter, though males do tend to be a little more aggressive) is equal to a trio of Honey Gourami (Give or take). The platys are pretty standard, can be exchanged for guppies if your into that. I prefer Neon tetras to Cardinals (Don't know why) I think Neons are a little bit smaller. I have a BNP for algae control, though I don't know how useful he really is

The panda corys are bottom feeders will be there to help clean any food that the upper level fish don't get. 
 
I've never dealt with peacock gudgeons (however it's spelled

) and I've only dealt with Ram's once (I had a 50/50 success rate with them, they were rescued but only one of the pair survived before I re homed.)  So I can't really offer anything there.
 
EDIT: With a stock like mine it's a fair mix of bottom dwellers and rest of the tank fish. Take the different levels into consideration as well when looking into fish, you don;t want them all to be near the top all of the time  

 

[alexpb22]

Thanks very much for that, that does sound like a nice group of fish

To answer your question, according to the website my water should have a ph of around 8.1 and it is a hard water area. I have kept angel fish in the past successfully when I was a kid and that was in the same area so they should be ok. They grow very big though I thought so would need for room than my tank provides?