Oh The Choices!

[unknowntbeast]

Rainbow shark
Rosy Barb
Red Wag Platy
Marigold Variutus
Black Molly
Guppies
Yellow Labidochromis
Auratus Cichlid
Jewel Cichlid
Kenyi African Cichlid
Tiger Oscar Cichlid
Jack Dempsey
Leporinus Fasciatus

The list was originally 3, but the LFS got different ones in stock now, so it grew. 20 gallon tank, nearly done cycling. I know some probably aren't tropical but any suggestions would be great for compatibility and how many should I get.

 

[vcmtik]

From what i understand cichlids should only be with other cichlids (beware of their aggression) Sharks can grow to be very big. I am newish to tropicals and have tiger barbs, mollies, red cherry shrimp and guppies. They get along fine, i do recommend at least 5 tiger barbs to prevent fin nipping of other species - mine are friendly enough. Guppies come in many different colours and are entertaining because they are playful. Platys are very good also, I plan to get them in the future. xx

 

[unknowntbeast]

Fin nibbing?

 

[Wills]

Hi there, unfortunately a lot of the fish on your list are unsuitable for your tank. Most of them will grow to over 12 inches or 1 foot long and there are some african cichlids in there as well which need to be kept in special tanks and also need a larger tank. But there were some fish on your list that will do well in your tank.
Red Wag Platy
Marigold Variutus
Black Molly
Guppies
Though these are all livebearers and need to be kept in the ratio of 1 male to 2 females, but you will eventually be over run by baby fish so make sure your local fish store will take the babies back when you have too many to handle.

Some other fish you could consider for your tank could be some of the smaller gourami, like the dwarf, honey or thick lipped. Or some of the south american dwarf cichlids like tank bred apistos or bolivian rams, some of the dwarf acara species would do well. There are lots of small tetra and rasbora species that would live around these as well. There are some small loaches that would work like zebra loaches and dwarf chain loaches but please please dont get clowns very pretty fish but very big.

Hope this has helped

Wills

 

[vcmtik]

Fin nibbing?

Whoops! I meant fin nipping

 

[unknowntbeast]

Fin nibbing?

Whoops! I meant fin nipping

Oh no thats my bad, you wrote nipping in the first place, I just miswrote is when replying. Anywho, what does it mean?

 

[unknowntbeast]

Hi there, unfortunately a lot of the fish on your list are unsuitable for your tank. Most of them will grow to over 12 inches or 1 foot long and there are some african cichlids in there as well which need to be kept in special tanks and also need a larger tank. But there were some fish on your list that will do well in your tank.
Red Wag Platy
Marigold Variutus
Black Molly
Guppies
Though these are all livebearers and need to be kept in the ratio of 1 male to 2 females, but you will eventually be over run by baby fish so make sure your local fish store will take the babies back when you have too many to handle.

Some other fish you could consider for your tank could be some of the smaller gourami, like the dwarf, honey or thick lipped. Or some of the south american dwarf cichlids like tank bred apistos or bolivian rams, some of the dwarf acara species would do well. There are lots of small tetra and rasbora species that would live around these as well. There are some small loaches that would work like zebra loaches and dwarf chain loaches but please please dont get clowns very pretty fish but very big.

Hope this has helped

Wills

If I went with the guppies and platys, how many at most and at least? Plus 2 black mollys.
I forgot about the livebearers cause I got Zebra Danios which eat their eggs. So they will spawn newborn on their own or would I need to do something to get it going. (<----Not meant to be a sick joke lol)

 

[Wills]

I think with a 20g if you went with live bearers it would be best to go with all female mollies and platties but then have a few male guppies or all female mollies 1 male platy and male guppies as if you had both sexes of both you would be way too over run with babies in a few months.

How about

2 Black Mollies - both female
5 Platies - 1 male 4 female
5 Male guppies
or
3 Black Mollies - 1 male 2 female
5 female platies
5 Male guppies
or
2 Black Mollies - both female
5 female platies
5 guppies - 1 Male 4 female

and maybe 5 cory catfish of some kind to help keep the bottom tidy. (these would work with any option)

Over time the tank will fill out with babies from the livebearer that has both genders in the tank. Just like I say make sure you have a place to get rid of the fry when they become adults.

Wills

 

[unknowntbeast]

I might just go with

2 Black Mollies - both female
5 female platies
5 guppies - 1 Male 4 female

But the only problem is I don't know if the employees at Petsmart would know the differnces in male/female.

 

[K-Holed]

It's pretty obvious with most livebearers. Males have a little thing that looks a bit like a snorkle where their anal fin should be. It's called a gonopodium.

 

[Wills]

yeah if you find a good article on how to sex them on the net then you make sure you get females and only one male platty

 

[OldMan47]

Lets get down to basics. The red wagged platies and the variatus are basically two different colors of the same fish. They will get along fine together and even cross breed. If you don't want some kind of mixed outcome, choose one or the other. Guppies and mollies will mix well with the platies / variatus with no troubles.
The African rift lake fish, the yellow labs, auratus and kenyi will get along in the same water and are all semi aggressive. They will not mix well with the livebearers like guppies because they are more aggressive.
The tiger oscars, jewels, shark and dempseys are all fish that end up too big for a 20 so scratch them out.
What you are left with is basically a community of platies/variatus, mollies and guppies or a community of Africans. Either of those combinations can work well. The zebras that you already have will go well with the livebearer community and wil help hold down the population explosion.
The next thing that you need to do is look at your tap water. If it is moderately hard with a pH in the mid 7s, it will work fine with the livebearers. If it is so hard that you need to chip a hole to add fish food and has a pH over 8.0, the Africans will love it. If it is soft and neutral to slightly acidic, you need a new fish list made up of things like tetras, cories and similar soft water loving fish.