Stock Advice?

[Crossfire]

My current stock is in my signature, a standard 20 gallon, adequatley filtered with a lot of plants and sand bottom and driftwood. I am going to get rid of ALL my guppies, and i'm not planning on replacing the ottos killed off in my ich epidemic a while ago, still debating if I should get rid of the otto or just let him live out his life. Sometime this week i will be upping my Pink Jewel Tetras to 6, and I was wondering if i could maybe have another school of tetra or maybe praecox rainbows? So it would be

6 Pink Jewels
5-6 other tetras or praecox rainbows
2 sparkling gourami
2 kuhli loaches
8 cherry shrimp

if the other schooling fish don't fit, will there be room to up my pink jewel shoal to 8? maybe 10? And if anyone knows a cool oddball fish for 20 gallons that could work with my stock would be great. Killifish maybe? Any advice would be great

 

[Crossfire]

bump?

 

[Crossfire]

bump...bump...bump

 

[Crossfire]

can ANYBODY help me?!

 

[Crossfire]

feel like im talking to a wall here....

 

[Man of fish]

I'd do at least 4 kuhlis. Maybe bleeding heart tetras I like how they look.

 

[Baccus]

+1 on the khuli loaches they are happiest in a bunch, if there are no other bottom dwellers I would look at 6 Khuli's, sparkling gouramis are nice but hard to sex when young and they do only remain small, maybe just up your jewel tetra numbers or get another group of tetras that will complimnet pink colour. I have a lone lizard fish living with my Khuli's (he's only alone coz I can't get any more ) they are a fascinating fish to watch scurring around the tank and don't get huge and aggressive, my one lives with Cherry shrimp, guppies and bristle noses as well as the khuli's.

 

[Crossfire]

Hmmm, wouldnt that make my tank very overstocked?
4 Kuhlis
2 Sparklers
6 Pink Jewels
6 other fish
8 cherry shrimp

The tank isn't mine unfortunatley, its a "family aquarium" It took me hard convincing to get kuhlis because apparently some people find them "ugly" and "wormy" However, kuhlis live up to ten years, and im taking the aquarium with me when i move out in a few years. I will upgrade to a larger tank and get more kuhlis for my babies but until then, no more kuhlis They seem quite happy though, always snuggling and always in the open and they rarely hide. They even swim freely most days! If you don't belive me, just take a look at how bodacious they are!

But other than that, I have actually sexed my gouramis, i have a male and female. But even without the extra kuhlis, isnt the suggested stock overstocking?

 

[Fishy friend2]

I think you should up the numbers of Khulis and then not add any more fish after that

 

[MBOU]

The OP has already said they cant add more khulis.....

I think Praecox would be pushing it, they are really active and even if they dont get huge, they have a huge personallity and can be boistrous. I would avoid them in that size tank.

Killie fish arent really community fish... for the most part they are right little lunatics and incredibly aggressive, willing to take on a fish 10 times their size!

I think a shoal of smaller tetras (6) wouldbe fine, neons or embers or maybe some male Endlers?

 

[Crossfire]

The OP has already said they cant add more khulis.....

I think Praecox would be pushing it, they are really active and even if they dont get huge, they have a huge personallity and can be boistrous. I would avoid them in that size tank.

Killie fish arent really community fish... for the most part they are right little lunatics and incredibly aggressive, willing to take on a fish 10 times their size!

I think a shoal of smaller tetras (6) wouldbe fine, neons or embers or maybe some male Endlers?

Yeah, even if praecox could fit my LFS sells them for waay to much...$11.45 a fish! I have had neons in the past, but the last bunch i had were aggressive to each other even though i had 8 of them....plus, i don't trust my LFS's neons because half the time they have had to stop selling them because of massive ick infections... Other than that, they don't really have any smallish tetras..no embers or endlers either...I think i will just up the Pink Jewels to 8 and maybe 10 is space allows. My LFS has Pristella Tetras, and i like them, but they kinda clash with pink and someone on this forum told me they're aggressive I'll check back after I've gone to the LFS Thanks!

 

[Crossfire]

Ok just got two more Pink Jewel Tetras today, acclimating as I'm typing this. Looked at other small tetras they had, saw some i liked. They even had a new shipment of kuhli loach babies! As tempted as I was, like stated above, no more loaches
Anyway, if anyone could give me info on the tetras and tell me if they are acceptable for my tank that'd be awesome
The tetras I liked:

Kerri Tetras
Von Rio Tetras
Pristella Tetras
Bloodfin Tetras

if anyone could recommend any small tetras that compliment the color pink, that'd be awesome too

 

[fishprotector]

I think that you would be better increasing the number of Pink Jewels rather than getting another Tetra species. It will make them feel more comfy and may look better.

 

[Crossfire]

I think that you would be better increasing the number of Pink Jewels rather than getting another Tetra species. It will make them feel more comfy and may look better.

okey-doke, that whas my plan if no other species fits. Whats my limit on them? 8? 10?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

You could go with a small shoal of 6 harlequin rasboras, or 8 of any of the microrasboras.



With this increased bioload, I would recommend that you bump up either the frequency or the size of your routine water changes, if not both.