Tankmates For Gbrs,plecos And A Tiger Barb?

[Cobesey]

I have 2 german blue rams(both male) 2 rubbernose plecos and 1 tiger barb(i did have 4 but 3 died due to high amonia) but i will get 3 more. I am wondering what else i could add to my 20 gallon tall aqaurium?

Cheers

 

[techen]

Size of tank, I feel 20 gallons is too small for german blues but I could be wrong.
 
Also why two males? Don't they fight ? Or will soon. How long you had the tank for?

 

[Cobesey]

I was told that male rams will only fight if a female ram was introduced? Is this wrong?!

Ive had the tank about a month now.

 

[techen]

What's your PH, Rams prefer soft water. There also one of the hardest types of fish to keep. So may I suggest removing them for something easier?

 

[TallTree01]

None of your fish are suitable for that tank. They all need 30 gallons MINIMUM. 1 tiger barb will rip rams to shreds.

 

[Cobesey]

The barb was chasing the rams at first but its settled now, the 20 gallon is just to get me started i kind of want to know what i am doing before spendin big bucks on bigger tank,filter and heater.

I checked my ph yesterday and it was around 6.0 - 6.2 but i put a bit of bogwood in just after the test to lower it.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Tiger barbs, along with any  other shoaling fish, do well in larger groups. Your 20g is just too small to keep barbs in the size shoal they should be in. GBRs should also be in a bigger tank. I have a 20g with nothing but cory and shrimp.
 
Honestly I'd rehome that tiger barb and wait until you get a bigger tank set up before thinking about getting other fish. TallTree is correct that they all should be in a bigger tank.
 
I had problems with my tiger barbs until I upped their numbers to 14. They still occasionally nip at each other but I think it's mostly in fun. No injuries since I got a large number of them.

 

[Cobesey]

I have got rid of the tiger barbs(given to a friend with several more) and i will probably get rid of 1 of the plecos.

What fish can i add now?

 

[CezzaXV]

The barb was chasing the rams at first but its settled now, the 20 gallon is just to get me started i kind of want to know what i am doing before spendin big bucks on bigger tank,filter and heater.

I checked my ph yesterday and it was around 6.0 - 6.2 but i put a bit of bogwood in just after the test to lower it.

6.0 is pretty low. There are a lot of soft water fish which will happily live in that range, but I wouldn't be looking to lower it any further.

Rams are rather difficult to care for, and I speak from experience. They like their water softer and warmer than most fish prefer, meaning that it is difficult to find other fish which will happily live with them. They need very good water quality; you cannot fall behind on water changes. They also should be kept in M/F pairs, and your tank isn't really big enough for one pair let alone two.

You say you don't want to spend any big bucks, but you're throwing money away by buying these inappropriate fish without doing your research on them first.

You also mentioned that three of your barbs died due to high ammonia. Can you tell us how/if this tank is cycled?