UPDATED W/ pH AND GH: How many of each should I get for my 20 gallon?
- Thread starter smbills12
- Start date
How long, wide and high is the tank?
What sort of rainbowfish were you looking at? Most adult rainbowfish will eat neon tetras. Smaller species like Melanotaenie praecox, pygmaea, sexlineata, maccullochi and Rhadinocentrus ornatus and the Pseudomugils should be fine.
Neon tetras & Danios need to be kept in groups of 10 or more.
Guppies and Platies should be kept as either males or females, or if you want a breeding group, have 1 male and 5 or more females.
Rainbowfish need to be kept in groups of 8 or more but you can mix species of similar size and they all hang out together.
What sort of rainbowfish were you looking at? Most adult rainbowfish will eat neon tetras. Smaller species like Melanotaenie praecox, pygmaea, sexlineata, maccullochi and Rhadinocentrus ornatus and the Pseudomugils should be fine.
Neon tetras & Danios need to be kept in groups of 10 or more.
Guppies and Platies should be kept as either males or females, or if you want a breeding group, have 1 male and 5 or more females.
Rainbowfish need to be kept in groups of 8 or more but you can mix species of similar size and they all hang out together.
Sorry, I meant mollies.. I looked at my notes wrong when writing this up.
I was thinking 6 Neon Tetra, 6 Danios, 2 Female guppies, 2 female mollies, 2 female platies. Will these all fit in 20 gallon and be peaceful?
Size is approximately 25.75 x 14.25 x 18.62 Inches
Do you know what your water chemistry is like, eg: pH & general hardness (GH)?
Neons require different water chemistry to mollies guppies and platies so I would suggest not getting neons if you want the other 3 types of fish. Neons like soft acid water.
Danios are fine in all sorts of water but prefer a pH around 6.8 to 7.4.
The 6 livebearers (mollies, platies & guppies) will be fine together with each other and the danios. However, the Danios will eat any babies that are produced by the livebearers. And the livebearers need a pH above 7.0 and a GH above 200ppm.
The Danios and Livebearers are all going to hang out in the top half of the tank. This means you will have the bottom half without any fish spending much time in it. You could look at getting a bristlenose catfish, some gobies or some other bottom feeding fish to go with the livebearers.
Neons require different water chemistry to mollies guppies and platies so I would suggest not getting neons if you want the other 3 types of fish. Neons like soft acid water.
Danios are fine in all sorts of water but prefer a pH around 6.8 to 7.4.
The 6 livebearers (mollies, platies & guppies) will be fine together with each other and the danios. However, the Danios will eat any babies that are produced by the livebearers. And the livebearers need a pH above 7.0 and a GH above 200ppm.
The Danios and Livebearers are all going to hang out in the top half of the tank. This means you will have the bottom half without any fish spending much time in it. You could look at getting a bristlenose catfish, some gobies or some other bottom feeding fish to go with the livebearers.
The tank is too small for mollies and danios - although danios are small fish they are very fast swimmers and need a tank at least 36 inches long with 48+ being better
Molly - http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/poecilia-sphenops/
Danios - http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/danio-rerio/
Look on your water supplier's website to see if they give the hardness of your water - you need the number and the unit as they could use any one of half a dozen different units. If they don't give it, take a sample of tap water to an LFS and ask them to test the GH - again, make sure they give you the number and unit
Molly - http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/poecilia-sphenops/
Danios - http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/danio-rerio/
Look on your water supplier's website to see if they give the hardness of your water - you need the number and the unit as they could use any one of half a dozen different units. If they don't give it, take a sample of tap water to an LFS and ask them to test the GH - again, make sure they give you the number and unit
Can either one you suggest a better list of fish and how many of each for me please? We are very new at this.. I want nice, peaceful community fish for my daughter. I think you can tell what I'm looking for.. some nice colors, but easy to maintain as we are just beginning to educate ourselves. We got the test strips for the water. I will add the pH and GH as soon as I can. Thank you!
I think you can tell what I'm looking for.. some nice colors, but easy to maintain as we are just beginning to educate ourselves. We got the test strips for the water. I will add the pH and GH as soon as I can. Thank you!
Those will determine what is on the list
. Once you post the numbers I'm sure plenty will be along to advise.
GH of 150 ppm converts to 8.4 dH (German degrees) which is not very hard at all; it is too soft for livebearers. The minimum hardness for guppies is 143 ppm/8 dH (your hardness is right at the lower edge of their range); platies' minimum hardness is 250 ppm/14 dH, and for mollies it's 216 ppm/15 dH
Of the fish in your original list, neon tetras would be fine at this hardness as would most other tetras, and fish such as rasboras.
To be honest, the best thing to do would be to visit several LFS to see what they stock and make a note of the fish that catch your eye. DO NOT let yourself be talked into buying anything, because too many shops will make things up to get a sale. Then look up the fish you like on http://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ Draw up a shortlist from those fish you liked that are suitable for a tank 24 inches/60 cm long and have 150 ppm/8.4 dH in their range (The website sometimes uses ppm, sometimes dH so you need to know both figures). Then post your shortlist on here and we can all take a look at which would be compatible.
Have you cycled the tank yet? http://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/
Of the fish in your original list, neon tetras would be fine at this hardness as would most other tetras, and fish such as rasboras.
To be honest, the best thing to do would be to visit several LFS to see what they stock and make a note of the fish that catch your eye. DO NOT let yourself be talked into buying anything, because too many shops will make things up to get a sale. Then look up the fish you like on http://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ Draw up a shortlist from those fish you liked that are suitable for a tank 24 inches/60 cm long and have 150 ppm/8.4 dH in their range (The website sometimes uses ppm, sometimes dH so you need to know both figures). Then post your shortlist on here and we can all take a look at which would be compatible.
Have you cycled the tank yet? http://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/
If the pH is 7.2 and the GH is around 150ppm then domestic guppies and platies will be fine. Mollies want harder water (200ppm or higher). Neon tetras will also be fine if the pH is 7.2 but they won't like a pH of 7.8.
If the pH is 7.2 you could keep a group of Black Phantom Tetras, Neon Tetras, 1 pr of Honey Dwarf or Sparkling Gouramis (but not normal dwarf gouramis tho because they have lots of issues). And you could have a group of Pygmy Corydoras or a few normal Corydoras like Albino, Julii or Panda Corydoras. You could have a couple of male Guppies in here too.
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If the pH is 7.8 then a couple of Platies and Guppies, Albino, Julii or Panda Corydoras, maybe some Melanotaenia praecox rainbowfish.
If the pH is 7.2 you could keep a group of Black Phantom Tetras, Neon Tetras, 1 pr of Honey Dwarf or Sparkling Gouramis (but not normal dwarf gouramis tho because they have lots of issues). And you could have a group of Pygmy Corydoras or a few normal Corydoras like Albino, Julii or Panda Corydoras. You could have a couple of male Guppies in here too.
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If the pH is 7.8 then a couple of Platies and Guppies, Albino, Julii or Panda Corydoras, maybe some Melanotaenia praecox rainbowfish.
Neon Tetra-3 need to be in school
Guppies- 2
Platies- choose either one molly or platy, they both reproduce very quick and your tank will become very crowded and nitrate with increase
Mollies
Danios- 1 but some can be aggressive if they are bigger than others
also check out my post on Mudskipper need some help http://www.fishforums.net/threads/indian-mudskipper-help.448410/
Guppies- 2
Platies- choose either one molly or platy, they both reproduce very quick and your tank will become very crowded and nitrate with increase
Mollies
Danios- 1 but some can be aggressive if they are bigger than others
also check out my post on Mudskipper need some help http://www.fishforums.net/threads/indian-mudskipper-help.448410/
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