would this combination of fish work?

[tamara323]

for a 20 gallon tank (long), and a pH of 7, would these fish be compatable?

- a dwarf gourami (most likely male, because they're easier to find)
- a cleaning crew of 3 oto's
- 2 african dwarf frogs
- and a school of fancy guppies, preferably same-sex because otherwise i'm have plently of guppy fry.

for filtration, i have a gift certificate that can go towards any aquaclear filter, which model should i go with?

and last but not least, would i be better off going with female guppies, or male?.......and how many?

i'm sure this type of question is asked much too often, but i'd rather get the advice now before i buy, than running into problems and still in the long run ending up having to ask what went wrong ;)

thanks

[Cichlid Woman]

Well ...

Same-sex guppies won't work if they're all males--they'll get aggressive with each other, and the only way I've cured that is by adding female guppies (more females than males, or the males will wear them out). All females in your tank would probably work okay without an aggression problem, but they aren't nearly as colorful as the males. Consider babies! Maybe your local lfs would give you some credit for them.

African frogs get big, I think, and the bigger they get, the nastier. I'd worry about that a bit.

I had a gorgeous 20-gal long tank with plants, and the best part of it was a pair of kribensis. You'd love it! They'd work with guppies, too, and if they breed you are in for a real treat (parenting behavior and coloration). They leave the otos alone, too, and the cory cats. Just an idea ...

I really like the Aquaclear 200 filter for a 20-gallon long tank. Worked great.

Hope this helps.

-- Pat

[Rocketman]

You will probaly have to dump the African Dwarf frogs if you plan on keeping the rest of your fish. My African CLAWED frogs are carnivourous little buggers, both eat Rosy Red Minnows longer than they are. Not sure if this affects the Dwarf Species, ut I'd do ome more research on it.

[Tyler718]

I would go with an AC200 also. For stocking everything sounds good. I have 2 African dwarf frogs. They get to be be about 2 inches. I never had any problems with them messing with the fish in the tank. They have been in three of my tanks.

[JohnMemorialHS]

AC 200 or 300 would work well. African dwarf will pose no harm to your fish. While african clawed gets huge and have an apetite for anything that fits their mouth, african dwarfs are pretty passive.

[Wippit Guud]

Dwarf frogs are fine in aquariums.

Only issue is that a lot of LFSs mislabel the frogs, and called them dwarf when they're actually clawed.

[Rocketman]

Yes, I had the mislabel happen to me. Ask them to make sure, and make sure there are no claws on them. If you really want to make sure, stick it in a tank with a guppy, and see how many fish you have the next day.

[blee358]

I think that your setup will work. I think an aqua clear 100 or 150 would suffice. I also think that the school of the same-sex guppies wouldn't work. They'd fight a lot and that wouldn't be too good. I would think of some danio would do good like a zebra or lepeord danio. They are cheap at less than $! and would not breed if they're all the same sex, I think.

[morleyz]

The only thing dwarf frogs could pose a problem with is if you some day decided you'd like to keep some of the guppy fry. While the dwarfs are small, they are still carnivorous and a full grown dwarf would likely find the fry a nice snack.

I agree with everyone else on the all male guppy thing.

I really like my AC200...so I'd say go with that.

[tamara323]

wow, thanks for all the input so far you guys :)
the african dwarf frogs that i have now will be the ones going into the tank, and i've had them since january so i'm quite sure they're not going to get any bigger, so hopefully no more aggressive either as they're quite passive right now with all my other fish.

i'd have to say that i'll go with the majority and get an AC200.

now, my last concern is with the guppies, after hearing everything everyone's opinions/experiences i'd rather not go with same sex, because males would fight and females aren't as colorful (which was the reason i chose guppies in the first place becasue they had so much color, lol)
my other option would be to get both male and female, which would obviously produce fry, but if i kept the fry, would that lead to an overstocked tank, or would they become live food for the rest of my fish?

[Ashes]

Re the guppies:

I have about eighteen guppies in a 10 gallon tank (I know it's crowded, but it's right in the kitchen and gets HUGE water changes), with about 1 male for every two females. They've been in the tank since September. The tank is pretty heavily decorated with both fake and live plants.

I have had NO guppy fry since the fish have been put in the tank. I know the gups have been getting pregnant and giving birth, but not a single fry has survived. The fish just gobble them up! So, considering that, and knowing the appetite of the dwarf gourami that I keep in my community tank, I'd guess that overcrowding with guppies will be something you won't have to worry about.

And, should it become an issue, several of the privately owned LFS's in my area buy guppies, if they're fancy.

And don't worry about asking seemingly silly questions! They're all very important - I know what you mean about not wanting to make mistakes.

[Ashes]

Also, regarding african dwarf frogs, I've kept them in community tanks without any problems. Just make sure you've got dwarves, like everyone else said.

[tamara323]

ashes, thanks a million for taking the time to read and reply ;)

[Ashes]

Glad I can help.

[FishmasteR2002]

Also I don't know if anyone else has experienced this but when I bought my Dwarf Gouramis, I had to buy a male/female pair. I would get a pair if I were you because they are so pretty swimming together. You don't have to worry about them breeding with all the other fish in the tank.

[tamara323]

i already have a male dwarf gourami, and i went to get a female but was advised that because i've already had the male for a bit and he was full grown when i got him, that getting him a younger female wouldn't interest him one bit (obviously fish behave quite differently from humans ;)) is there any truth to this advice?