20 gallon community

[Jester313]

Hello

I have a 20 gallon (high) community of the following:

7 Pristella Tetras
3 Albino Cory Cats
2 Pl*cos (small, possibly rubbers?)
2 Yo-Yo Loaches (snail control)

The tank is planted with the following:
4 Cryptocorne (2 red and 2 green wendtii)
2 Hornwort

I have been monitoring the water for about a month and half now, and all of my nitrate and ammonia tests have given results of 0 ppm.

I was wondering if I could add two Blue Rams to this mix without destroying my balance. If not the Rams, could I put in a school (6-8 individuals) of neons? I am looking for something that will inhabit the middle level of the aquarium, since I never see four of my fish (pl*cos and loaches) and three others are bottom dwellers.

Thanks for the input

[NJ Devils Fan]

Rams and neons would both be fine in your tank since all of your fish are peaceful, community fish.

[thom336]

nitrate at 0? do you have some kind of miracle tank...or do you mean nitrite? nitrate is the end product of biological filtration, and is near impossible to get it down to 0.

[Faramir]

What are your pH and GH? I've never had much luck with rams in alkaline hard water.

[thom336]

when was the last time you tried rams? they have become very adaptable of late....

[ChilDawg]

Wouldn't a sufficient quantity of Rams to mollify them overload the biofiltration capacity of the tank? Remember, the footprint is not that of a 20 standard, 20 long, or 20 show, it is a 20 high, which has but 1.44 times the footprint area of a 10 standard. I think that Jester313 would be at the limit of biofiltration with sufficiently mollified (read: a shoal of) Neons, and Rams are even worse water-polluters.

[Jester313]

I might be wrong in calling it a 20 gallon high. The footprint, I believe, is 24" long and 12" deep. Does that sound right?

[ChilDawg]

A 20g high has that footprint, with 16" vertical depth.

[chris-in-sf]

Hey

I was just looking into Rams too for my 20 gallon, but went another direction. Particularly Bolivian rams was what I decided on, a peaceful variety, but couldn't find them locally. It sounds like your combo would work.

I would comment however that your tank seems a little "bottom feeder heavy" for a 20 gallon, including 2 plecos. But hey, if you've got enough hiding places... I guess it's working.

In regards to your tank - if it's 24" wide, and 12" tall, then it's not a high. That's pretty standard right? Mine is either 22" or 24" wide, and it seems pretty dimensionally normal.
Here's mine for ref.
my tank (http://chrissipe.com/fish/tank.jpg)

Chris

[ChilDawg]

It appears as though there is no universally accepted 20g Standard tank, so the one which Jester313 has described is known as a 20g high, whether it is the "standard" for 20g tanks or not.

[Jester313]

The tank is a little bottom feeder heavy. The loaches and one of the pl*cos were already in the tank. When I moved I could only take two aquariums with me (a 55 gallon and this 20 gallon) so I moved my Amazon community (the other pl*co, the cory cats, and the 7 tetras) in to the 20, and just left the yo-yos and other pl*c. It's seemed to work out well, as the loaches have their own cave, I never see the pl*cos until it's night time, and the corys swim all over the bottom of the tank during the day.

The tetras are just hungry cucumbers that hang around and wait to get fed.

My only worry is the pl*cos. I'm not exactly sure what kind they are, so I'm hoping they don't get to big. I've had them for a while, and they don't seem to grow. So maybe they are secretly smokers and stunted their growth or something. I know they're not common pl*cos, and their not bristlenose (I don't think). So, we'll see what happens there.

What was this thread about? Oh yeah, my rams. So then, I think I've heard two "no problem" and one "max out the bio-load."

Anyone else?

[ChilDawg]

I hope that you didn't count mine as a max out the biofiltration...I ask questions like that, expecting to get a "yes" answer, but I am sometimes pleasantly surprised by expert aquarists refuting my claims and explaining why...so, if one of them chimes in, and says that rams would be a good addition--take THEIR advice...believe me, I will, too!

(Remember that I am a theoretical aquarist with the exception of one particular tank combo, so I only have reading to guide me in this case.)