Planning my first tank

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pantsworth

Registered Member
Jun 8, 2009
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I plan on buying a 20 gallon tall tank in a kit with a filter, heater, light, chemicals, etc...

I'm going to get some guppies (i'm thinking either 3 M 9 F or 2 M 6 F) and am having a hard time narrowing in on what else would be a good match.

I'm thinking about any combination of the following
3-4 cory catfishes
several ottos
2-4 red cherry shrimp
1-3 african dwarf frogs
an apple snail

Oh and i would like to have a variety of live plants...

I'm open to any suggestions...

thanks,
pants
 
personally, i wouldn't get so many guppies unless you plan on getting something a little bigger to munch on the hundreds of babies you'll end up having. i like gouramis as centerpiece fish personally, but that's up to you. and if you're going to get cories, get at least 6. they'll be much happier in a group.
 
I'm thinking about any combination of the following
3-4 cory catfishes
several ottos
2-4 red cherry shrimp
1-3 african dwarf frogs
an apple snail

Oh and i would like to have a variety of live plants...


if you go guppies i would only do 3 guppies, they breed like rats so youll have to get rid of some later or get all males so you wont have an explosion of fish.

corys do better with 6 but its alot for a 20g 2-4 should be fine.
ottos like groups but i have 1 in 10g tanks ans there fine.

the guppies may eat the cherrys and the dwarf frogs dont do much other than sit there and sometimes they live long and sometimes few weeks or months.

with the normal strip lighting on 20g plants will have to be low light like java fern,java moss, anubias or crypts. if its the kind you can screw bulbs in ,use the spiral compact daylight bulbs there 6500k and work great.
 
I would do 1 male guppy and 3 females. Then you can do 4-5 pygme corries. You could also add a dwarf gourami as a center piece fish. You could also do a pair of rams instead of the corries. The rams would eat the guppy fry so you wouldn't have to worry about over population.
 
thanks for the help so far guys


i've been thinking about this a bit more...

3-6 guppies ( would like them to breed, but want something that would eat quite a few of the little ones so overcrowding wouldn't be a problem)
neon tetra or some other small mid swimmer
maybe a dwarf gourami (is just one okay?)
4-6 cories
possibly some blue ram (how many are suggested? what genders?)

Someone said the rams instead of the cories... would having both be a problem?

maybe a small algae eater or two or more...

i guess i just really want to have a variety, but don't want anything to be unhappy...
 
i don't see why having both cories and rams would be a problem, unless they were speaking of space, but i'm not real experienced with rams either.
so you could get around 4 guppies, a blue ram or two, a small school of neons (6-8), and about 4 or 5 pygmy or panda cories. you'd be about topped out there IMO. you'd have to hope that the rams kept the guppies in check.
you could always do a single male dwarf gourami as a centerpiece instead of the rams too, then you'd have a little more buffer room.
 
i have some suggestions that aren't about stocking, if you don't mind. get some natural looking gravel rather than the coloured stuff. everyone starts with florescent stuff usually and gets sick of it quickly, then has to go through a lot of extra work and hassle to get it changed over to something not so bright.
if you are going planted, get some drift wood or some aquarium safe rocks that you can use to build a nice hardscape so you have somewhere to perch your plants. some will do better closer to the lighting depending on what you have for a light. get a couple different types of java fern to fill things in more.
make sure to cycle the tank fully before adding fish. they will thank you for it by living longer healthier lives.
hope this helps a bit.
 
bluekrissyspike said:
i have some suggestions that aren't about stocking, if you don't mind. get some natural looking gravel rather than the coloured stuff. everyone starts with florescent stuff usually and gets sick of it quickly, then has to go through a lot of extra work and hassle to get it changed over to something not so bright.
if you are going planted, get some drift wood or some aquarium safe rocks that you can use to build a nice hardscape so you have somewhere to perch your plants. some will do better closer to the lighting depending on what you have for a light. get a couple different types of java fern to fill things in more.
make sure to cycle the tank fully before adding fish. they will thank you for it by living longer healthier lives.
hope this helps a bit.
Click to expand...
well said
 
just so ya know....

no matter what is in the tank... crowding is ALWAYS a problem with guppies lol

just plan for it.. and make sure you have somewhere to take the fry if the predator doesnt eat them all.

because with that amount of guppies.... you could literally have over a thousand within a couple months
 
I agree on the gravel. I have medium dark "River Pebbles" in my newest tank. Really looks good, sort of natural. Don't buy a kit. Instead, buy everything separately. It will cost more up front, but could save in the long run. Buy an oversize filter such as an Aquaclear 50 as well as a good quality heater.
 
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