20 gal long - stocking?

[AgilityIG]

My aquarium is cycling and in the meantime, I am trying to decide on what fish I want to get... I have a few favorites, but would like some imput. The tank is a 20 gal long with several fabric plants and a nice log and large tree root thingy (totally cool!) for hiding. The tank is not in a high traffic area.

I have seen a few things that I really like...

Gourami (dwarfs, of course)
Ghost Shrimp
Snails (probably mystery as that is all I have seen locally so far)
Ghost Cats
Cory Cats

What number of these fish/critters could/should my tank support?

I have a Petco and PetSmart nearby for fish, but there is also a local (mom and pop) store that I visited this weekend with TONS of fish - may have to go back there for more of a look-see. And there is supposed to be a VERY nice fish store in a town about 1/2 hour away (that may be a trip this weekend to look - it's always fun to look).

 

[BigJim]

You could put a dwarf gourami, snails, and 6 corys in that tank to start. Gouramis usually eat shrimp. I'd recommend getting red cherry shrimp over ghosts anyways. They're a little more expensive and a little harder to find, but they'll breed in freshwater and they're much nicer to look at. I'm not sure about ghost cats in a 20L. They can be rather fragile.

I'd check out the LFS before going to the big box stores. Your LFS will generally be more knowledgeable and have more, healthier fish.

Good luck.

 

[AgilityIG]

Thanks BigJim for the advice! I have another LFS to check out this weekend (hopefully).

 

[Jason7894561230]

with the gourami make sure you get 1 male and 1 female as the males will become aggresive between eachother but go for the corys i love them