Can these fish be kept like this?
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Homedog98
Aquarium Advice Addict
SENETOR said:
Definitely! You could do maybe 6 and 6 and a centerpiece fish no prob.
Crypto
Aquarium Advice Activist
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Yes, it is possible to keep 5 of each in a 20 gallon, but not 10 of each.
Homedog98
Aquarium Advice Addict
SENETOR said:
No, 6 of each would really be best. Anymore and you'd overwhelm any centerpiece with that much movement. Also, there just isn't enough room for 10 of each or 6 and 10.
h2oskierc
Aquarium Advice Activist
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Here is a great website to use as a guideline for tank stocking levels:
AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor
AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor
Fishkeeper26
Aquarium Advice Addict
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h2oskierc said:
IMO, along with others on this site, this tool isn't very useful. It does take some stocking variable into thought, but the ideas of experience members is much more accurate. I wouldn't use that, I would post a stocking list here and see what people say.
Homedog98
Aquarium Advice Addict
Fishkeeper26 said:
+1. Yes, it's way more of a guideline. In no way should you rely on it. Always get second opinions from people here.
I think 6 and 10 would be fine, if you don't get another fish to go in. I would even consider 10 and 10, but no other fish. That would be the absolute max. If you were going to go that many, you would want to start with much smaller numbers, and add to them over a few weeks.
Crypto
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Hello,
I think 6 and 6 would be enough in a 20 gallon. If the filtration was excellent, I would say that you could get away with 6 and 10, IMO
I think 6 and 6 would be enough in a 20 gallon. If the filtration was excellent, I would say that you could get away with 6 and 10, IMO
kidgrave666
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Yes it is possible to keep cardinal and neon tetra together. I have a 37 gallon tank that has been cycled for two months and so far I have 2 neon tetra, 2 cardinal tetra, 6 black neon tetra, 1 ghost shrimp, and soon I plan on adding some red belly x-ray tetra.
I would recommend for you to leave room to have some Ghost Shrimp in your tank to help keep it cleaner
I would recommend for you to leave room to have some Ghost Shrimp in your tank to help keep it cleaner
zparticle
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have a 20g tank with:
6 harlequin rasbora
6 neon tetra
2 bandit cory
3 orange laser cory
some ghost shrimp
some red cherry shrimp
The tank is in excellent condition and the fish are active and happy. I do have two different filter systems running on it though.
6 harlequin rasbora
6 neon tetra
2 bandit cory
3 orange laser cory
some ghost shrimp
some red cherry shrimp
The tank is in excellent condition and the fish are active and happy. I do have two different filter systems running on it though.
Brian_Nano12g
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have a few Neons and about more than double the amount of Cardinals in the same tank... it's quite funny because they all shoal together as if they were the same exact species and not just closely related cousins. My centerpiece fish are a pair of GBR's. So far, they all get along fairly well and are looking pretty healthy. That's pretty darn good taking into consideration that my tap water is pretty hard in AZ.
I'm not sure if you have a Petsmart in your area or if you're against chain pet stores (like some of the hardcore aquarists are), but if you're willing to stray away from the LFS for a bit (in which SOME cases I am), they have tetras (including cardinals and neons) on sale for a $1 each. I believe the sale ends on the July 24th or something... and no, I DO NOT work for them! I am slightly biased towards them because I DO LIKE that they have a 14 day fish guarantee policy which gives me peace of mind being that these particular tetras are so darn sensitive...
Anyway, IMHO, assuming that your tank is cycled, if you have a good filter rated for a larger tank over the 20 gallons you have, and you keep up with the PWC, you can keep a whole lot of the tetras and a center-piece fish easily. I'll even go as far to say that the 10 & 10 as you originally inquired about would work. However, I'm sure you already know this but Neons & Cardinals are super sensitive to water parameters so you should slowly introduce them to your tank, and not all at once. You should not only temperature acclimate them but also use the "drip method" so that they aren't shocked by sudden changes to the pH, hardness, and numerous other water parameters. Moreover, you don't want to overload your bio-filter and it would be wise to allow the beneficial bacteria to multiply and compensate for the extra waste. Then again, if you're eager to stock your tank, as I mentioned before, you'll have to step up with more frequent PWC's to keep the ammonia levels down until your bacteria levels can catch up.
All the recommendations that a lot of people like to give are based on assumptions derived from guidelines, such as that semi-dumb stocking guide. However, not all are bad and there are some really good advice out there. Some would argue that I'm giving bad advice, but I don't care. The point I'm trying to say is that there are some exceptions to the rule so you just have to understand (with research and experience) when you'll have to step it up in certain areas (i.e. filter, pwc's, etc.) if you want to push the boundaries of stocking. Case-in-point, I've done it without "excessively" overstocking, and tastefully so with success.
I'm not sure if you have a Petsmart in your area or if you're against chain pet stores (like some of the hardcore aquarists are), but if you're willing to stray away from the LFS for a bit (in which SOME cases I am), they have tetras (including cardinals and neons) on sale for a $1 each. I believe the sale ends on the July 24th or something... and no, I DO NOT work for them! I am slightly biased towards them because I DO LIKE that they have a 14 day fish guarantee policy which gives me peace of mind being that these particular tetras are so darn sensitive...
Anyway, IMHO, assuming that your tank is cycled, if you have a good filter rated for a larger tank over the 20 gallons you have, and you keep up with the PWC, you can keep a whole lot of the tetras and a center-piece fish easily. I'll even go as far to say that the 10 & 10 as you originally inquired about would work. However, I'm sure you already know this but Neons & Cardinals are super sensitive to water parameters so you should slowly introduce them to your tank, and not all at once. You should not only temperature acclimate them but also use the "drip method" so that they aren't shocked by sudden changes to the pH, hardness, and numerous other water parameters. Moreover, you don't want to overload your bio-filter and it would be wise to allow the beneficial bacteria to multiply and compensate for the extra waste. Then again, if you're eager to stock your tank, as I mentioned before, you'll have to step up with more frequent PWC's to keep the ammonia levels down until your bacteria levels can catch up.
All the recommendations that a lot of people like to give are based on assumptions derived from guidelines, such as that semi-dumb stocking guide. However, not all are bad and there are some really good advice out there. Some would argue that I'm giving bad advice, but I don't care. The point I'm trying to say is that there are some exceptions to the rule so you just have to understand (with research and experience) when you'll have to step it up in certain areas (i.e. filter, pwc's, etc.) if you want to push the boundaries of stocking. Case-in-point, I've done it without "excessively" overstocking, and tastefully so with success.
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