How would you stock my 20 gallon?

[okyrah]

Hi, so my parents finally let me get a fish tank, so I bought the biggest one they would let me, a 20 gallon high. (I know it's tiny, but I'm not complaining). Anyways, I want to have a German Blue Ram in it (I know they are not the most forgiving, but I know their requirements, so I'm going to give it a try and that will be the very last fish I add). I also wanted a small school of Black Phantom Tetras (have 3 already in the tank, but that's all that's in there). Right now I am thinking something like this:
~1 German Blue Ram
~5-8 Black Phantom Tetras
~3-5 Pencilfish (the small ones) or 3-5 Male Guppies
~1 Bristlenose Pleco or 3-4 Khuli Loaches or 3-4 Peppered Corydoras Catfish

Is this going to be too many fish? I want some activity at all levels and I don't mind with going with all the lower numbers if that helps the bioload. It is also a planted tank if that changes anything, and right now I am sorta cycling it (I mean to say it has live plants, biospira, eco-complete substrate (supposedly contains beneficial bacteria) and the 3 Black Phantom Tetras) so I know I'm going to have to stock slowly (that's ok it gives me time to think about what to put in there ).
So what do you think? Too many fish or will I be just right? Also if I am overstocked, please suggest some other stocking plan, and I'll definitely consider anything, the only thing I have set in stone is the school of tetras because I have 3 already.

 

[okyrah]

Sorry about the double thread

 

[Zagz]

It's ok I removed the other thread. In regards to your wanting a GBR, why not consider getting a pair of GBR's? You would have to reconsider some of the other fish though.

Make sure if you choose the pencilfish, you get the dwarf variety. I'd pass on the kuhli loaches and get a BN pleco and some cories myself. Also I would pass on the guppies as you would most likely end up with more babies than you want.

What kind of filter are you using? Do you have a master freshwater test kit to monitor your parameters? Even with bio-spira you should test frequently.

 

[okyrah]

Thanks I dunno what happened there...
Anyways I bought a kit from TopFin and it came with a filter, and so far it's working pretty well Also I do still need to get test kits, I also want one for ph in addition to the basic ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate one I just ran out of money last week. Also with my last tank (about 2 years ago) I never encountered any ammonia spikes, but I will be prepared. And the phantoms don't seem stressed at all, quite fun to watch! So that is definitely a priority. Can I fit a bristlenose pleco and 3 cories in there? I thought that would be a bit much, but I don't think the pleco will get over 4 inches...so I dunno. How would you adjust my stocking for that?

Also about the German Blue Ram pair, don't they get aggressive during breeding? I wanted to stick with just one female because then I wouldn't have aggression issues...

 

[Zagz]

My GBR's never got seriously aggressive. You can easily stick with one female. They are beautiful fish.

If you keep up with water changes and consider upgrading your filter one day you should be fine with a BN pleco and some cories. As for test kits you can get a AP test kit from bigals for cheap! Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit at Big Al's Online

I tend to slightly overstock a bit but do 50% pwc's a week and have good filtration.

 

[okyrah]

That is cheap...do you know how much shipping would be?

I like the idea of the corys and the pleco but won't that be a lot of fish on the bottom? Thats why I wanted to do male guppies or pencilfish because they would stay at the top of the tank? Also is there a specific reason you didn't like the Khuli Loaches? Overstocking or just personal preference? So what do you think my final stocking plan should be?

 

[Zagz]

According to their website the shipping for under $35 is 7.45. I am in Canada so the shipping is different here.

If you have one BN pleco that will be 4" roughly, and 3 dwarf cories would not be too many bottom feeders as long as you keep up with water changes.

I love kuhli loaches but they are very active and IMO should be in a bigger tank. Others may disagree but I have 6 in my 75 gal and they are all over the place!

You would be fine with one female GBR, 5 tetras and 3-5 dwarf pencil fish. Again I can't stress enough water changes once a week are a must. Check with your local craigslist and you might find an larger filter for cheap. The filters that come with the kits are usually underrated for most stocking.

 

[okyrah]

Ok thanks! I'll probably buy the test kits from that site then, since my local fish store sells the tests at $14 a pop for just ammonia! That's $45 just for the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate tests...I'll think about the stocking more, thanks a bunch! I just don't want them to be crowded
I'm actually considering a betta instead of the ram (so much easier to keep) and I have kept them with harlequin rasboras, khuli loaches, neons, cardinals, danios, platies, fancy guppies etc. with no problems. They just have to be the nice fishies