A Possible Plan for my 20g Freshwater

[redsea]

So, I am trying to plan a final plan for my 20 gallon high. Right now I have 3 Platies, 1 Dwarf Gourami, 1 Neon Tetra, 1 Cory, 1 unknown small Tetra, and some Platy fry. I know the Tetras and Cory need to be a school, but unfortunately through the years their friends have died.

Should I give all three to the pet shop, and get another schooling fish? (I think I saw Lemon Tetras which looked pretty)

OR​

Should I keep the Neon and get him a bigger school (would Cardinals work too?)

Either way the Unknown Tetra is probably going to the pet shop.
If I should return all of them, which fish would you get? Thanks.


I am open to all suggestions!

oops, correction: The only fish that I would possibly take back to the pet shop would be the Cory and Tetras, sorry about that.

 

[librarygirl]

Hm, decisions decisions lol

What kind of Corys do you have?

You could probably:
-- up the Neons to 6
--add 6 Lemon Tetra since you seem to like them (or the Cardinals whichever you prefer)
--up the Corys to 5
--Keep the Platy and one lone Tetra (or return the odd Tetra if you wanted)
--Keep the DG

This would put you slightly overstocked probably but if you keep up with a good 50%+ weekly water change I think you'd be fine (also assuming you have proper filtration which I'm sure you do).

 

[redsea]

Hm, decisions decisions lol

What kind of Corys do you have?

You could probably:
-- up the Neons to 6
--add 6 Lemon Tetra since you seem to like them (or the Cardinals whichever you prefer)
--up the Corys to 5
--Keep the Platy and one lone Tetra (or return the odd Tetra if you wanted)
--Keep the DG

This would put you slightly overstocked probably but if you keep up with a good 50%+ weekly water change I think you'd be fine (also assuming you have proper filtration which I'm sure you do).

Thanks!

I have an Albino Cory. If I wanted to, could I go with three Neons and three Cardinals (since they look similar) to make six?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Hey redsea,

So, I am trying to plan a final plan for my 20 gallon high. Right now I have 3 Platies, 1 Dwarf Gourami, 1 Neon Tetra, 1 Cory, 1 unknown small Tetra, and some Platy fry. I know the Tetras and Cory need to be a school, but unfortunately through the years their friends have died.

Do you have a picture of the unknown tetra? It could help, we could ID him. You could always add more to the schools

Should I give all three to the pet shop, and get another schooling fish? (I think I saw Lemon Tetras which looked pretty)

Depends on what you want to do. Lemon tetras could fit in that tank if they were the only schooler. The albino cory is really iffy when it comes to 20G, so I always recommend just three or four in there, some may even disagree with me on that.

OR​

Should I keep the Neon and get him a bigger school (would Cardinals work too?)

If you planned to do that I would get four of each so they're comfortable, they may not always school together. I think a school of either one in a group of eight would be fine.

Either way the Unknown Tetra is probably going to the pet shop.
If I should return all of them, which fish would you get? Thanks.

Look into threadfin and furcata rainbows. They're quite pretty

I am open to all suggestions!

My comments above in the bold underlined red. Good luck!

 

[redsea]

Hey redsea,


My comments above in the bold red. Good luck!

Thanks, I will snap a picture of the unknown Tetra.

 

[redsea]

Here is one.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

That's not a tetra...looks more like a white cloud minnow. Is this what it looks like?

Photo courtesy of theaquariumwiki.com

 

[redsea]

That's not a tetra...looks more like a white cloud minnow. Is this what it looks like?

Photo courtesy of theaquariumwiki.com

He does look like that, thanks. Do they need to be kept in groups, or are they fine by themselves?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Unfortunately they need groups of six too, and I don't think a 20H can provide enough room for a proper school to have enough swim room. Sorry

 

[redsea]

Unfortunately they need groups of six too, and I don't think a 20H can provide enough room for a proper school to have enough swim room. Sorry

That is ok. I will see if my pet shop would be willing to take him. Would you still recommend keeping the Cory in a group of three or four, or giving him to the pet shop too?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

It depends on what you want to do. You can give them away, or you can add a few more to the school. If you wanted a different cory and wanted to give them away, try panda cories. They're commonly available and are very active

 

[redsea]

It depends on what you want to do. You can give them away, or you can add a few more to the school. If you wanted a different cory and wanted to give them away, try panda cories. They're commonly available and are very active

Cool, thanks for the advice.

At this point I am thinking I will go with 3 more Neons and 4 Cardinals. Maybe later down the road I will add some Pandas. I will give my Cory and Minnow to the pet shop.

Once all is said and done, this is what the stocklist will look like.

4 Cardinals
4 Neons
3 Platies
1 Dwarf Gourami (He can be the centerpiece fish, lol)
Platy fry
Possibly some Pandas down the road.

I would love to upgrade this tank, but I just don't have the funds right now to do so, especially with the 125g reef build. (Which I will have some updates with in about 8 days , lol.)

Thanks for the help!

 

[bruinsbro1997]

I don't know why you just don't ditch the reef idea and go full-out high tech planted on that tank and make it freshwater

Just kidding

And yes, you must update your build!

 

[redsea]

I don't know why you just don't ditch the reef idea and go full-out high tech planted on that tank and make it freshwater

Just kidding

And yes, you must update your build!

Haha, maybe that will be the project for next year, lol.

One more question, if I decide not to get anymore Cories, could I get some Gold Neon Tetras? I just found them on LA, and they look nice.

Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Gold Neon Tetra

 

[bruinsbro1997]

They can definitely work. But were you still planning on the neons and cardinals? You tank is only big enough for two schoolers IMO and you need to choose.

 

[redsea]

They can definitely work. But were you still planning on the neons and cardinals? You tank is only big enough for two schoolers IMO and you need to choose.

Hmmmm, decisions decisions. Well, I will think about it. Thanks!

 

[redsea]

One more question:

Are Gold Neons any less hardy than Neons and Cardinals?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

IDK about that. Depends on where you get them from. I know severum mama and HN1 have them from time to time. They may or may not be equally hardy, depends on the stock.

 

[redsea]

IDK about that. Depends on where you get them from. I know severum mama and HN1 have them from time to time. They may or may not be equally hardy, depends on the stock.

Ok, great!

 

[Mikalicious209]

Honestly, that fish looks more like a buenos aires tetra. If it still matters . The red top fin looks identical to mine.