20 gallon idea

[Goldfish loach boy]

Ok, I'll ask if they have them, thanks

[parrottbay]

I actaully read all of this and everyones 2 sense has been thrown in... My rule of thumb, usually the bigger the filter the better but not a whirl pool. Usually want to divide the filter rating by four to give you a "real" idea what is will do a good job for what size tank. As far as fish; this is the beauty of aquariums, get what ever you want / can afford in your case because EVERYTHING you have listed has all been comunity fish.... take some of their advice with certain ones but learn from playing with it.

My suggestions.... I would get the Aqueon 40 bc I have it on my 10 gallon also but am about to upgrade to the Ehiem 2215 for lily pipes. For stocking I would do Guppies and balloon mollies and about 4 cats with maybe some Neon tetras but I REALLY LOVE Harlequin rasboras..... Just my oppinion though! Just be happy with what you get!

[parrottbay]

Also, I have never had any luck with the ghost shrimp.... I would just save your money! Save and do some research for some cherry shrimp!

[Goldfish loach boy]

Thank you, I guess I'll play with it
Well, if you have ghost shrimp in a 40 plus aquarium, they got eaten, but I ad them in my 10 gallon since I got it

[parrottbay]

Yeah, I never had any luck with them... I just want to see you to be happy and obviously you care enough to ask on here, so I think what ever you get, you will do your best at making it work and that is the most anyone could want out of you on here. One of my favorites at petsmart is the blue powder dwarf guaramie (or however you spell it) but you get my point...

[98kshooter]

I have had ghosties for ever....yeah they dont breed but they DO keep a clean bottom cuz they get down into the substrate with the pinchers. They can live about 2 years as well. My oldest is a big female, shes about 9 months old. Red or yellow shrimps might be a nice addition as well but yet again, many fish consider them food so be aware of shrimp tankmates. My bettas all have had ghosties in the tank till I saw the bettas chasing them. My reds and yellows are in a community of guppies and neons but they are like Bigfoot, rarely seen, out in the open. GBRs If you decide on these, they are cichlids and can get a mean aggressive streak. Mine lived with other cichlids, and they got very territorial. If you do them, better consider more aggressive tankmates, like barbs or rainbows. GBRs can make snacks of tetras, neons, or cardinals, and probably any shrimps you have. Do more research as well. Asking here is good too cuz we all been keeping fish for many years from what I see. And you will have to make firm choices and what you would like to put in, but be ready to change as compatibility allows, or stocking rules, stop trying to put everything you see or hear about in your tank. Pick wisely AFTER you do some research! Some fish cannot be kept with others....if you have had your fish BEFORE putting them together in a common tank, and KNOW their personalities, that's a different story. If you are just buying them and combining them, well you may wake up to some casualties!( I have 3 big tetras I would not put with peaceful fish of any kind,,,,they will shred them! They spend their whole day chasing each other. They are like mini piranha!)It is your tank, so your call. What makes you happy is the key, but, don't put some of your fish in danger cuz you want Oscars with neons cuz you think it looks cool! Asks others and do research! Imagine how it was when I first started keeping fish, we didn't have the net, fish books cost money(which was for your fish stock) and were not reliable on compatibility, LFS were not in the business of telling you all this info.(unless you were lucky and had an store owner who cared) Most just sold em, knowing you'd be back when half your tank killed or ate the other! It was trial and error back then for alot of us! But you have all this new tech, so USE it! There my 2 shiny pennies!

[Sillyfishies]

Originally Posted by 98kshooter

I have had ghosties for ever....yeah they dont breed but they DO keep a clean bottom cuz they get down into the substrate with the pinchers. They can live about 2 years as well. My oldest is a big female, shes about 9 months old. Red or yellow shrimps might be a nice addition as well but yet again, many fish consider them food so be aware of shrimp tankmates. My bettas all have had ghosties in the tank till I saw the bettas chasing them. My reds and yellows are in a community of guppies and neons but they are like Bigfoot, rarely seen, out in the open. GBRs If you decide on these, they are cichlids and can get a mean aggressive streak. Mine lived with other cichlids, and they got very territorial. If you do them, better consider more aggressive tankmates, like barbs or rainbows. GBRs can make snacks of tetras, neons, or cardinals, and probably any shrimps you have. Do more research as well. Asking here is good too cuz we all been keeping fish for many years from what I see. And you will have to make firm choices and what you would like to put in, but be ready to change as compatibility allows, or stocking rules, stop trying to put everything you see or hear about in your tank. Pick wisely AFTER you do some research! Some fish cannot be kept with others....if you have had your fish BEFORE putting them together in a common tank, and KNOW their personalities, that's a different story. If you are just buying them and combining them, well you may wake up to some casualties!( I have 3 big tetras I would not put with peaceful fish of any kind,,,,they will shred them! They spend their whole day chasing each other. They are like mini piranha!)It is your tank, so your call. What makes you happy is the key, but, don't put some of your fish in danger cuz you want Oscars with neons cuz you think it looks cool! Asks others and do research! Imagine how it was when I first started keeping fish, we didn't have the net, fish books cost money(which was for your fish stock) and were not reliable on compatibility, LFS were not in the business of telling you all this info.(unless you were lucky and had an store owner who cared) Most just sold em, knowing you'd be back when half your tank killed or ate the other! It was trial and error back then for alot of us! But you have all this new tech, so USE it! There my 2 shiny pennies!

I have to disagree about the GBRs eating neons, cardinals and other tetras. Cardinals wouldn't even fit in a GBRs mouth. The bigger bodies tetras are just as big as GBRs...

[GuppyAquatail109]

Wow!Only 150 dollars for everything?I spent 600+ dolllars for my 10 gallon aquarium...

[Goldfish loach boy]

What! What did you buy, a tank with a diamond hood! :jk:

[Wiggles24]

I'm not sure where the GBRs eating other fish is coming from either! They are TINY their mouths are TINY, I can't imagine them eating fish that large! Lol

[Kimlafeiet]

Perhaps the poster means the GBR will make a snack of small fish not in the literal sense, but more they would attack the smaller fish? My gbr is way too tiny to "eat" another fish, but she sure is fiesty sometimes.

[parrottbay]

They possibly could be a fin nipper but I never had them do it to anything besides a betta....

[98kshooter]

Yes my GBR did eat smaller fish in my cichlid tank, especially some good size fry from my Green SAs....these were roughly a very small neon tetra/cardinal size dont let a fishes Small mouth deceive you. They were quite adept at eating smaller fish, the old rule, if it fits it goes in..... And if they didn't eat it they sure tried to and left bodies in their wake. They also had wars with the other cichlids as well. Contrary to what the Fish guy who sold them to me, my two were not "nice and peaceful, and compatible" Mine were little monsters when the wanted to be, even facing down fish double their size. I know not all of them are like this tho...just my experience.

[Sillyfishies]

Originally Posted by 98kshooter

Yes my GBR did eat smaller fish in my cichlid tank, especially some good size fry from my Green SAs....these were roughly a very small neon tetra/cardinal size dont let a fishes Small mouth deceive you. They were quite adept at eating smaller fish, the old rule, if it fits it goes in..... And if they didn't eat it they sure tried to and left bodies in their wake. They also had wars with the other cichlids as well. Contrary to what the Fish guy who sold them to me, my two were not "nice and peaceful, and compatible" Mine were little monsters when the wanted to be, even facing down fish double their size. I know not all of them are like this tho...just my experience.

Mine are in with pretty good sized demasoni fry... Every fish has different personalities.

[98kshooter]

Originally Posted by Sillyfishies

Mine are in with pretty good sized demasoni fry... Every fish has different personalities.

LOL I hear ya! I had them since they were fry and they were sold to me by a very good fish guy...he assured me they were "Good Fish" but they grew up to be like little Dictators in the tank. And everyone else in the tank was the enemy. Sorry to hijack your thread Goldfish Loach Boy....just my experience of what my 2 GBR did...it may not be the same for you.