Good Tankmates?

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shirkni16

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jun 4, 2021
Messages
7
So I had a 10 gallon tank with a small common pleco and a fantail goldfish. The other day I found the pleco was dead, so I removed him and cleaned the tank. For the last couple of days, my goldfish was being very still for the most part, and looked like he could use some company. Today I went and got 3 giant Danios and 1 rubbernose pleco along with a 20 gallon tank to house the new additions and the goldfish. From what I was reading, I could do with another 2-3 Danios, but I'm wondering what other fish would pair well with the existing ones I have plus those new Danios. It doesn't matter if they would be another set of schooling fish, or 2-3 more solitary types of fish. Any help would be appreciated!

P.S. - I just wanna know what types of fish will pair well with the existing ones. I know what sizes they need, and they are all relatively small. Will be upgrading in the upcoming future.
 
Start to look into how big a tank is needed for different fish species.

Your goldfish will just about be OK in your 20 gallon.

Giant danios probably want 55 gallons to support a sufficiently big enough school and give them adequate swimming size.

Rubbernose pleck, probably 40 gallons.

That common pleco that died? They can get to 2 feet long fully grown and need 100 gallons, preferably 150.

Unless you plan on upgrading your tank again i would stick with the goldfish. Even there 30 gallons would be better with a filter rated for 60 gallons.
 
Thanks! I knew all that and you didn't provide any form of help regarding my question, have a good one!
 
I did give you help, i suggested that you dont put any of those other fish into a 20 gallon apart from the goldfish. If you are planning on getting a bigger tank then that would be useful to know.
 
I’d just stay away from any fun nippers like Tiger Barbs because the goldfish would be tantalizing. I’d think toward Harlequin Rasboras or Gold Barbs.
 
No more fish, you're going to need a bigger tank to house what you already have even without adding more fish, and if you have a common goldfish you'll need an even bigger tank than you think. Goldfish a massive waste producers, plecos are too. I'd wait till you upgrade before adding anything else or you're going to have more problems unfortunately.
 
Then nothing will make good tank mates for your current stock because you are already overstocked.
 
Again, im not asking about tank sizes ffs

ANY time you look at adding stock or asking compatibility, tank size comes into question. Some fish need specialized habitats, some have larger bio loads, some are territorial or have different swimming zones etc. Tanks are a closed ecosystem and when you start adding fish it WILL affect your the rest of the tank.

You are overstocked. You need a bigger tank just to house the stock you already have. Your fish will either start dying due to high ammonia levels or stress or aggression due to a small living area. Adding more fish will just make the problems you currently face hit harder and faster then they already will.

No one is trying to be mean, they're trying to help prevent problems for you. There are people here, including myself, who have been keeping fish for years and have seen similar situations come and go. We know where this will end. We want to help prevent that and help you build a setup that you can enjoy instead of having to deal with constant problems and dying fish.

You can take the advice with the intention it was meant, or you can ignore it. It won't affect us tbh, just you and your fish. For them and your sake, I truly hope you reconsider. Good luck.
 
The most unhelpful forum I've ever been a part of. It was a simple question and 1 person has answered it among 5 replies. I don't care how long you twats have been keeping fish, I asked a simple question for informational and planning purposes, and I just keep getting the same answer over and over when I already know all that. Useless, waste of time, stupid.
 
Just because you didn't like the answers given to you doesn't mean no one has answered.
 
The most unhelpful forum I've ever been a part of. It was a simple question and 1 person has answered it among 5 replies. I don't care how long you twats have been keeping fish, I asked a simple question for informational and planning purposes, and I just keep getting the same answer over and over when I already know all that. Useless, waste of time, stupid.



I’ll disagree with that. All posts are going off the information you provided and all posts have been respectfully assisting with the care of your fish. I’d be disappointed if a forum wasn’t passing across this information. Need more info your end.

In general terms I’ve always liked to build up schools of fish using the existing stocking as a start. Schooling fish of a dozen or more I find are more outgrowing and good colour contrast. I suggest existing stocking because without knowing your interests or experience, I assume these are your preferences (maybe you really like aggressive cichlids and have been keeping fish for twenty years).

This all then depends on what you are upgrading to, where tank will sit (I don’t like noisy filters in bedrooms), climate (goldfish in say Indonesia are practically warm water not cold water fish), how much time you can devote (no point over-stocking if can’t maintain water changes or water testing), type of goldfish (common or fancy, small breed), etc.

I also like to have fish at different levels in tank which sounded like yours(?), depending on final tank size I do find a team of yoyo or maybe chain loaches will range all over tank. Some thoughts to start.
 
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