Starting 20 gallon over, what fish?

[unknown_7]

I think I should start my 20 gallon over from scratch. I know that I will never know which fish I like unless I actually buy them and see for myself, but I am going ask you guys for help. I want fish lots and lots of personality and aren't boring. This is my main concern because my past setups have been very boring. My past fish have been: neon tetras, silver mollies, sunset platies, dwarf gourami, otos, guppies, and now yellow labs. Color would also be highly prefered. So what do you guys think?

 

[Guest]

Cory catfish!! they like to school and are tons of fun... one of my favorite, at least 5 of them would be good... and they keep the tank alive and perky

Tiger barbs are also very active and colorful.

 

[Zagz]

I'd agree with this, cory cats are readily available and there are many interesting kinds of cories. They are hilarious to watch! You could get some guppies for the top area of the tank, providing you don't mind perhaps ending up with fry LOL.

 

[coolchinchilla]

How about a blue crayfish? (lobster) They're pretty cool. 8) Here's a pic and discription of them: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1641 They need to be housed alone I believe.

 

[DeFeKt]

I want fish lots and lots of personality and aren't boring.

a: bigger tank
b: Oscars and GT's

Matt.

 

[greenmaji]

I want fish lots and lots of personality and aren't boring.

a: bigger tank
b: Oscars and GT's

Matt.

ROFL Matt!

How about frogspawn and hammer coarl.. a nice LPS tank

 

[Devilishturtles]

A school of harlequin rasboras! I love these fish. Very active and peacful schoolers. A few cory cats will round out the bottom.

If you are getting bored with your tank, perhaps you can try a planted setup for a bit more of a challenge?

 

[gheitman]

I would suggest some dwarf cichlids like apistogrammas (1 male and 2 females) and half a dozen pygmy corys. Both have personality and you could even breed the apistos in a tank that size. Of course that means you will have to get another tank to raise the fry

 

[workfortheman]

German or Blue Rams. lots of personality, good color (especially the blues). They get along with tetras/other species, and stay small!

 

[Guest]

oooooooooooooooor you could turn it into a dwarf puffer tank.

 

[unknown_7]

I think I might like cories. At first I really didn't like the way they look, and they seemed boring, and when I saw them at the pet store they just stood there doing nothing for a long time, but I have been looking at a lot of reviews on them by owners and have not seen anything bad yet. One of my concerns is that they don't look that great in terms of color. I was thinking of getting the pygmies because they are the smallest but they usually stay in the middle or top part of the tank, even though I was looking for something more for the bottom. What would be the next smallest cory. I was looking at the panda cories cause they are pretty small and are somewhat visually appealing, but I read a review on how the pandas do nothing and are usually in active. So what do you guys have to say to this? I was also thinking of getting a betta again. I keep having bettas and then they die shortly. This time I was thinking of getting a bigger home for my betta and getting some ghost shrimp or even a pygmy cory pair to keep him company. What type of fish and how many could I keep in a 3-5 gallon tank? I wanted to keep the betta again, because everyone keeps talking about their great personality, which I haven't seen yet, mostly because mine have not lived long enough for me to know. So, I was wondering if anyone had links on good sites that talk about how to care for bettas or any personal advice/experiences and how to select a healthy and happy betta. I am quite excited to research more fish that will be entertaining, and to get my new cories and betta when I finalize my list. However, in the mean time I still need all of your advice and what fish to get. Thank you.

 

[Zagz]

I have 4 panda cories and they are always active. I also have 2 albino cories which are interesting in color, they all school together and make me laugh at their antics. But absolutely non of them are inactive.

 

[talloulou]

I love my corys and I always have some in any community tank. That said...they don't necessarily have that "individual" personality that makes some of the cichlids so appealing. Anotherwards mine don't follow me around as I walk by the tank, beg for food, and what not.

 

[talloulou]

I think the puffer idea sounds cool!

 

[unknown_7]

I thought dwarf puffers are really aggressive?