Stocking Suggestions

[nategi]

My 20 gallon long tank has been fully cycled for about 6 weeks and I have been gradually adding fish. I think it is almost full, I have 6 neon tetras, 6 white clouds, 2 otos and a dwarf gourami. The gourami seems bored as he is much bigger than the other fish and usually spends most of the day just pacing back and forth against the front glass.

What other fish would you suggest adding?

 

[Fishguy2727]

A bottom cleaner like a school of cories would be helpful. As algae develops you will want to get a small bristlenose pleco. The ottos will help but can only do so much becuase of their size, one small bristlenose will do the trick when needed.

What is the nitrate concentration?

 

[nategi]

The nitrate concentration is high, it's around 30-40 out of the tap, I live right by the mississippi river so I'm guessing that's why. So it's generally between 30-40 in the tank. And I have a lot of brown algae developing in the tank, I'm hoping that will go away on its own. The ammonia and nitrite are always at 0.

 

[Fishguy2727]

If it is matching your tap water then you are doing as good as you can without major intervention (like buying a RO/DI).

I think the tank would benefit most from either a school of cories or a trio of small loaches.

 

[BigJim]

+1 for the cories or khuli loaches. It looks like you've got the top range of the tank pretty stocked. Now you need something for the bottom.