Best way to introduce a new school?

[Chris1212]

20g tank, finally cycled (or very close to it). 8ph, 179ppm GH. 2 platies and 1 swordtail (all male) have made it through the fish-in cycle like champs. Also recently added 3 Amano shrimp that are funny to watch. Will be setting up a quarantine tank this weekend (hopefully using one of my sponges from my main tank).

I want to stock it with a pair of honey gouramis (was thinking of a peaceful cichlid but probably go with the gourami) and a school (5-7) of glofish (danio or tetra. I know the Amano may become a snack and that's ok.

We intend to do the gourami first to help the filter and BB grow a bit more, but when we do add the school should we:

- buy the entire school, qurantine them together and either add them all at once or 3 and then another 3?
- buy 3, quarantine, add, then do the same for the next 3?

Thanks

 

[charliebankston]

I think your doing right by adding the 2 bigger fish first, then the school later. Allows your bb to catch up to the bigger load. Then I'd say add all 5 in a few weeks after qt. Be diligent to continue to monitor water parameters and doing your weekly water changes while adding fish and after adding. Tetra are pretty hardy anyway

 

[charliebankston]

I have kept/ keep lots of danio and tetra with no problem. I always have issues with live bearers like platies, etc. If you've managed to cycle with those fish imo, your doing something right

 

[charliebankston]

Also, be aware if you get 2 male gourami, they may fight alot. Betta fish are in the gourami family as an example. They don't like other boys, lol.

 

[Chris1212]

I have kept/ keep lots of danio and tetra with no problem. I always have issues with live bearers like platies, etc. If you've managed to cycle with those fish imo, your doing something right

Thanks. More lucky than anything else. Within this 5+ week fish-in cycle I have also lost 1 platy and 2 swordtails. I'm pretty sure the platy was sick to start (never seemed right). About a week in, one of the swordtails was covered in ich. Successfully treated the tank but the ich, meds, and constant bullying by the remaining swordtail did in the other two unfortunately. What's funny is the bully swordtail (big) and the two platy all swim around together now, no issues.

Also, good note on the gourami pair. I was thinking a male and female. I don't want babies at all but since they lay eggs, I'm assuming it won't be much of a problem (they either won't breed or the eggs will get eaten - unless I'm way off on that).

 

[charliebankston]

Yeah, the eggs will prob get gobbled up, lol. Some aquarist like breeding fish, I'm not one that does. You can't sell them for much and it's almost impossible to even give them away. I'll pass

 

[fearlessfisch]

I have never had two male gouramis in a 30-gallon without one perpetually picking on the other. Sharing a tank was often possible, but one was always bullied and seemed unhappy, even when I aquascaped the tank to disrupt the line of sight and give them different territories. I have very little tolerance for situations in which a fish seems unhappy, and so I always ended up separating them out of guilt. I, personally, wouldn't put two in a 20-gallon.

You might encounter trouble with a male/female pair, too. I have heard that their courtships can be violent (They are related to bettas.), so I would have a backup tank ready.

Personally, I would get just one or consider a pair of rams in a tank that small.

 

[Chris1212]

Thanks, ended up with just a single bolivian ram. Store only had dwarf gourami no honey.