I'm a newbie

[flushingfish]

Just a newbie with a 20g long tank. with a power filter rated for 100gph so I have plenty of filtration. Went through all the steps and the tank is cycled. Currently have 1 marble hatchet and 3 platies in the tank. Looking to put in a small school of cardinal tetras next. What else might go well with these fish without overloading.

[JDogg]

one mable hatchet might be lonley might i suggest adding 3 more? (carefull they can and will jump out of the tank if you let them)

cardinal would be nice, maybe 6-8 of them

you need a nice "centerpiece fish" like...perhaps a dwarf gourami or something

corys make good bottle feeders

[coldmachineUK]

Welcome to the AA forum (lol! Wait until you get MTS and then you might find the similarities!)

I'm with jdogg, and would suggest a decent bottom feeding fish as an addition and cories would be great! A school of 3 minimum is ideal: you could go for pandas, peppereds, or any of the other many many choices
You can find out more about cories here: http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...hp?family_id=1
Just keep an eye on size.

[flushingfish]

Thanks, sounds like a plan. I'll be making my additions little by little one type ata time. I'll probably add bottom feeders like cories last though. If I have thew room I probably will end up with MTS. here's another question though. My wife has a thing for frogs and wants to put some in the tank. Would African dwarfs be a good choice?

[rich311k]

The frogs should do fine just be sure they are dwarves and not African clawed frogs.

[shayfish]

Originally Posted by rich311k

just be sure they are dwarves and not African clawed frogs.

Yes. Or they will get big and eat your tetras. Trust me. (and they live for a really long time...)

Someone on here told me that dwarfs shouldn't be in water deeper that 12 inches.

[JohnPaul]

The frogs are cute, just be sure like the others said you don't end up with the clawed frogs. Often petstores mislabel them, or mix the two up, sometimes even putting them in the same tank and labeling them all the same thing. So if you decide to go the frog route, do some searches online for some pics of "African dwarf frog" and "African clawed frog" so that you can tell them apart.

Adding new fish a little at a time is a very good thing to do. Though, I might suggest you consider adding the bottom-feeders earlier, as they are great at cleaning up any leftover fish food that makes it to the substrate...which in turn helps you maintain good water quality.

Your hatchet will definitely be happier with some others, they are essentially schooling fish (at least in the loose sense of the term.)

I don't want to discourage you from cardinals, but just be aware they have a bit of a reputation for being very sensitive, fragile, and hard to keep alive. If you do a search on these forums for "cardinal" you'll find some posts with people sharing their stories. A heavily planted tank helps, and I'm pretty sure they prefer slightly acidic water conditions (especially water with tannins from natural driftwood), but even still they can be sensitive. Just a warning that they are not the easiest fish to keep, especially in a relatively "new" tank.

[Asher]

If you want a really entertaining bottom feeder, I'd go with a Kuhli Loach. I have 3 in my 55gal and it is always fun to see where they end up. Lots of personality anyway. I agree with the dwarf gourami idea and I also agree that cardinals are very hard to keep alive. Neons would probably be preferrable in your case. Good luck with your start-up!!