Loaches and Cory's

[The Iceman]

Are these two species good tank mates? i know they are both bottom dwellers. My tank is almost finished cycling and im getting stocking ideas. Its a 20 gallon tall tank.

 

[Samzter]

Are these two species good tank mates? i know they are both bottom dwellers. My tank is almost finished cycling and im getting stocking ideas. Its a 20 gallon tall tank.

Hi! First off loaches will get too big for that size tank. I'm not entirely sure but khuli loaches are recommended for 30+, all loaches like groups.
Cories are my favourites! They prefer long rather than tall tanks and I don't think that the floor space of that tank is very big. You might be able to get 4 Pygmy Cories or pandas . I would stick to shrimp for a bottom dweller in that tank

 

[Ks Days]

Are these two species good tank mates? i know they are both bottom dwellers. My tank is almost finished cycling and im getting stocking ideas. Its a 20 gallon tall tank.

In my experience, both loaches and Cory are great together. Loaches love to hide when they are young but are very social with the least aggressive smaller tank mates.

 

[The Iceman]

yeah i meant kuhli loaches, guess i need a bigger tank soon. nothing wrong with multiple tanks lol. thanks for the advice.

 

[tamtam]

I have a 20 gal and had several recommendations for both kuhli and corys at 4 each from here. But who doesn't love a bigger tank? lol

Kuhlis and corys will get along well though. If you are worried about size/space you could do 1 or the other certainly int he 20 gal just making sure you keep the corys on the small side like panda or pygmy.

 

[librarygirl]

You could probably get away with either or, not sure about both in a 20 gal; they both can be pretty active and stay at the bottom levels so it could get crowded for them and they could be competing for food. Personally I'd vote for a group of smaller species of Cory, pygmy, dwarf or Panda. I have Pandas and they are adorable and fun to watch. What else were you thinking in terms of stocking (forgot to ask you in PM lol)?

 

[The Iceman]

Not sure yet, i have a mystery snail im putting in the tank from my other tank cuz its about the size of a golf ball. give him more room. i was tryin to get ideas or suggestions for a middle and top swimmer. prob stick with kuhlis for bottom dwellers

 

[severum mama]

IMO kuhlis are fine in a 20H. If you would like to add some cory cats with them, I agree that panda are a good suggestion.

If you want suggestions for mid-top swimmers, many of the smaller tetras and rasboras would work fine, or you could look into smaller "rainbows"- the genus Pseudomugil is a good place to start.

 

[The Iceman]

I do like the harlequinn rasboras but i think they may get to big for a 20 tall, also i like the black neon tetras

 

[severum mama]

Either species would be fine in a 20H. You could easily keep 10-14 of either species, or if you prefer the more "busy" look to your tank, you could do 6-8 of both species.


To be honest, it's refreshing to say the least, to see a member that is actually cautious about stocking versus just throwing a bunch of fish in there. Stocking- your doin' it right.

 

[The Iceman]

Well i already made the mistake of adding fish to my first tank about 4 months ago, it is stable now, so this second tank thats almost cycled im taking it slow and doing things right and researching. With the help of these forums and librarygirl this tank will be done right.

 

[The Iceman]

I think i would do 6 each of the rasboras and tetras. i like variety as long as everything mingles well together, are there any barbs that could work in a 20H?

 

[librarygirl]

Will you be buying fish locally or online? If just locally, you might want to visit some stores near you and write down what they have that you are interested in, and then research those fish (and/or ask here too). That way, you're working with what's available to you. Although most of the fish mentioned so far on this thread are pretty common and should be available, but it's good to make sure so you don't get your heart set on something that you can't find.

As for barbs, the only smaller peaceful ones that come to mind are Cherry Barbs. Many barbs can be aggressive but I've read that the Cherry's are one of the more peaceful. I think Gold Barbs are the same.

 

[The Iceman]

Theres a lfs about 15 mins from my house thats been around for 20+ years, i usually go there. They get a wide variety of fish. I have stopped at Petco before which there is one employee who is very knowledgeable also.

 

[tamtam]

I have a 20 gal high with harlequins and neon tetras. I'm kind of kicking myself on the neons. I love them but they are my go to fish it seems. lol. I went into the pet store a week after I got the neons and they had some new rummy nose tetras that they hadn't had before. Really neat look!

You have a lot of options for schooling fish with a 20gal and would do well with the corys or khuli. Do you have a certain idea of the look/variety you are wanting?

 

[The Iceman]

Im looking for a more active tank, i know kuhlis can hide and are nocturnal, also the lfs dont sell them anymore now. they had a problem with them swimming into the filter and not making it back out. think ill go with some cory's( smaller ones) and harlequinns. then im not sure what else to get right now. gonna do more research and look around to see what i like

 

[bettaowner]

A good cory tankmate would be a dwarf chain loach. They are small and peaceful.