Total noob starting question

[Shiki]

Hi all, this is my first post here and I'd like to get some advice.
I bought the 20gallon Tetra startup glass aquarium kit last Saturday and I'm trying to plan what I want to go in.

I have some ideas so let me run them by you all and would be greatful for your advice and suggestions.

Here is my proposed stock list:

5 silver tip tetras
5 serpae tetras
5 Amano shrimp
1 blue crayfish
1 Siamese Algae eater or albino shark

With that. A few moss balls. Drift wood and some rocks.

How does that sound? And should I also get a bubbler?

 

[rjrossi88]

You can use this website to help plan out your stock. Just plug in your tank size and filtration, click update, then click display only suitable fish and search for the ones you like.
AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor

That's what was suggested to me when i started on here a couple of months ago and it it was extremely helpful. As far as bubblers go, oxygen in the water is a big must for the nitrogen cycle and for the fish you plan to stock. Bubblers are a big help and pleasant on the eyes, but a filter that breaks the surface will suffice. You just need something breaking the surface, bubbles or filtered water, to get the gas exchange going.

I'm no expert on plants but i'm sure someone with knowledge of that will be on to help you out. Hope I was able to help!!

 

[Pseudomugil]

Hi all, this is my first post here and I'd like to get some advice.
I bought the 20gallon Tetra startup glass aquarium kit last Saturday and I'm trying to plan what I want to go in.

I have some ideas so let me run them by you all and would be greatful for your advice and suggestions.

Here is my proposed stock list:

5 silver tip tetras
5 serpae tetras
5 Amano shrimp
1 blue crayfish
1 Siamese Algae eater or albino shark

With that. A few moss balls. Drift wood and some rocks.

How does that sound? And should I also get a bubbler?

Most of those fish will not work.
-The tetras should be in schools of at least 7. I also recommend one larger school instead of 2 smaller ones
-A crayfish would eat all of those fish
-Algae eaters will kill other fish when they get older
-Rainbow sharks grow too big and too aggressive for that size of tank.

A better stock list would be:
13 silver tip tetras
5 Amano shrimp
6 otocinclus suckers
1 neon blue dwarf gourami

 

[serena00]

Most of those fish will not work.

-The tetras should be in schools of at least 7. I also recommend one larger school instead of 2 smaller ones

-A crayfish would eat all of those fish

-Algae eaters will kill other fish when they get older

-Rainbow sharks grow too big and too aggressive for that size of tank.



A better stock list would be:

13 silver tip tetras

5 Amano shrimp

6 otocinclus suckers

1 neon blue dwarf gourami

Agreed. Stay away from algae eater or plecos. Otocinclous are great for algae but best in groups. Snails also can work but I suggest one decent sized one or you'll have hundreds.

Might I suggest a different tetra such as rummynose. My favorite.

And be aware that your shrimp may end up as food. Fish love shrimp.


36g semi-aggressive
20g community
5.5g betta/ghost shrimp
3g betta
2g fry

 

[Shiki]

Thanks

Hi all, thanks for all the advice.
@rjrossi88 I actually did find that plus another tool very useful. Thank you.

@psudomugli and @serena00 thanks for the advice as well.

I did research on the crayfish before and saw that it would eat everything lol, but part of my fascination is that there is this office that I go to where they have these 3 tanks and they each have crayfish with other smaller fish. The receptionist didn't say much, but he said that they lose 1 or 2 sometimes but that's it. So I guess my question is, what can I substitute so I can get the cray?

Oh and the tanks that I saw had shrimp as well.

 

[ImACoolguy]

Crayfish are tricky. Some fish like to "rest" at night on the bottom of the tank. This is the best time for that crayfish to take those pinchers and SNAP he's got a fish. People that keep crayfish usually have them with much larger fish that the crayfish is scared of/ can take a beating. Or there is always species only.

Schools don't need to go as high as 7 for a minimum. Minimum of 5-6 will be fine. I've kept many schools of fish and as long as there is not a predator in the tank that can pose a threat they will be comfortable.

I also second the Otocinclus. Cute little guys that work hard and clean up algae like a pro.


Caleb

Sent via TARDIS

 

[Cody_Sebastian]

I own a blue crayfish or as the pet store said "lobster" and I have guppies and mollies. And he doesn't even bother them. He's hiding most of the time. And when he does come out he just sits on top of the ornaments. I guess I got lucky with mine being lazy. I love him though he's my favorite. Really cool to watch. It all just depends on the size you get.

 

[Pseudomugil]

Crayfish will grow. You might get a cute little 2" crayfish and then later you have a 6" monster thing that kills everything. I got a "free" crayfish once that I put in my 20 gallon and it killed all of my fish until it was the only thing left alive.

 

[FWFishTanks]

There are orange dwarf crayfish that stay at about 2 inches that should work. The stock seems fine besides the algae eater/shark, because they get pretty large

 

[Shiki]

Dwarf

I just looked into the dwarf crays and seem like an OK thing.
So I think i'm just going to go ambition and setup a 10g for the dwarf and the tetras, throw in a few shrimp and see if that works.

Did more research on the Blue that i was originally thinking about and i see 50/50 responses. So I'll go with the advice of you all here and put that alone in the 20g tank until i can figure out what best to go with it.

So my updated list is (thanks to Psudo, serena and FW)
7 silver tip tetras
7 rummynose
5 Amano shrimp
2 dwarf Mexican orange crays.

Looks good?

 

[jetajockey]

Dwarf crays are ok with fish, and even shrimp for the most part. True Siamese algae eaters are not aggressive, I keep over a dozen of them and I have one that is over 5 years old.

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[rjrossi88]

Glad I could be of help. It's about time I carried my own weight around here lol. How are you planning to cycle the tank?

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