20g tank stocking help: community or cichlids?

[makey568]

Hey all, new member and beginner fishkeeper here!

So I just purchased my very first tank and wanted some suggestions. I consider myself fairly new to fishkeeping, and the only real experience I have is caring for my sister's male betta and two comet Goldfish. However, I have been doing a lot of research, and I understand the cycling process/nitrogen cycle pretty well. However, my substrate (CaribSea Instant Aquarium Freshwater Substrate in Tahitian Moon) is packed with live bacteria to "instantly" (as in a couple days) cycle my tank. Because of this, I haven't setup my tank yet, but I have everything I need.

My tank is a 20 gallon freshwater tropical tank with the dimensions of 24"L x 12"W x 20"H. The filter I'll be using is the Azoo Oxygen Plus Bio-Filter 7 (50 gallon).

I can't necessarily decide which stock I want to use for this tank. As it is my first, I want to have relatively easy to care for fish.
My first stock list was the one I originally planned on getting.
STOCK A:
2 honey gouramis
8 panda corycats
I was originally going to have 4 platies too, but I didn't want to become overrun with fry. Someone on another site recommended German Blue Ram Cichlids as a replacement, but I'm afraid they'd be too difficult to care for. Any suggestions for other fish for this stock list would be helpful. If I didn't choose the first stock, I would love to do a cichlid tank, maybe shell-dwellers. THe thing is, I LOVE the panda cories, and that's why I'm not sure what to pick. If there is a way to incorporate both cories and cichlids, I would be incredibly happy.

Any advice and suggestions on which I should pick would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!



P.S. I have hard water (which leads to high pH), and I know that limits the types of fish I can stock my tank with. Honestly, I don't know what my exact water parameters are at the current moment. However, I will be getting back from my holiday family trip tomorrow afternoon, so I'll check then.

 

[Ktw020]

Try looking into peaceful dwarf cichlids.

 

[makey568]

After doing some research, I'll probably get a pair of blue rams. Is there any way I could get a pair without them breeding? I don't want any aggression in my community tank.

 

[Ktw020]

You could just get two females or two males. Which ever you would prefer. But be sure to watch your nitrate with these guys.

 

[makey568]

I will. I hear they like very established tanks.

What tank region do they normally stay in? As in bottom middle or top. I'd prefer something in the middle so that it fills out the tank.

 

[smallfry53]

You might consider getting bolivian rams. I think they are great looking fish, but in a more subtle way, and seem to be more hardy. Just a thought, but if you want to do the blue rams I'd put them in last after the tank is more established, and you have a little more experience. ime with bolivians not blue rams, aggression really isn't an issue even while spawning.

 

[Samzter]

You could just get two females or two males. Which ever you would prefer. But be sure to watch your nitrate with these guys.

Either way two females or two males are going to fight. Why don't you want them breeding?

 

[_skyla_]

I think that Bolivians are a much better choice to start with. If you make mistakes along the way you will have a much better chance with them the gbr are not so forgiving. Pandas are awesome I love mine.
You could do
2 Bolivian ram
4-6 pandas
And 6 smaller schooling fish
Like neon tetras or harlequin rasbora
Oh and you can use peat in a mesh bag in your filter to lower the ph and soften the water depending on the type of fish you end up choosing.
Are you planning on having a planted tank ?

 

[makey568]

I just don't want my tank to become overstocked with fry. I'll have to contact my lfs and see if they'll take the fry, which they probably will.

As for smaller fish, I really like rummy nose tetras, harlequin rasboras, cherry barbs, gold barbs, and celestial pearl danios.

However, won't the Bolivian ram get too aggressive to coexist with any of those fish when the rams start breeding?

 

[librarygirl]

Don't assume that the substrate is going to instantly cycle the tank; some don't work, some do but not instantly, some leech ammonia. Just be careful.

Why not do 1 bolivian? A breeding pair of cichlids is going to get aggressive and in a 20 gal that doesn't leave much room for the corys to hide. You could do:

4-6 panda cory
2 dwarf gourami
1 bolivian ram
and group of 6-8 schooling fish like rummy nose tetra

 

[smallfry53]

Being only a 20g librarygirl is probably right. It probably isn't big enough for a pair of bolivians and cories. I have never had problems with aggression from them even while spawning, but I have a little bit bigger tank. I have had bad experiences with DG being aggressive though, so I wouldn't recommend them. Honestly I'd be more worried about 2 DG in there then a pair of bolivians.

 

[makey568]

I actually really like that idea! And so does my little sis. You see, she's always been infatuated with gouramis ever since she noticed me researching them for my tank, and she was devastated when she found out we might not be getting them for my tank. I'm pretty sure now she'll be much happier when she finds out we can get both.

Oh and I was planning on getting HONEY gouramis, not dwarfs.

Thanks so much for your help!

By the way, how should I aquascape my tank to suit all of the fish? So far, I'm planning on getting some low-light and fake plants, some malaysian driftwood. I've been told to put my substrate on a slope, like 1 1/2 inch in the front and sloping to 3 in in the back.

 

[makey568]

Any suggestions?

 

[Aquastrategist]

I personally prefer apistogramma dwarf cichlids, but they can be a challenge. If you keep them right, they will breed and they are one of the most rewarding fish I have ever kept! Plus they are very colorful, look some up!

 

[Snrklr1st]

Advice from Newbie

I may need to stop calling myself a "newbie" (with 4 aquariums and a well-stocked pond), but I've been into this hobby for exactly 1 year. I, too, began with a 20 gallon. I recommend "community fish" for several reasons. First, this is a rather small tank. You will enjoy the playfulness of guppies and neons, or glowfish. Mollies come in a lot of varieties and are fairly easy to sex so as to prevent a tank full of nothing but. I don't recommend cyclids for this size tank. Good luck!

 

[makey568]

I'll probably get harlequin rasboras in a school of 8 because I've gotten so many recommendations to get them from so many different people. Does that sound good?

As for the ram, I still have plenty of time to decide whether I'll get them or not because I haven't even set up my tank yet, and they'd be the last fish I get.

 

[makey568]

Anyone?

 

[Scottyhorse]

1 bolivian will be fine with some harliquin rasboras also you might want to only do one HG because they get a little bigger than dwarfs. Just MO.

 

[makey568]

How about 1 dwarf gourami instead of the 2 honeys or 3 sparklers, and then get some black neon tetras instead of the harlequins? All in all, I think it's pretty much the same though.

 

[librarygirl]

That sounds good. Gouramis can be tricky as they can be aggressive; if you get two of the same sex they can fight for territory, if you get a pair the male can stress the female. I'd get either a honey or a dwarf but just get one. Then neons or harlquins with the other stock sounds good too. If you're doing a fish-in cycle though just remember to add fish slowly and test the water daily, etc. This guide might help: Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice