Back in the hobby need advice on new tank!!!

[Preston18]

Hello, I just recently got back in the hobby after about 7 years away, I used to keep African cichlids until I just didnt have the time anymore but now I want to get back into a new side of the hobby i have a 20 long and was wondering what to put in it for a beginner, i really love the cory cats especially.

So my final question is what should i put in this tank with the cory cats and what ratio?
I was also thinking about couple plants.

Thanks,
Preston

 

[Polkadots]

Welcome!
Cory cats are great. You need six or more, they're schooling fish. You have a lot of options. Look around at your Lfs and see if any fish catch your eye. Then come home and do heavy research on the fish. As for plants, it depends on if you have co2, type of lighting, fertilizers, etc. good luck and keep us updated! Feel free to ask lots of questions.


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[Preston18]

would 6 or more and some other fish fit in my 20 gallon long aquarium?
Thanks

 

[Polkadots]

It really depends on your other fish. How many and what kind are you considering? Also, have you heard of aqadvisor.com? It's a good tool for stocking your tank. It's not always accurate, but it will give you an idea.


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[Preston18]

I really enjoy the rainbow fish and very colorful fish, i don't think a 20 gallon long is big enough for the rainbows could use some help choosing fish

 

[Polkadots]

I don't know much about rainbows but I'm pretty sure some species if rainbows can live in a 20 gallon. You might have to take the corys out of the stocking plan. As for the colorful fish, there are tons of options out there. Tetras, guppies, platys, mollies, and bettas are the first fish that popped into my head- although I should mention with a betta, your selection will be limited and the rest of your fish cannot be colorful,


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[Preston18]

i was thinking 6 corys, 6 neon tetras and maybe 3 celestial pearl danios is this ok? should i add anything? take away anything?

 

[Polkadots]

Celestial pearl danios prefer cooler water, around 75 F


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[Preston18]

but is that a good ratio?

 

[Polkadots]

Wait never mind, total brain fart. For some reason I thought 75 was cold, even though my tank is 75F...


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[Preston18]

ya thats what i was thinking

 

[Polkadots]

What filter do you have?


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[Preston18]

i only have a tank at the moment no equipment

 

[Polkadots]

For a filter, I suggest a fluval aquaclear 30. I think they're on sale at Petsmart right now.

Anyway, you can add more fish. You can either make the schools larger or add another species.

Btw, are you planning on a fish in or fish less cycle?


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[Preston18]

i was thinking just to get a couple guppies to speed thing up, what exactly needs to be done to get it ready for fish?

 

[Polkadots]

What do you mean by speeding things up with a couple of guppies?

And to get ready for fish? Fish in or fish less cycle. And research


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[Preston18]

im not sure i thought fish in cycle was faster than fish less, i think i am going to get 6 corys 8 neon tetras and something else any suggestions?

 

[Fresh2o]

The only problem with fish in cycle is that you need to perform frequent water changes to keep the ammonia/nitrite at non-lethal levels. In a fish less cycle you can crank up the ammonia to 4 ppm (though I prefer 2 ppm) because there is no livestock at stake.
Either way, if you can obtain season media, then that's will definitely speed up the process. With media from another one of my tanks, I did a fishless cycle in less than a week (4 ppm ammonia to zero in less than 24 hours). I did run the new filter in the established aquarium for about 9 days and added some established media to it before hooking it up to the new tank.


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[Preston18]

thanks for the advice, is this ok stocking?

AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor

 

[Preston18]

is ]6 sterbai corys and 14 neon tetras with maybe 3 or 4 black shrimp ok with a aqua clear 50 filter ok?