pleco or corys?

[JakeVS]

SO.... i am looking into adding either a smaller pleco or a group of small corys to my 20g. currently inhabiting it are a 4 inch gold gourami 4 rosy barbs and 2 neon tetras(which will be moved as soon as my brother executes his plans to get a tank). The barbs are somewhat aggressive towards the smaller tetras and the number of tetra has dwindled from the original 5 due to mysterious night time deaths(the barbs tend to be the first to wake up in the morning). after the first 2 deaths i began to notice that the gourami would separate the barbs and the tetras as soon as conflict would arise, and for the last few weeks i have not seen the barbs even bother touching the tetras. Although the gourami can be territorial from time to time but has never physically attacked the others, just chases them away.

sorry for the long-winded description of the living situation. but i am looking for some advice from the wise on whether it would be a better idea to get the larger pleco or the smaller corys? i prefer the corys purely on the interest of the schooling tendencies, but would be happy with the pleco as well.

meanwhile i also do not want to overstock and if this is a bad idea for that reason i would rather not sacrifice the health of the current fish.

Jake

 

[Homedog98]

Ok, do you need a bottom feeder for algae, or access food? I'd also suggest getting 4 more neons, and 3 more barbs. That said, if the problem is algae, I'd go with a clown pleco. For access food, some Pygmy cories or panda cories would be the best. You could essentially get both, but I need to see an exact stocking list just to make sure.

 

[JakeVS]

For the most part i am looking for a bottom feeder for algae so i will look into a clown pleco. The barbs do a nice job of turning over the rocks for the access food. I have some renovating within my tank to do before i do add any new fish though(change the substrate from the gross green blue and tan pebbles with large colored glass stones that came with the tank and add some more hiding places).

They are in a 20g non-planted tank

The 4 rosy barbs are about 2 inches long each, the gold gourami is about 4 inches and the 2 neon tetras are about 1 each.

what other information can i provide you to make my stocking list more exact?

 

[Rosenweiss]

I can only offer other pleco suggestions, but there are many various plecos that will stay a reasonable size for your tank. For instance, you can also look into a bristlenose or rubberlip pleco. If you do decide to go with a clown pleco, it may be good to invest in some driftwood if you don't already have some. Good luck! (also, in reference to what homedog has said, neon tetras should be in a full school, but you could have your brother fill it out after you give him the tetras you have).

It sounds like you have a good semi-aggressive tank going there, so I'd hold on off on any more peaceful species such as most tetras. Maybe get yourself a school of any other kind of barb? Tiger barbs, albino tiger barbs, or green barbs (not sure of exact species name) would be cool.

 

[Homedog98]

I can only offer other pleco suggestions, but there are many various plecos that will stay a reasonable size for your tank. For instance, you can also look into a bristlenose or rubberlip pleco. If you do decide to go with a clown pleco, it may be good to invest in some driftwood if you don't already have some. Good luck! (also, in reference to what homedog has said, neon tetras should be in a full school, but you could have your brother fill it out after you give him the tetras you have).

It sounds like you have a good semi-aggressive tank going there, so I'd hold on off on any more peaceful species such as most tetras. Maybe get yourself a school of any other kind of barb? Tiger barbs, albino tiger barbs, or green barbs (not sure of exact species name) would be cool.

How about rosy barbs? They're much less aggressive then the tigers... To be honest I wouldn't do tigers in a community tank at all.

 

[Rosenweiss]

How about rosy barbs? They're much less aggressive then the tigers... To be honest I wouldn't do tigers in a community tank at all.

Well, he already has rosy barbs, which is why I suggested other types of barbs. =]

 

[Homedog98]

Oh... I guess I was thinking cherry barbs when I wrote that... So how about them?

 

[Rosenweiss]

Oh... I guess I was thinking cherry barbs when I wrote that... So how about them?

Cherry barbs would probably work, but from what I've heard, they're peaceful community fish, so I'm not sure if they rosy barbs would bother them. Furthermore, if he's going for color variety, that won't help much--they're also red.

 

[Homedog98]

Ha, well I agree with all but the tiger barbs.

 

[Rosenweiss]

Ha, well I agree with all but the tiger barbs.

That's fine, each is entitled to her own opinion. =) I could be wrong about the tigers.

 

[BigJim]

For algae control, look into nerite snails. They do a much better cleaning job than any pleco.

Tiger barbs get too big and boisterous for a 20g. They really need more like 40g. I would add a few more neons and see how your water quality holds between PWCs. Your tank is getting pretty full.

 

[JakeVS]

Thanks everyone for the input, i am currently looking into all of the options available but highly agree with BigJim that my tank is getting pretty full. The algae I am having an issue with is the red/brown algae (my water conditions went downhill for about 2 weeks due to stress in MY life causing stress in the lives of my fish). From what I have seen the Nerite Snails are quite effective with green algae but not as effective with what i have. Although i still have not researched quite enough. As my water conditions continue to improve will the growth of this algae slow due to a lower amount of phosphates, nitrates and nutrients in the water or will it continue to grow? and are there ways of encouraging the growth of green algae to replace the red/brown?(aside from improving water conditions which i am currently working on)

Also, when i purchased the barbs at the LFS i was told that they would do better in odd numbers (which seems to be fairly true) but would anyone be able to explain this in greater detail to me?

 

[sdrone]

I've been avoiding it because I don't really like snails, but I should just bite the bullet and get some Nerite snails; I haven't seen 'em at any local shops but I can probably get them online.

I get green algae buildup on my glass, and there's lots of permanent algae on my fake plants and my fake driftwood. I'll eventually replace one, maybe both of the fake plants with real plants but that's an "as I get time" item.

 

[sdrone]

Dumb question - how to you intro snails to an aquarium? Let them fall to the bottom (sand) and figure it out? Place them on some driftwood that has algae?

 

[1Vampiregirl]

Dumb question - how to you intro snails to an aquarium? Let them fall to the bottom (sand) and figure it out? Place them on some driftwood that has algae?

I floated them in their bag to match the temp with the tank for 30minutes and after that added 1 tablespoon of tank water a minute to the bag for another 10-15 minutes. After that I just put them on the gravel/wood.

I have 3 nerite snails in my 20gal now and I barely see them, they didn't bother with the algea at all. My bristlenose pleco, however, is keeping the tank spotless.

 

[warthog76za]

Ive got 3 Pepper corys (do most of their feeding on the bottom) then I also have Panda corys (though they eat from the bottom, they love swimming up and down the glass, you can them see them eating away at the thin layer of algae. Also have Amano shrimps which eat everything and anything about....they even clean my filter intake lol.

 

[sdrone]

I've wanted shrimp, and was thinking of amano shrimp - but can they climb glass? Or could they only clean driftwood and plants?

 

[warthog76za]

I've wanted shrimp, and was thinking of amano shrimp - but can they climb glass? Or could they only clean driftwood and plants?

Shrimp cant climb the glass but they will swim up and down if there is anything about. They also love eating their moulted skin must say they are very clean, they even clean my assassin snails lol

 

[BigJim]

Shrimp can't climb clean smooth glass, but they can climb anything that's on the glass, including transparent bio film or scratches in the glass. Dwarf shrimp like amanos or RCS usually won't escape though.