Idea for 20 gallon tank. NEED YOUR OPINION?

Question

i was thinking of putting 6 corys and 8 tetras with a couple ottos in a 20 gallon tank any suggestions on the type of cory/tetra to use?

Answer 1

Go with small corydoras, like julii or sterbai. They only get to 1.5-2" long (other corydoras, like spotted, get 3+ inches)

Ottos are great! Get at least 4. In groups of less than 4, they are very very shy, when if you have many, they become very active.

You have tonnes of choices when it comes to tetras!
Personal favourites are:
Harlequin rasboras (http://www.andras.net/images/fish/harlequin_rasbora_5.jpg)
Neon dwarf rainbows (http://www.aquariumfish.net/images_01/neon_dwarf_rainbows_001_w320.jpg)

Congo tetras (http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/gordon.jpg)
Lemon tetras (http://www.aqua-fish.net/imgs/fish/034.jpg)
Cardinal tetras (http://filer.case.edu/~jjw2/cardinal.jpg)
Black neon tetras (http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/Fishpics/blkneon1.jpg)
Glowlight tetras (http://www.solodvds.com/images/fish/Hemigrammus_erythrozonus_s.jpg)


I think you could with at least 12 tetras. Or 10 tetras, and add a dwarf gourami to the mix. (http://www.biol.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/users/naibunpi/Image/Gourami-photo-old.jpg)
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That type of tank would look great with live plants. If you have a fluorescent bulb, you should try your hand at some plants. Try java moss or java fern, anubias, banana plants and moss balls. Those all grow well in low- to medium-light. It's good food for the otos, too, and you can add some shrimp, like cherry red shrimp, amano shrimp or rock/fan/banana shrimp to add to the leafy-green look of the tank.

Anubia: http://www.zoon.lt/augalai/anubia_nana.jpg
Java fern: http://home.austin.rr.com/mwhitten/images/java%20fern%20big%201024x768.jpg
Cherry shrimp on moss ball: http://www.azgardens.com/images/shrimp_cherry.jpg
Amano shrimp: http://home.austin.rr.com/mwhitten/images/amano%201024x768.jpg

Have you cycled your tank? In nature and in established fishtanks, there are nitrifying bacteria that break down ammoni a(toxic fish waste) into nitritres (also toxic) and then into nitrates (fine in small amounts, up to 30ppm). If there bacterial colonies don't exist in a tank, the ammonia will build up and hurt / kill your fish.
So, This is a very important step that cannot be overlooked or hurried. There are several methods. Do you have access to an established fishtank? If so, take a handful of gravel and some filter media (like the sponge or the carbon) and use that for your tank. That's where the bacteria lives, and will seed your tank. "feed" your tank some fishfood (the bacteria need a source of ammonia to survive and multiply) and in a few days, your tank will be ready! This will give you time to go to the petstore and check out which fish you want. Always, before you buy anything, research it first. Don't ask for advice from the petstore, they are usually not very knowledgeable. They just want to sell fish.
Another way is to buy some Bio-Spira (http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html) - this contains the LIVE nitrifying bacteria and will instantly cycle your tank. Then, you can start adding your fish (add no more than 4-5 per week).
There are other methods like using a fish to cycle (cruel, in my opinion, as the fish used will usually be killed by the buildup of ammonia it causes before the bacteria can develop), but those take 3+ weeks.

Please read http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php. It's vital to know this stuff :)

Also, if you were already fully aware of cycling, I'm sorry for being so longwinded :)

Good luck! If you have more questions, try www.fishforums.com

Answer 2

My main advice is to not put them in all at once. I would start with 4 tetra for one month, then add the other 4. Stay away from fragile fish like neon or cardinal tetras as first fish. Every fish tank needs to go through a biological cycle that takes 4-8 weeks. Adding fish slowly lets the beneficial bacteria grow along with the fish without seeing ill effects due to ammonia build up (adding too many fish fast will cause this).

There are 100s of different tetras and corys out there. Most of the tetras are very hardy and great to start up a tank with. Stick to fish that will stay smaller, some corys can get quite big. Ask questions of the people selling you the fish. If they can't answer you find a better place to buy fish from. Someone that specializes in fish is going to be a lot better resource of information down the road. It's worth paying a little more.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I love panda cories. In my opinion, they have the most personality of the smaller cories, and you will need smaller cories (1.25" full grown or less) with the number of fish you want to have. With tetras, definately avoid neon and cardinal tetras. Neons are overbred and are very sensitive to any changes in water condition and tend to die even when kept perfectly. Cardinals are wild-caught, and so tend to only have a year or so left to their lives when you buy them. Personally, I prefer danios, because they are faster, they don't stop, and they school better. For a 20 gallon, I'd go with glowlight danios or spotted danios, or glowlight tetras, lemon tetras, or red serpae tetras. They all get less than 2" long, which means 8 won't overload your aquarium. Also, I'd add the tetras first and cycle with them (they are hardier and less expensive than the cories), then add the cories, and add the ottos last since they are more fragile fish than the tetras and cories.

Answer 4

use small bodied tetras such as neon tetras, or use danios like zebra danios, cories are all about the same just color differences.

Answer 5

i elect to propose u getting a fiddler fish. they only elect a tank that's ten gal. additionally they elect to be in communities or pairs. i elect to propose a woman becuz adult males will probably combat for territory. do not ASK A puppy save OR ANWHERE ELSE directly to CARE 4 THEM!!!! get archives via asking me or get archives off information superhighway. fiddler crabs elect SALT water and elect land/air to proceed to exist. stable success!!