20 Gallon Long Tank Stocking

O

owl24

Small Fish
#1
Mar 5, 2016
14
0
1
#1
I have a 20 gallon long that I've just started to cycle. It has three amazon sword plants, a 100watt adjustable heater, and a tetra whispher 40i filter. My water's ph is 7.8. I was thinking (just to start) of having:

3 female platys
5 zebra danios
2 dwarf gouramis

What else would you suggest? Also, will the 2 gouramis fight if they are put together?
 

O

owl24

Small Fish
#2
Mar 5, 2016
14
0
1
#2
Would the zebra danios school with glofish danios?
If so, then I would do

3 female platys
3 zebra danios
2 glofish danios
2 dwarf gouramis
 

arcab4

arcab4

The Big Fish
The Big Fish
#3
Oct 22, 2002
1,554
30
48
46
Sunny Southern California
#3
welcome to MFT!

my personal preference is usually more of the same species instead of having alot of different kinds in a tank. and with a 20 gallon, it's a bit more limited so visually i think a school of the same kind of fish is cooler. so i would go with the 5 zebra danios instead.

i wouldnt' think they would fight (the gouramis) but maybe add them in last? also...i'm sure you know not to add them all in at the same time too. and make sure to let your tank fully cycle. what test kit are you using?
 

CAPSLOCK

CAPSLOCK

Elite Fish
#4
Jul 19, 2004
3,682
33
48
38
Cape Cod
#4
As Arcab said, sometimes having the same type of schooling fish looks best. However they will all get along and school together. The glofish are actually zebra danios with genetically modified color, so the same species. Zebra danios / glofish danios will also school with leopards, long finned zebras, snow white danios, and some others.

Two male dwarf gouramis are very likely to fight. Honey dwarf gouramis are a little less feisty to each other. You can also get a male and female dwarf gourami, though the females can be hard to find as they are not as flashy looking (they are pretty much all gray).

Your stocking plan has some room on the bottom. A group of cory catfish is excellent in a 20L, or some kuhli loaches. There are various other smaller bottom feeders as well. Just stick away from most plecos (bristlenose are okay as they stay smaller sized - common plecos get well over a foot long).

Those amazon swords will get big - fair warning :)
 

O

owl24

Small Fish
#5
Mar 5, 2016
14
0
1
#5
I have three stocking plans I was thinking of. Tell me how they work:

Stocking 1:
2 female platys
6 corys
5 zebra danios/glofish danios

Stocking 2:
1 dwarf gourami
6 corys
5 zebra danios/glofish danios

Stocking 3:
6 corys
5 glofish tetras

Would these be overstocked? By the way, I'm using the API test kit.
 

arcab4

arcab4

The Big Fish
The Big Fish
#10
Oct 22, 2002
1,554
30
48
46
Sunny Southern California
#10
$8.99! oh man..sorry...i had mistaken it for another type. i was like..what kind of tetras are $8.99! these are the neon color ones right? i did a quick look and it having a special setup (lighting wise) to bring out the color is best for this?
 

O

owl24

Small Fish
#11
Mar 5, 2016
14
0
1
#11
Yeah, the neon colors are the glofish! Even though blue light brings out the colors best, I'm not going to use a blue light. I saw some glofish in the pet store without the special light and they still looked fine without it.

I had a question about the temperature the tank should be...I was thinking if I did Stocking 1 I would keep the tank 75 to 76 F, stocking 2 around 76 to 77, and stocking 3 being 77

Would those temperature be fine?
 

O

owl24

Small Fish
#14
Mar 5, 2016
14
0
1
#14
I feel so stupid....I was testing my ph wrong! Using the API master test kit, my ph is 6 or below. :eek: Every year I have some water people come and put calcium in our water. I think that also brings the ph up for a while....But now I'm worried that getting calcium in our water will change the water too much and stress out the fish. However, I need the calcium put in so I can't change that. Would all of my stocking plans still work? I'm think about getting one of the API proper ph 7.0 or something. Would that be a good idea?
 

O

owl24

Small Fish
#15
Mar 5, 2016
14
0
1
#15
If I had to change my ph, could I use baking soda? I'd do a guess and check method to raise up the ph, and then add more when I do my weekly water change.
 

arcab4

arcab4

The Big Fish
The Big Fish
#16
Oct 22, 2002
1,554
30
48
46
Sunny Southern California
#16
you can use the API proper PH bottle: http://amzn.to/1phFf3E

but note that will it'll stabilize and raise it back up to 7.0, it's not something you want to forever use.

sometimes it's okay to have a lower PH level that your fishes are used to than trying to raise it back up, stress out the fish and have it drop down again.

how about trying a bag of crushed corals near your filter? that'll raise the PH i think. that's less maintenance than baking soda (i never did it but i heard you have to continuously do it).
 

O

owl24

Small Fish
#17
Mar 5, 2016
14
0
1
#17
Do you think it's necessary to raise my ph? If it is, I really, really like the idea of crushed corals. I found a 15 lb bag of crushed corals at my LFS and I also found a 2 lb bag of crushed shells. Would crushed shells raise ph too?
 

CAPSLOCK

CAPSLOCK

Elite Fish
#18
Jul 19, 2004
3,682
33
48
38
Cape Cod
#18
Leave a gallon of water out overnight and check the pH the next day. It sometimes changes after it rests. If so, it is easy enough to have a few 5g buckets to let new water sit out overnight prior to water changes.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.