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Stocking suggestion for 20gallon

Discussion in 'Freshwater General Discussion' started by meamea568, Dec 29, 2012.

  1. meamea568

    meamea568 Thread Starter New Member

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    Hey all, new member and beginner fishkeeper here! :fish2:

    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).

    This is my current stock list (I haven't purchased any fish yet):
    2 honey gouramis OR 3 sparkling gouramis
    8 harlequin rasboras
    6-8 panda cories
    1 bolivian ram

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



    P.S. I have hard water (not totally sureo of dH; pH is 7.8), 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.
     
    meamea568, Dec 29, 2012
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  2. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    hi meamea and welcome to the forum.
    according to the dimensions you've listed for this tank, it's a 25 gallon. your stock list for this tank looks really good and should work just fine except for the sparkling gourmis. if you were to end up with a breeding pair they will be too aggresive for the harlequins to handle. don't mix the honey and sparkling gouramis, they'll most likely fight each with other. imo i wouldn't do the sparkling gouramis and stick with the others you've listed.
     
    buzz4520, Dec 30, 2012
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  3. meamea568

    meamea568 Thread Starter New Member

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    It's 25 gallons? Well that's a pleasant surprise. :)

    Honestly, I was planning on getting 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.

    Thanks for your opinion! I'm excited to get started with this tank! :D
     
    meamea568, Dec 30, 2012
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  4. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    your welcome. glad i could help. be sure to post some pictures once the tank is up and running.
    how about this for a stock list: 1-2 dwarf gourami
    5 black neon tetra (like these, i've got 5)
    5 harlequin rasboras
    6 panda cories
    1 bolivian ram
     
    buzz4520, Dec 31, 2012
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  5. Ms. Wright

    Ms. Wright Member

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    Just my opinion, but with a PH like that, I'd be looking at small Rift Lake cichlids. My water here is soft, like 6.8 out of the tap, and I've been struggling for 25 years to keep the tank water up to a level where my Africans will be successful. Done it, but if I had good sense (of which nobody has ever accused me) I'd go with fishes who do easily with the water I have.
     
    Ms. Wright, Jan 12, 2013
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