# Rate my tank!



## Citizen Snips (Jan 6, 2010)

20 gal long
fully planted with cave network
7x neon tetras
3x assorted platy
1x bristlenose catfish

Thinking of an African dwarf frog and a male betta to finish the tank.

Thoughts?

Pictures to come...


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

To me, plain old boring no interesting fish. If I was to go for a 20g long it would atleast have one interesting uncommon fish in it, an african butterfly, or maybe some killi fish.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

Citizen Snips said:


> 20 gal long
> fully planted with cave network
> 7x neon tetras
> 3x assorted platy
> ...


You need about 6 Cories.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

If I were you, I wouldn't get killis... our Striped Panchax attacks our smaller fish. We had to move him into our loach tank and he still gets after the mollies in there on occasion.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

hXcChic22 said:


> If I were you, I wouldn't get killis...


Did i miss something or was there an edit? his list doesn't have killies on it right now.

The neons are cool but look into cardinals, they are a lot prettier and I think they are hardier
I second the corey cats, 4-6
Also remember platys are live bearers so unless you get all males or females you will have a lot of babies.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

Tallonebball said:


> Did i miss something or was there an edit? his list doesn't have killies on it right now.
> 
> The neons are cool but look into cardinals, they are a lot prettier and I think they are hardier
> I second the corey cats, 4-6
> Also remember platys are live bearers so unless you get all males or females you will have a lot of babies.


No, I was just saying that because Blue_Cray suggested getting something unusual like killis or ABFs, and I was trying to warn Citizen in case the he considered getting killis.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Oh may bad I didn't even notice BC's post lol
oh and on another note the african dwarf frog is very hard to feed because they have poor eyesight so if they have any competition for food they normally lose.


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## Citizen Snips (Jan 6, 2010)

I would love an African butterfly instead but would that be alright in a tank with the specifications I listed? I did want to get a male betta and I would swap the frog with the African butterfly so they'd be together. If that's a safe bet I'll definitely do it. 

Photos:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/yourhomiebrod/DSC05275.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/yourhomiebrod/DSC05274.jpg

The pretty male betta on bottom and ugly butterfly fish on top would be great for the tank.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

Citizen Snips said:


> I would love an African butterfly instead but would that be alright in a tank with the specifications I listed? I did want to get a male betta and I would swap the frog with the African butterfly so they'd be together. If that's a safe bet I'll definitely do it.
> 
> The pretty male betta on bottom and ugly butterfly fish on top would be great for the tank.


ABFs are actually pretty docile. We have two in our 20 long and neither of them bother anyone else in their tank. (Crayfish, two Kribensis, three Rosy Red Tetras, a Bush Fish, and a Clown Pleco). They never messed with our Herlequin Rasboras when they were in there either. 
I would be careful with really tiny fish but as long as you give them enough food (like tiny live crickets) along with flake they should leave everyone else alone.
Oh, and be careful with bettas. Some make OK community fish but we have one that chased everyone else when we tried to put him in our community tank. They're like most fish, some fit the mold and some don't. You just have to figure it out for yourself. If you get a betta and he's being mean, just buy like a 5 gallon with a sponge filter and a heater and stick him in there. Problem solved, fairly cheaply.


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## Cacatuoides (Feb 2, 2009)

LOL, Holy smoke snips. That is a seriously beta alpha tank! I'm sure with that much cover that a betta will most likely be okay. I don't see a problem with 1 or 2 ABF.


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## Toshogu (Apr 24, 2009)

eh, don't get the African dwarf frog. They are near sighted, and the ones that I had seemed to only feed on live wiggling food. So I had to hand feed em to make sure they had something to eat. Pain in the butt, was glad when the angel ate him.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

chic...you told the op not to get killies because your panchax attacked your small fish..
are we to assume that you have kept all 3000+ species of killifish and have been able to determine that they are all highly aggressive fish ??..
snips....here is what i think...do your homework.find what you like that will work with what you have..you don't need validation for what you do.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

To be fair, the mean killies (golden wonder, gold-earred) are the most likely to be found in a LFS. IME, F. gardneri is fine as a community fish and there must be others that would suit. Just know what you are getting. Buying a fish labelled "killifish" is as stupid as buying an "assorted cichlid".

I did wonder at the "rate my tank". Its your tank suit yourself. 

But I would throw in a pair of dwarf cichlids. Maybe Pelvicachromis. taeniatus or subocellatus


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

Nice mixture although I agree with the above, you need some more interesting fish :/ perhaps some cories or a few rosy/tiger barbs..


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## Citizen Snips (Jan 6, 2010)

Not so much looking for approval as opinion.

I really dig the african butterfly but I have low Ph from CO2 added for plants and driftwood and I think it may kill the butterfly.

Also getting dwarf cichlids would just kill off my neon tetras wouldn't it? Are Kribensis dwarf cichlids? I hear they are aggressive - I'd love to get a pair for the 20 gallon and I know a good supplier at my LFS.

Right now I'm interested in another school of small fish and the african butterfly + male show betta.

You guys are the pros when it comes to bioload I don't want to kill all my fish or have an ammonia explosion - so now that you've seen my tank and it's specs I wanted some sweet ideas for additions that wouldn't push it over.

Also I don't know much about Killifish, could someone send me a link to a list of their assortments so I know what to look for? Are they all small and schooling?

Thanks for the help - keep goin! I check this frequently.


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

Kribensis are dwarf cichlids, you could have a pair as they dont grow very large. They can be territorial though so id make sure you mix these with the right fish. A few cories would go well with them 

Most killifish are small and its best to have a few of them so they dont get scared away easily.


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## Citizen Snips (Jan 6, 2010)

Well I'm not planning on removing any of the fish I have currently - so would two Kribs fit with my 3 platys and 7 neon tetras? 

Otherwise it's a no-go.

I hear they are great - they stay small and are pretty passive.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

Citizen Snips said:


> Well I'm not planning on removing any of the fish I have currently - so would two Kribs fit with my 3 platys and 7 neon tetras?
> 
> Otherwise it's a no-go.
> 
> I hear they are great - they stay small and are pretty passive.


Kribs are pretty chill fish. As long as you give them a spot for them to hide and breed when they want to, they probably won't bother anyone else. Other fish will quickly learn to stay away from their lair. 
That said, our Kribs got mad one day because a loach forced them out of their breeding cave and they took it out on a Harlequin Rasbora. Only half of him made it out of that altercation. :-/ But I think with your tank they will be more than fine. 
Oh, and by the way, African Butterflies thrive in lower-pH water. A lot of people add peat moss to their tanks to lower the pH, in fact. All of our water is lower pH than it ought to be (somewhere around 6.3) and our two ABFs are fine.
We're working on getting either some pH balancing chemicals or some crushed coral for our other tanks.


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## Citizen Snips (Jan 6, 2010)

So you don't think my bristlenose pleco will be an issue? He's about 3 and a half inches long and pretty beast - I'd be real upset if they killed him because he was lounging in the caves.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

I'd imagine that your pleco can hold his own against them even if he did have bad enough sense to try getting in their cave. We have a Rubberlip in our tank with the Kribs and he stays on the other side of the tank behind the sponge filter.


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

I would say its a bit much having that many fish in that size tank, as they will get bigger overtime haha, id leave the kribs, you could probably get away with 1 or 2 ram cichlids...theyre quite small


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

I don't know about that... I've seen German rams that were pretty big, definitely bigger than they (or Kribs) are supposed to get...


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

German rams maybe but its best to get dwarf blue rams, theyre quite common and only grow to about 3 inches..ideal for the tank.


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## Citizen Snips (Jan 6, 2010)

So no-go on the kribs your saying...... after all that? lol

German Blues are pretty sensitive aren't they? Not really hardy fish at all...


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

They would make your tank overstocked, I didnt realise you were keeping the tetras etc sorry but blue rams would work, theyre just as nice and dont grow so big. Plus are less territorial.


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

Hmm they are quite hardy, it really depends on the water conditions. They prefer hard water.


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## Citizen Snips (Jan 6, 2010)

I guess I'll stick with ABF and male Betta then!


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

Would be best, they would add a bit of intelligence to the tank haha although the tank would be fully stocked then


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

nathanbarry said:


> German rams maybe but its best to get dwarf blue rams, theyre quite common and only grow to about 3 inches..ideal for the tank.


According to what I'm finding, German Blues and Dwarf Blue Rams are one and the same. Just name differences.


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

hXcChic22 said:


> According to what I'm finding, German Blues and Dwarf Blue Rams are one and the same. Just name differences.


Dwarf's grow slightly smaller and are more hardy than germans.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

german blue rams and dwarf blue rams and blue rams are all the exact same species...the dwarfs are called that because they are dwarf cichlids...german blues are called that because they were bred to have more blue in them by breeders in germany....and gold rams are exactly the same species as the blue rams ; only with the blue color bred out of them...
bolivian and crown ruby rams get a bit bigger than the blues.....


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

None of the killies I've had school.


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