# New 20 Gallon Tank Fish stock?



## Mikikal (Aug 18, 2012)

Hello all. 

New to the forums and to Fish keeping in general so after a little bit of advice.

I have a 100w heater and a moray multi stage internal filter. (Under Gravel)
The tank is an Aquastart 20Gallon Bow front Tank. 60cmx34cmx54cm

My plan was to get 5 glowlight tetras OR Mountain Cloud Minnows - 5 Zebra Danios - 2 Dwarf Gouramis and two/three small Corys.

I am very aware that overstocking is bad and wondered if anyone had some advice on my choices. I'm pretty sure they would all get along ok but someone suggested a smaller version of Gourami than the dwarf ones?

What do you lads and ladies think?

Cheers all!

Mike


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

I think that dwarf gouramis are the smallest gouramis. And your 20g would not be overstocked in my opinion with the fish you listed.


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## Mikikal (Aug 18, 2012)

Cheers Beta. I've been looking at some of the online fish sites you guys have over there and you can get so many better types of fish than we can in Brit. I might have to emigrate :O


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

lol, I sometimes wish I would live in england though because of all the cool reptiles you guys have. Loads of reptile sites are from the uk.


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## Mikikal (Aug 18, 2012)

My local fish store has a massive vivarium section and hundreds of bearded dragons and iguanas etc. The iguana was actually bigger than me :S I was quite startled when I saw him. Ill try and get a pic of him next time I'm in for you.

We digress however, do you think I'd get away with the two Dwarf Gouramis with the other fish I'd mentioned? If not I may just get a third set of community shoaling fish, but I just thought it would be a nice mix for a couple of slightly larger fish. The research I did said the gouramis would be ok as a minimum of two (which would stop aggression) and they shouldn't bother the others as long as there were a minimum of five in each of the other shoals?


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I believe sparkling gouramis are the smallest. I personally like them a lot, and they are very pretty. My next choice in gouramis would be the croaking gourami. They only get a little longer than 2 inches if I remember correctly. Dwarf gouramis are pretty, but often times, they don't live long as they are mass bred and get some undesirable genetic traits. Try buying them off aquabid and not from petco or petsmart.


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## Mikikal (Aug 18, 2012)

Betta man said:


> Try buying them off aquabid and not from petco or petsmart.


Unfortunately I live in England and don't have access to Aquabid. I've checked with several local fish sources and none of them have the gourami species you mention. Might have to re-think that idea unfortunately. 

Thanks for your input guys!

Mike


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

Yeah you really are lucky to live over there. You have access to Tropica plants. They are unanimously known to have the best quality plants around. I would bet that all of the shops you shop at get their plants from them. 

Sorry its all plants with me lol, back on topic:

I think your list is perfectly safe and well researched. When picking your cory species out see if you can find pigmy cory's. They top out at 1/2", so you can get more and more to look at. Oh and that under gravel filter has got to go! Look into getting a canister filter for that bad boy. Filtration to the max.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

I'd appreciate the Iguana picture  I own a tortoise as well as my fish and am really into reptiles (well all sorts of pets). As for the length of dwarf gouramis lives, they normally don't get older than 1 year, but they have an awesome mating ritual. Just look it up on youtube and you will be amazed.


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## Coolfish (Apr 30, 2012)

20 neon tetras. You can't have 2 DG's together they will fight to the death.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

They wont fight to death if you provide them with a lot off hiding spots so that the female can escape if the male is chasing her. Just add multiple plants and rocks and caves and you should be fine.


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## Charlie1 (Dec 31, 2011)

I believe Dwarf Gouramis fight eachother if there is more than one in a tank


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

I've seen videos that prove that they don't fight to death. Of course this might be because some are friendlier than others but you can always try it and give one fish back if it doesn't work out (of course this requires that you buy from a local store and not online).


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## Coolfish (Apr 30, 2012)

No they will fight to the death. How do I know? Well I had 2 together and they fought until one died from stress.


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

my lone dg is very calm, on occasion, my more agressive honey gourami, will pick a little fight, but i didnt know that they were that agresive in pairs


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## Mikikal (Aug 18, 2012)

grogan said:


> Oh and that under gravel filter has got to go! Look into getting a canister filter for that bad boy. Filtration to the max.


It's interesting you should say that because all the books I've read and the three pet shops I've been to say that if your a beginner you should be using an under gravel filter. Now when I look at this thing it seems to me that it could never be as efficient as any of the other types and surely that creates MORE stress for a beginner fish keeper? ***Update I have now swapped this for a Moray 320 Internal Canister 3 stage Filter designed for 100L tanks***

Back to the whole Dwarf Gourami idea, there will be more than enough plants/hidey holes and distractions for any fish to hide in. However. Given the chance that they even "Might" fight tends to put me off slightly. So it sounds to me like I may well give this a miss and look into getting something else. Something also puts me off getting just "one" of something, gives me the impression of being a bit alone?

I didn't miss the comment about 20 neon tetras but really don't want one tank of all the same fish. :fish:

I would still like a couple of slightly larger fish however so would be extremely grateful of other suggestions that won't fight or eat my neon's/tetras etc lol

Thanks guys your replies are brilliant and a nice start to a beginners fish keeping career.


Oh and before I forget, plants! I've checked with a few suppliers now and can I find any Java Moss? Heck as like can I!!?!? Is it a U.S only plant?
I'd love to get my hands on some as I think it really gives tanks a natural roguish looking element to it.

Have a great day all.

Mike


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I never heard of US only plants. Maybe it has a different name or is banned over there. Common names vary from place to place. Java is an island in Indonesia, Its an Asian plant like java fern. Any low-light moss-look plant is good. One gourami or cichlid per tank is a good rule if you don't want any aggression. 

UGFs are one of the cheapest filters, but they need "gravel-washing" which is a pain so they are pretty much out of fashion over here. I think you'll find "beginner" translates either to cheapest or "doesn't know any better". Goldfish are perfect beginner fish, this 1 gallon bowl is perfect for beginners, etc. etc. Either you decide to spend more money and become an "intermediate" hobbyist or you throw it all away and get out.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

That you brought up the topic about not being able to buy java fern in GB is funny, cause just today I tried buying some java fern here in Germany for my dads fishtank online and just couldn't find anything. Maybe it really just is a plant you can't buy in europe at least.


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## Mikikal (Aug 18, 2012)

emc7 said:


> Goldfish are perfect beginner fish, this 1 gallon bowl is perfect for beginners, etc. etc. Either you decide to spend more money and become an "intermediate" hobbyist or you throw it all away and get out.


That is very true and I'd never thought about it like that before. 
Well with the money I've spent I'm certainly diving into the intermediary area!
Really glad I was talked out of the under-gravel filter also although in hindsight it means I could have got the sand I wanted but am now stuck with two massive bags of gravel. Oh well! 

Gouramis seem to be a bit of a hot topic as far as behavior is concerned?
There seems to be a fair divide on the forums whether I could get one on it's own and it would be ok with Tetras/Rasboras/Minnows etc etc.

I've watched a lot of videos on the internet where people have got singles of these fish and they seem to be ok. Yes they do chase the other fish on occasion but there doesn't appear to be any over aggression? My local LFS say they would happily take the fish back if I had issues so I think I will try this out. Thanks to all who gave me input on this question.

I will be taking photos over the next two weeks about the tanks development and will post them on a new thread, just in case anyone is interested 

Mike


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

Of course we are interested  Always want to see a great tank in the making.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

When all else fails try the scientific name Taxiphyllum is the genus. or e-bay http://www.ebay.com/itm/small-porti...plies_Fish&hash=item231f6ed6db#ht_6966wt_1111


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## Mikikal (Aug 18, 2012)

emc7 said:


> When all else fails try the scientific name Taxiphyllum is the genus. or e-bay http://www.ebay.com/itm/small-porti...plies_Fish&hash=item231f6ed6db#ht_6966wt_1111


Spot on emc7! I had never even considered Ebay! 

Weirdly a lot of Brits call this Fox Moss apparently?! Gonna give my tank two weeks to clear the water then get some of this nice stuff. Thanks!


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