What should I do

[UP UP AND GUPPY]

Well all my fish have died, I'm having the worst of luck, and I need to find a schooling fish but I dont want livebearers, so what should I get? Its a 20g regular, not long or tall.

 

[jefftaylor]

dwarf rainbows they are a great svhooling fish and only grow to about 2 inches. so you could have 10 if you kept up on your water changes 40% per week.

 

[UP UP AND GUPPY]

Well see over at my petsmart they dont have dwarf rainbows they have regular rainbows and they get to 4" and I want to have variety, do you have any other thoughts? They would have been pretty though.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Um, why did your fish die? You probably want to figure that out before you get more...

 

[UP UP AND GUPPY]

Well I know it was because of my tank was cycling and there was a spike in the Nitrites, Nitrates and Ammonia. But I am going to do a fishless cycle for my 20g and when its done I'm getting the fish. So any ideas?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

What was wrong with the tetras/bristlenose plan?

 

[UP UP AND GUPPY]

Well my mom wanted to go cheap(anything over $5 in one day is expensive) and she said that wont go since my LFS raised thei prices

 

[UP UP AND GUPPY]

And if you mean why they died, same way how the other fish died, because of the tank cycling and high parameters.

 

[Smalltank3]

Well, if I ever get a 20g I was planning on getting(3 months ago and still don't have it ) an all tetra tank with 4 types of tetras(4 of each type) I was thinking of having these:
4 Neon Tetras
4 Bloodfin Tetras
4 Glowlight Tetras
4 Serpae Tetras
2 Otos
So I consider having an all tetra tank if you want schooling or you could go with rasboras like the scissortail or the harlequin.

 

[UP UP AND GUPPY]

I was actually thinking of:

6 Harlequin Rasboras
6 Scissortail Rasboras
2 or 3 Peppered Corys

 

[Smalltank3]

That would work. You could also put an oto or 2 for algae clean up. Otherwise that is a good setup.

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

Well, I have never been into the schooling fish very much, but once you get the water parameters settled down, you might look into glass catfish. THey are an amazing schooling fish. Who can't be interested in see-through fish. They like lots of current, so make sure you've got adequate filtration for them, and good clean water as well.

You can do a lot with a 20 gallon if you keep your fish small. My favorite tank is my 20-gallon long tank. Of course I planted mine like a jungle and then let it grow for a couple years. THe last time I did a major overhaul on it was last July when I moved cross country. Since then it's just grown thick. I should post a pic soon.

I just set up a regular 20 gallon tank. I think it's something like 24" long, 12" front to back, and 15" deep, whatever it is, I believe it's the standard common 20-gallon size. I got the setup for only $1 brand new in Petco minus a hood, which I didn't mind since I always custom make high-light hoods anyway.

SO, to get to my point here, if you wanted to do a few big fish, like I am doing with that tank, then you have some pretty cool fish you could go with, and bigger fish can have more character than smaller fish do. Currently I just have my synodontis euruptus in there with a couple of SAE for the inevitable algae build-up I always have in new high-light tanks. I've got mad light, and know I'll soon have mad algae, but it's a phase. The plan is for 2 discus, but my wife hates the thought of $80 fish. Go figure...

 

[UP UP AND GUPPY]

Wow, my pocket will be swimming the other way on the price of that. Well I was actually thinking of glass catfish, they are cool. But the problem with that is, is that they get to about 6". I was thinking of fish smaller than 6" but yet larger then 2". Any suggestions?

 

[Smalltank3]

NoDelta: How did you get the tank setup without the hood for $1!!!!!!!! I've been saving up just for a setup that costs $80.

 

[UP UP AND GUPPY]

Yeah I wann know that aswell delta.

 

[davidmold]

A pair of small south american dwarf cichlids would be very pretty, along with a school of tetras. But no corys in that case.

 

[charleyevette]

I have had a glass catfish for about 2 months now, and he is great. They are a schooling fish, but he has done good with my molly, platy, and 2 guppies. He usually hides in this plastic tree stump I have because they don't like a whole lot of light. Recently he has come out more and is currently out more than he is in hiding. He also comes up to the top of the tank to eat, which they're 'supposedally' not suppose to do. He's a real character. It's so cute to watch him feel the other fish with his wiscars since he can't see well, and they think they're going to be prey!! lol. He hasn't grown much since I got him. I know 2 months isn't really long, but so far there is not a noticible difference in his size.

 

[UP UP AND GUPPY]

Well over at petsmart they said they are now not selling schooling fish in less then groups of 3 at a time. So that kinda crosses Glass Catfish out because I want maybe a solitary fish to add to my schooling ariety. Wich I have a list of schooling fish that I might be interested in:

Schoolers
Gold White Cloud Mountain Minnow
White Cloud Mountain Minnow
Harlequin Rasbora
Lemon Tetra

Bottom Feeders
Peppered Corydoras Catfish
Albino Corydoras Catfish

Solitary
Dwarf Gourami
Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami

If you are able to make a stocking out of the fish I given(not all but some, at least 1 from each catergory) in the list, then tell me.

 

[UP UP AND GUPPY]

Well its official, my LFS isn't selling any schooling fish unless they know your going to buy more later. And can someone pls give me a stocking with the above fish mentioned(once again not all of them).

 

[noncentric]

How about...

8 white cloud mountain minnows
3 albino cories OR 3 peppered cories
1 dwarf gourami (any coloration)

I'd probably add 2-3 otos for algae.