Advice on stocking a 20gal

[shanecb]

I'm hoping to get some basic advice on stocking a planted 20gal, as I'm trying to plan ahead. I know there's no hard and set rules as to how many fish you can stock in a tank, since it depends on many factors, but even an estimate would help me a lot!

There will definitely be two African Dwarf Frogs, since I promised my girlfriend she could have two. Other than that, I plan on a mixture of Platies and Mollies. With that in mind, about how many would be ideal? I just don't want to overstock the tank. I was thinking three Mollies and three Platies. Would I be able to fit more?

I'm not sure exactly what filter I'm going to have yet, since I'm getting all of my stuff used and free from a friend's mom and I haven't picked it up yet. But if I need to I'd buy a bigger or better one.

Thanks for the advice!

[Northernguy]

First read the ebook link in my sig.
You could easily do 10 of each of the mollies and platies.They are both livebearers and you will have a lot of fry from them.The fry will definitely over stock the tank.You will need to remove them.Most lfs (local fish store) will take the fry.Some will give you a store credit for them but not many.
A fishless cycle is best unless the tank is cycled right now.Just keep the media in the filter wet during the move.
A great filter would be an aqua clear 50.

[Bristley]

ok, like you said, there is no "hard and fast" rule, however there is a good thumbrule to use, especially for beginners (myself included). 1" of fish per 1 gallon of water.

There are some other things that go into that though. Certain fish produce more of a bioload than others and need a larger tank than that thumbrule would lead you to believe. Good example: Goldfish.

Also, you don't look at the starting size of the fish. Look at how big the fish will get when it's full grown. Example: lots of LFS's sell people common plecos that are small 2" or so, but these things get huge and really require tanks 100+g to live a healthy happy life.

I don't know much about the frogs so I can't help you there, but I'm sure someone else will be able to help you out a little better.

Also, take a quick read of this....

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/ebook.html

It should answer alot of questions for you right off the bat.

Welcome to the AC, glad to have you aboard.:19:

Darn my slow typing skills, NG beat me to it.