Help stocking 20 gal tank

**Bolsen27** · 10-05-2012, 07:47 PM

Hey all I have a 20 gallon tank and I am looking for help/advice/suggestions for adding a few non schooling fish that will do well with what I already have in the tank.
Currently I have 5 false julii's, 5 black neon tetras, 5 serpae tetras and 1 emerald cory. We are going to donate the 5 serpae tetras and 1 emerald cory to the LFS, the serpaes are nipping at the other fish. We are planning on replacing the serpaes with 5 cardinal tetras. That way we have 2 sets of schooling fish and a set of bottom feeders. But we want to add a 2-3 non schooling fish to the tank that can possible add some color or a variety in the shapes of the fish. I was looking at a gold twinbar platy at one option. Any other ideas?

**Bolsen27** · 10-05-2012, 08:10 PM

Would a dwarf gourami make a good fit?

**seb's fish** · 10-05-2012, 08:18 PM

They might be aggressive with your existent stock

**ryann** · 10-05-2012, 09:31 PM

You don't really have any room for a single fish. You could try a dwarf cichlid but only 1. I would up the existing schools and add the dwarf cichlid. It should make for a pretty interesting tank.

**Bolsen27** · 10-05-2012, 09:52 PM

Originally Posted by ryann

You don't really have any room for a single fish. You could try a dwarf cichlid but only 1. I would up the existing schools and add the dwarf cichlid. It should make for a pretty interesting tank.

Why is that? Aqadvisor shows that I have plenty of filtration and with my current stock of 5 each of julii's, neons & cardinals it has me at 86% stocking level. Just messing around with aqadvisor and adding a guppy, a dwarf gourami and a twinbar platy put me at 103 stocking lvl ( using adult sizes). Which isn't bad. Not that I would add those specific fish I don't know if they are compatible or not, though aqadvisor didn't pop up any red flags.

Just curious. Am I missing something?

**Goes to 11!** · 10-05-2012, 11:10 PM

Originally Posted by Bolsen27

Just curious. Am I missing something?

Yes.

Aquaadvisor is a tool for sketchwork & rough drafts - NOT for final drafts.

Simply put. A 20 is a small tank and when you already have THREE schooling species in it.

You are pushing the limits of capacity and this puts stocking aggressive species [DG or cichlids] as something you should only consider after you have spent some length of time maintaining the stock you have with lower than usual TrAtes to insure you have the bio-filtration required for more stock.

**Bolsen27** · 10-05-2012, 11:23 PM

Gotcha. I was using dwarf guorami's as an idea only not completely sold on them. Though everything I read abut them says they are a peaceful fish, unlike other guorami's and that they do well in community tanks. I a new to this so I depend on research and forums like this for help so when I am told one thing from research and another on forums I tend to get confused...

**fishmommie** · 10-06-2012, 02:00 AM

Originally Posted by Bolsen27

Gotcha. I was using dwarf guorami's as an idea only not completely sold on them. Though everything I read abut them says they are a peaceful fish, unlike other guorami's and that they do well in community tanks. I a new to this so I depend on research and forums like this for help so when I am told one thing from research and another on forums I tend to get confused...

I have a dwarf gourami in my 30 with serpae tetras, Colombian tetras and a school of cory cats. he's been a great tank mate and adds a ton of color and movement. I think it might depend on the gourami but you might give one a try.