20 gallon high stock options

[cowgirluntamed]

So....now that I have two 55 gallons, the 20 gallon planted will eventually be my office tank instead of a 10. My water is on the hard side. pH of 8.2, gh and kh around 12 to 13 drops on the api liquid test kit.

So, other than my water, whatever fish I get needs to be compatible with mystery snails. No picking at their antenna. I also want one or two species, probably just one.

I really really like the chili rasbora, but I'm not sure it would really be compatible with my water. I don't really care for the ember tetra either. Any other suggestions? I'm sort of stumped....lol. and I do like a bit of color, like the chili rasboras. Lol. Thanks for any help!

 

[Byron]

I would not advise the dwarf rasbora (chili, etc) as they aee soft water and wild caught. Obviously Endlers and guppies would work; maybe a trio of platy. Nothing else from the livebearers in a 20g. Celestial Pearl Danio (pH is a tad high, but thee GH/KH is OK, this could work in my view).

 

[cowgirluntamed]

I would not advise the dwarf rasbora (chili, etc) as they aee soft water and wild caught. Obviously Endlers and guppies would work; maybe a trio of platy. Nothing else from the livebearers in a 20g. Celestial Pearl Danio (pH is a tad high, but thee GH/KH is OK, this could work in my view).

I'm not sure guppies would really work with the mystery snails. I've read that they usually would pick at them. I've had some male fancies before and they do go around picking at everything. Haven't ever had endlers, and I know they are smaller, but I would think they would do the same. Not a clue on platies but I kind of was looking for a more shoaling/schooling fish to fill it up. But I don't really want something that will go in the 55s. Lol. Those stocking are...(not necessarily in the same 55)

Glowlight tetra
Marble hatchets
Sterbai cories
Black phantom tetras
Pristella tetras
Harlequin rasboras
3 spot gourami

As you can see I love the little tetras, and I know I need to stay with ones more commercially raised so hopefully they could adapt better to my water. Any ideas at all? I was hoping to have are few more options than the 10 gallon. Lol. If I could find a regular Rio flame tetra(with stripes), vs the orange variety(without stripes), I wouldn't mind those I think. But I'm not sure on those. I looked at a smaller rasbora...not the espei but something that looked similar, but I was thinking it looked too much like the harlequin. And I wasn't sure on the water there either.

Oh, and I thought of white clouds, but other than not knowon their nippiness, I wasn't sure if the temperature could mix between the 2? How low can mystery snails truly go without harming them and how high can the white clouds? I know the white clouds are kind of tough, but like I said, temperature difference may stop me there.

 

[fishlover22346]

white clouds are a great choice in my opinion, I’ve had many of them before and they have never been nippy to anything in my tank. the white clouds do prefer cooler water but could live in a tropical tank easily. they are surface fish and are not only peaceful, but they are cheap, pretty, and very hardy. there are a few different variety of the white clouds including long tailed ones, white ones and the original copper colored ones. another good fish would be a danio, but they are sometimes quite nippy, but shouldn’t ever nip the snails, i’ve never had a danio nip any of my snails before.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

white clouds are a great choice in my opinion, I’ve had many of them before and they have never been nippy to anything in my tank. the white clouds do prefer cooler water but could live in a tropical tank easily. they are surface fish and are not only peaceful, but they are cheap, pretty, and very hardy. there are a few different variety of the white clouds including long tailed ones, white ones and the original copper colored ones. another good fish would be a danio, but they are sometimes quite nippy, but shouldn’t ever nip the snails, i’ve never had a danio nip any of my snails before.

I prefer the look of the regular ones I think. I'm not a real fan of long fin fish to be honest. Lol. I'm more sure about danios though unless there is a smaller variety I don't know of.

Oh, and the other rasbora I had thought about was the glow light rasbora, trigonostigma hengeli.

 

[fishlover22346]

i’ve never had any experience with rasboras other than very little experience with the harlequin rasbora. i’ve seen them in planted tanks before and they didn’t seem nippy, honestly, most schooling fish won’t bother the snails. any time i’ve ever seen anything bothering my snails, it was just eating algae off the snails shell or something, which helps the snail get a clean shell. you could get a few oto catfish too, they are one of the best algae cleaners and they are schooling fish too. maybe a few otos and some white clouds or a small rasbora would work. with the white clouds you could get quite a few since they are quite small and don’t poop much.

 

[Byron]

Trigonostigma hengeli will be wild caught, so more soft water. Re the white clouds, without an aquarium heater they will be fine. I would not expect this to bother the snail, but just my assumption.

My initial suggestions were with the GH and pH in mind, and making it easy since it is elsewhere than home. Some of the tetras could work. Pristella comes to mind as especially adaptable (due to it being found in varying parameters in nature).

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Thanks Byron. The pristellas are going into the 55 with the gourami, so wanted something different for the 20. Can white clouds be kept at 70-72?

Another option I thought of, other than Rio flame tetras if I could find regular ones and not orange....is the black neon tetra. I have kept it before and it did fine once I added more females(had like 5 males to 1 female...her and lowest male got beat up and fungused). I know black neon are more active but I don't know if they would mess with the mystery snails. I'm really looking to do one species though. How many of either of these possibly could be kept in the 20?

 

[Byron]

SF gives the temp range for white clouds as 14-22 C (58-71 F). I would not heat their tank, period; leave it with room temperature. Though you need to know how low this might get in an office over weekends, etc.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Well it's a home office....so I'd be home to monitor. Lol. I'm just not sure I want the snails to go that low though. They aren't as active in lower temps.

What do you think of the von rio flame tetras or the black neons? I think they may be similar sized fish. I would only do one of these if they were compatible. How many do you think would go? Would 12 work?

 

[Byron]

Well it's a home office....so I'd be home to monitor. Lol. I'm just not sure I want the snails to go that low though. They aren't as active in lower temps.

What do you think of the von rio flame tetras or the black neons? I think they may be similar sized fish. I would only do one of these if they were compatible. How many do you think would go? Would 12 work?

On their own, meaning just the one species? With plants and weekly water changes, OK.

 

[NickAu]

I would not expect this to bother the snail, but just my assumption.

The optimal water temperature for apple/ mystery snails is between 18 to 28°C (65-82°F)

 

[cowgirluntamed]

On their own, meaning just the one species? With plants and weekly water changes, OK.

Yes, just the one species. Maybe a few more if I did the white clouds?

The optimal water temperature for apple/ mystery snails is between 18 to 28°C (65-82°F)

Thanks Nick! At least I have a few choices I think I can go with.

 

[Byron]

Yes, just the one species. Maybe a few more if I did the white clouds?

Yes, 15+.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Thanks!