20 Gallon Tank

[Pabs311]

ok so i got this 20 gallon freshwater tank and i have some fish in it already:
2 female swordtails
2 female platys
2 corydoras

i'd like to add some more fish, mainly more of the same types. how many fish can i safely put in without making it to uncomfortable for them. i know that the more fish u have the more ammonia, nitrate and nitrite are produced. i'm willing to deal with this aspect and do water changes twice a week.

my main concern is overcrowding the tank and making the inhabitant irritated and stressed. thanks all.

 

[Ripley]

You could get 3 more platies and 3 more cories.

 

[Amunet]

You shouldn't really experience a spike in ammonia if you add them slowly.
Add cories, wait a week (check water to make sure no spikes of course).... add platy, wait a week etc etc.

 

[Bobtastic]

2 female swordtails
2 female platys
2 corydoras

It's my understanding that all of those are shoaling fish and should really be kept in larger groups. Like Ripley says, I think, they should be kept in groups of 6 as a minimum.

 

[Pabs311]

yea, def gonna add a couple more corys and some swords/platys (the ones i already have school together as if their the same species). i was thinking about adding a dwarf guaromi to the tank as well.... i think their such a beutiful fish.

 

[azzaknight]

corys:6 minimum
platys: 1 male 2 female ratio or all females
swordtails:" " "same as platys( same family )
dwarf gouramis tend to die quickly as they are breed alot and have a bad imune system. maybe something like a shoal of neon tetras or cardinals. guppys are nice.

 

[Pabs311]

i'm def gonna get 1 male platy and 1 male sword (thiking pineapple sword and golddust or tuxedo platy).
i was thinking maybe getting some tetras, but i heard they don't do as well with the water requirments that platys/sowrds require.
i'm not a huge fan of guppies, they're very pretty, but there's something about them that doesn't appeal to me, sorry to all those guppy lovers out there.
as far as the corys go i was gonna do one more peppered and then 3 more of another variety, maybe skunk or emerald.

 

[CKutz]

how long has the tank been set up?

 

[craig855s]

get 1 male platy and 2 female platy to add to the ones u have already,then add more corys

 

[Pabs311]

tanks been set up for about a month... sorry to say i cycled with fish .
so by now the tank is pretty much cycled and all my levels are pretty stable.
i'm only going to add one fish at a time now, so i don't get any spikes that will stress my fish. i already had to deal with an ich breakout after i added the last batch and don't feel like having to deal with it again (i don't have an issolation tank yet).

i was trying to find some crazy varieties of platys, swords and corys but the LFS around me don't really have anything out of the ordinary. there's four stores in my area, and they all carry pretty much the same thing

 

[waterdrop]

Its good to actually -know- that your levels have reached a good place via good liquid-based tests - hopefully that is what you're doing, right?

Agree your introductions should be in small numbers, but you don't have to limit yourself to one, especially for shoaling fish. Two or three at a time should be fine. Just be sure your fish-in cycle has really finished and you're always getting zero ppm ammonia and zero ppm nitrite(NO2) without water changes having to happen. That way you know the filter is now up to adding things and will carry its load for you.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Pabs311]

unfortunatly i've been using strip testing... i didn't have $50 to drop on a liquid test kit for every water parameter right away.
i have started to slowly but surely get liquid test kits for each water paramter. i'm getting one for ammonia today after i get out of work.

 

[waterdrop]

That's good, and don't forget, sometimes the members here can be pretty good helping you find deals and ways to save...

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Pabs311]

i'm lucky enough to have a brother who works at a petco, so i can get the majority of what i need fairly cheap.
sometimes things can still be a little difficult on a college kids budget though, lol.
i'm always open for deals and money saving ideas though, never hurts to save a few bucks here and there... that just means i have more money to get more fish, lol.

 

[CKutz]

Do you know that they have a test kit called the API master test kit, it has most of what you need, ph ammonia nitrite and nitrate. at petsmart it is like $22, petco should be similarly priced if they carry it. it's cheaper to buy that than to buy each indiv. kit.