Best schooling fish for Dwarf Gourami in a 20gal?

[7toes]

Hi guys! I'm new to this site. I have a 20gal (high) tank with pool filter sand and mopani wood. My current plan:

- 2x m/f Dwarf Gourami (orange coloring)
- 8x pygmy corycats
- cherry or amano shrimp colony

What school would complement the Dwarf Gourami and light substrate the best? (options in poll with size references)

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to TFF.

20 high, or 20 long?

 

[7toes]

Welcome to TFF.

20 high, or 20 long?

20 high

 

[Byron]

It will help to know the water parameters, especially the GH (hardness) and pH. Some of the mentioned fish can be very fussy over these.

Leaving that aspect for the moment, there are a couple of species that will not work outright.

Zebra Danio is one, this fish is a very active swimmer and needs more space than a 20g high, plus the activity is not suited to sedate fish like gourami.
Celestial Pearl Danio is better with a large group (20), and this might work depending upon parameters. But I personally would not combine them with other fish.
Harlequin Rasbora is OK except it could use more space. The closely-related hengeli and lambchop rasboras would be better here.

 

[7toes]

It will help to know the water parameters, especially the GH (hardness) and pH. Some of the mentioned fish can be very fussy over these.

Leaving that aspect for the moment, there are a couple of species that will not work outright.

Zebra Danio is one, this fish is a very active swimmer and needs more space than a 20g high, plus the activity is not suited to sedate fish like gourami.
Celestial Pearl Danio is better with a large group (20), and this might work depending upon parameters. But I personally would not combine them with other fish.
Harlequin Rasbora is OK except it could use more space. The closely-related hengeli and lambchop rasboras would be better here.

Thank you! There is no pH yet (the tank is empty right now, waiting on a stand) but the pH of my water + driftwood is usually on the low end (6.5-6.8). I'll remove Zebras from my list, and Harlequins since I wasn't as drawn to them in the first place.
I find CPDs to be the prettiest of all of these fish, though I heard that they're shy so it makes sense to put them in larger groups. It's a shame though since I was hoping to do about 10x CPD and 8x Neon Tetra I might go for the 20x school though!!

Would Chili Rasboras be okay to combine with Neon or Cardinal tetras?

Also, are 6 or 8 pygmy corycats okay in a 20g tall? Are loaches better bottom-dwellers for this size tank, or a clown pleco, or 6x otos? Thanks for the help

 

[Byron]

Thank you! There is no pH yet (the tank is empty right now, waiting on a stand) but the pH of my water + driftwood is usually on the low end (6.5-6.8). I'll remove Zebras from my list, and Harlequins since I wasn't as drawn to them in the first place.
I find CPDs to be the prettiest of all of these fish, though I heard that they're shy so it makes sense to put them in larger groups. It's a shame though since I was hoping to do about 10x CPD and 8x Neon Tetra I might go for the 20x school though!!

Would Chili Rasboras be okay to combine with Neon or Cardinal tetras?

Also, are 6 or 8 pygmy corycats okay in a 20g tall? Are loaches better bottom-dwellers for this size tank, or a clown pleco, or 6x otos? Thanks for the help

The chili rasboras (Boraras brigittae) are OK with peaceful fish like neons and cardinals.

If pygmy cories, a larger group, 12-15 would be better. Most loaches, certainly those commonly available, are too large for this tank. I personally would not have otos, at least not until the tank is well established, they usually need a decent supply of natural algae at least initially.