Is anyone else as indecisive as me?

[luxum]

So i ~thought~ i had decided what i was going to do when it comes time to restock my tank but i have come to the conclusion that i in fact have not! Please bury me in suggestions!

The tank is a (currently fishless) 20 gallon long, low light, planted tank. I uprooted all the plants (anubias barteri (sp?) and nana, several crypt species, java fern, and what was sold to me as red melon sword, not positive on the ID) and rearranged them a few days ago, so i'm going to give them a couple weeks to get re-established. I plan to add a few more pieces of wood and more crypts before i start a fishless cycle. (By the way, root growth in pure flourite is ~amazing~!) The tank is filtered by a new Eheim ECCO 2232 canister with sponge and substrat pro, so it should be up to just about anything that could live happily in such a small tank. My tap water is fairly hard, so anything would have to be able to adjust to that, 'cause i'm not modding my water.

I'm leaning towards a large shoal of small fish, with perhaps a larger showcase fish or pair? I was going to get some cories but decided not to because of the pure flourite substrate that i don't want to change, so maybe some shrimp? I've never had those, dunno if that's reasonable or not...

 

[tstenback]

For the shoaling fish i would recommend the harlequin rasbora. I have 12 of these guys in a 33 gal and they are amazing to watch. For the show pair i like pearl gouramis. They are the most peaceful gouramis that i have stocked and are great for that type of tank. For the bottom i am not sure. The cories are not a good idea as you stated as the flourite would damage their barbels. Perhaps a bristlenose. They stay fairly small and are diligent workers. God i wish it was me setting up a new tank Thats always the best part in my mind. Good Luck

 

[luxum]

Ah, i should mention also that i'm trying to stay away from the red fish since they blend into the reddish substrate too much. Also, this is my only tank, i can't buy anything with the potential to outgrow it expecting to move it to another tank. The tank is only 30 inches long.

Gouramis, huh? I've never had any of those, know any decent info site links?

 

[Fiddlesticks]

Im just as indesisive as you. Every time I think Iv picked some I change my mind.

 

[tstenback]

Here are some gourami links First and second and third HTH

 

[luxum]

Thank you!

 

[luxum]

So i read up a little and went to gawk at a fish store at lunchtime, and oooh i never noticed how pretty gouramis are, thank you for mentioning them! From the info i'm getting, it seems like the pearl may grow a little too big for my tank, and the basic dwarf in blue and orange is fabulous! Wonder how difficult it will be to find a female...

Would a shoal of small tetras or danios be alright with the dwarfs? They sound a little more aggressive than the pearl you mentioned.

Fiddlesticks, thank you for reminding me that i'm not the only one!

 

[Mesome]

Oh how exciting for you!!!!! I personally like the diamond tetras, or red eye tetras for the schooling idea, and of course any gourami! Dwarf neon rainbows are nice also, and would look great with the reddish substrate. Please let us know what you end up with and post pics!

 

[luxum]

Ohh.. dwarf neon rainbows... i had a lovely little group of those once, 2 males and 5 females, what gorgeous fish! Too bad i killed off the whole group by adding 3 little unquarantined otos who brought in some sort of bacterial (i think) disease. I considered getting them again but they are very expensive so i'm thinking no.

I've been reading some more on dwarf gouramis and it seems like the ones in the trade at the moment are not the best quality? I saw some site that stressed treating any new dwarf for internal parasites even if they show no symptoms... I guess i'll start checking the fish store to see if they have a stable group there, i hope they have females. I'm figuring a male and 2 females, plus a shoal of something (at the moment, i'm thinking either cardinals or glolight tetras - glolight tetras are naturally like that, not dyed, right?) would be perfect. If i can't find females, would a single male be ok in a tank like that, or would he harass the shoal since there would be no females to woo?

I'm open to further suggestions as well if anyone has anymore!

 

[plecoperson]

we recently got dwarf neon rainbows in at my shop where I work - they are so gorgeous! all shimmery and beautiful! I could watch them for hours...sigh....

lovely.

you could try black widow tetras cos theyre lovely.

i agree with the Harelquin Rasboras mine tend to stay at the top of the tank. so dunno if you would have a problem witht them blending in!

 

[drobbins27]

Tiger Barbs or Penguin Tetras

 

[wrs]

i think white clouds are really pretty, and so are Kribs

 

[kgrehm]

Actually finding female dwarf gouramis are not as easy to find as you might think. There was some at my lps and I got the last one. But the night after I woke up with her swiming up and down and then she died. It was sad, but they dont carry alot of dwarf female gouramis.

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

yeah get harlequins. they are beautiful fish. get some glass cat fish! they are crazy

 

[luxum]

Yeh i've been driving around looking at the local stock and so far all anyone seems to have are male gouramis. Is it ok to get just a single male dwarf gourami, or will he harass other fish without females to hold his attention? Hmm, i guess i should pose that question over in the gourami forum.

I also can't find the basic wild color morph which i think is really gorgeous, only the powder blue. I'm considering ordering my fish from an online place so i can get exactly what i want, but i don't know if i can justify paying the shipping fees.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! I should probably have noted that it is impossible for me to have a coldwater tank without buying a chiller, so coldwater fish are not an option, only tropicals.