New Tank (lots Of Questions)

[SombreroBanana]

Stocking
So I have a 20g long aquarium, and I'm going to start cycling it soon. I kind of have an idea of what I'm stocking it with. 6 cardinal tetras, a pair of some sort of dwarf gourami (suggestions?), 2 otocinclus, and 2 or 3 kuhli loaches. I've done my research on everything except for the gouramis, as I'm not sure what kind I'm getting. Is this a good stocking? I feel like it is, but I'm not sure. I'm thinking of substituting the gouramis with some sort of smaller apistos species, but I'm wanting to keep a pair, and I'm not sure what I could get. Is this a good idea?

Filter/Hood
I need to know which brand of filter you would suggest. I was at Petsmart earlier, and I was looking around, and most of the suitable filters I could find had bags media instead of the refillable kind. I'd rather have one where I can just pour in some new carbon or whatever. Suggestions?
I can't find any hoods the right size for my 20g long at the pet store, so I'll have to order one online probably. Brands you'd recommend?

Thanks in advance.

 

[frapadoodle]

As for stocking, otos are social and should really be kept in groups of six or more. Also if you do not have algae, you will have to suppliment thier diet heavily. Dwarf Gouramis are fun beautiful fish, but tend to die rather soon due to parasites and other disease.
As for my preferance in filters. I have an aquaclear loaded with foam, floss, and ceramic, at least in the big tank.
In with the betta is a tetra whisper loaded the same way. There are many who feel you don't need carbon unless removing meds and such.

 

[ScholasticSpastic]

Stocking
So I have a 20g long aquarium, and I'm going to start cycling it soon. I kind of have an idea of what I'm stocking it with. 6 cardinal tetras, a pair of some sort of dwarf gourami (suggestions?), 2 otocinclus, and 2 or 3 kuhli loaches. I've done my research on everything except for the gouramis, as I'm not sure what kind I'm getting. Is this a good stocking? I feel like it is, but I'm not sure. I'm thinking of substituting the gouramis with some sort of smaller apistos species, but I'm wanting to keep a pair, and I'm not sure what I could get. Is this a good idea?

Filter/Hood
I need to know which brand of filter you would suggest. I was at Petsmart earlier, and I was looking around, and most of the suitable filters I could find had bags media instead of the refillable kind. I'd rather have one where I can just pour in some new carbon or whatever. Suggestions?
I can't find any hoods the right size for my 20g long at the pet store, so I'll have to order one online probably. Brands you'd recommend?

Thanks in advance.

You might run into trouble with the dwarf gouramis. Getting hold of females is almost impossible and two males simply will not live together in a twenty gallon tank. Apistos are a much better idea as you're more likely to find a female. Or you could do a trio of scarlet badis (male and two females). Those are sweet little fish and you'd be able to accommodate more otos.

Your twenty long will use the same hood as a regular 29 gallon tank. So use that as your rule of thumb picking out hoods/lights. My favorite hang-on-tank filters are Marineland (emperor/penguin) or Aquaclear.

 

[aquariumart22]

Hi, I would say pick either the ottos or kuhlis since their both very social and you will need to have larger numbers. In my 29 gallon I started with 2 kuhlis in and never saw them! Added 5 more and I saw them all the time, they feel way more comfortable in groups of 6+ and you'll see them more often. Since it is a 20 gallon long I'd say you could do at least six kuhlis. I don't have any personal experience with ottos though. I bought a dwarf gourami once and I had nothing but problems, I was constantly nursing him. It seemed like every time I turned around something was wrong or he was acting weird, until i finally lost him. Maybe some hatchet fish or you could just up your tetra numbers, just to give you some other ideas..

I also have an aquaclear 50 on my 29 gallon now and it does well. I have an aquaclear 110 on my 75 gallon and I love it. I don't use carbon in them, I hear its not good for fish in the long run. So you could just have 2 layers of sponge and a layer of ceramic media. Trust me, I was worried about how to care for the filter when I first got it but its actually really easy and does great.

 

[SombreroBanana]

As for stocking, otos are social and should really be kept in groups of six or more. Also if you do not have algae, you will have to suppliment thier diet heavily. Dwarf Gouramis are fun beautiful fish, but tend to die rather soon due to parasites and other disease.
As for my preferance in filters. I have an aquaclear loaded with foam, floss, and ceramic, at least in the big tank.
In with the betta is a tetra whisper loaded the same way. There are many who feel you don't need carbon unless removing meds and such.

So, I'm leaning more towards around 6 kuhli loaches instead of otos. What would you suggest for some algae-eating inverts that don't overpopulate a tank?

 

[SombreroBanana]

Stocking
So I have a 20g long aquarium, and I'm going to start cycling it soon. I kind of have an idea of what I'm stocking it with. 6 cardinal tetras, a pair of some sort of dwarf gourami (suggestions?), 2 otocinclus, and 2 or 3 kuhli loaches. I've done my research on everything except for the gouramis, as I'm not sure what kind I'm getting. Is this a good stocking? I feel like it is, but I'm not sure. I'm thinking of substituting the gouramis with some sort of smaller apistos species, but I'm wanting to keep a pair, and I'm not sure what I could get. Is this a good idea?

Filter/Hood
I need to know which brand of filter you would suggest. I was at Petsmart earlier, and I was looking around, and most of the suitable filters I could find had bags media instead of the refillable kind. I'd rather have one where I can just pour in some new carbon or whatever. Suggestions?
I can't find any hoods the right size for my 20g long at the pet store, so I'll have to order one online probably. Brands you'd recommend?

Thanks in advance.

You might run into trouble with the dwarf gouramis. Getting hold of females is almost impossible and two males simply will not live together in a twenty gallon tank. Apistos are a much better idea as you're more likely to find a female. Or you could do a trio of scarlet badis (male and two females). Those are sweet little fish and you'd be able to accommodate more otos.

Your twenty long will use the same hood as a regular 29 gallon tank. So use that as your rule of thumb picking out hoods/lights. My favorite hang-on-tank filters are Marineland (emperor/penguin) or Aquaclear.

So, I think I'm going to go with a trio of scarlet badis and six kuhli loaches. That still seems a little empty to me, so could I also add more a couple more badis and a single apistos or something?

 

[ScholasticSpastic]

Stocking
So I have a 20g long aquarium, and I'm going to start cycling it soon. I kind of have an idea of what I'm stocking it with. 6 cardinal tetras, a pair of some sort of dwarf gourami (suggestions?), 2 otocinclus, and 2 or 3 kuhli loaches. I've done my research on everything except for the gouramis, as I'm not sure what kind I'm getting. Is this a good stocking? I feel like it is, but I'm not sure. I'm thinking of substituting the gouramis with some sort of smaller apistos species, but I'm wanting to keep a pair, and I'm not sure what I could get. Is this a good idea?

Filter/Hood
I need to know which brand of filter you would suggest. I was at Petsmart earlier, and I was looking around, and most of the suitable filters I could find had bags media instead of the refillable kind. I'd rather have one where I can just pour in some new carbon or whatever. Suggestions?
I can't find any hoods the right size for my 20g long at the pet store, so I'll have to order one online probably. Brands you'd recommend?

Thanks in advance.

You might run into trouble with the dwarf gouramis. Getting hold of females is almost impossible and two males simply will not live together in a twenty gallon tank. Apistos are a much better idea as you're more likely to find a female. Or you could do a trio of scarlet badis (male and two females). Those are sweet little fish and you'd be able to accommodate more otos.

Your twenty long will use the same hood as a regular 29 gallon tank. So use that as your rule of thumb picking out hoods/lights. My favorite hang-on-tank filters are Marineland (emperor/penguin) or Aquaclear.

So, I think I'm going to go with a trio of scarlet badis and six kuhli loaches. That still seems a little empty to me, so could I also add more a couple more badis and a single apistos or something?

For algae control in this tank, you could go either amano shrimp or nerite snails or both. They're both really light in terms of metabolism, so don't bother counting them much toward your bioload. I usually also like to include malaysian trumpet snails as detritivores, but most people probably disagree with doing so because overfeeding leads to snailogeddon.

If you're looking to add more fish, I say go with additional cardinals. The larger a school, the more fun it is to watch.

Oh, and hold off adding algae-eating stuff until there's algae for them to eat. I feel a bit silly feeding my nerites right now.

But all this is only suggestions, of course. Your tank should make you happy.

 

[SombreroBanana]

Stocking
So I have a 20g long aquarium, and I'm going to start cycling it soon. I kind of have an idea of what I'm stocking it with. 6 cardinal tetras, a pair of some sort of dwarf gourami (suggestions?), 2 otocinclus, and 2 or 3 kuhli loaches. I've done my research on everything except for the gouramis, as I'm not sure what kind I'm getting. Is this a good stocking? I feel like it is, but I'm not sure. I'm thinking of substituting the gouramis with some sort of smaller apistos species, but I'm wanting to keep a pair, and I'm not sure what I could get. Is this a good idea?

Filter/Hood
I need to know which brand of filter you would suggest. I was at Petsmart earlier, and I was looking around, and most of the suitable filters I could find had bags media instead of the refillable kind. I'd rather have one where I can just pour in some new carbon or whatever. Suggestions?
I can't find any hoods the right size for my 20g long at the pet store, so I'll have to order one online probably. Brands you'd recommend?

Thanks in advance.

You might run into trouble with the dwarf gouramis. Getting hold of females is almost impossible and two males simply will not live together in a twenty gallon tank. Apistos are a much better idea as you're more likely to find a female. Or you could do a trio of scarlet badis (male and two females). Those are sweet little fish and you'd be able to accommodate more otos.

Your twenty long will use the same hood as a regular 29 gallon tank. So use that as your rule of thumb picking out hoods/lights. My favorite hang-on-tank filters are Marineland (emperor/penguin) or Aquaclear.

So, I think I'm going to go with a trio of scarlet badis and six kuhli loaches. That still seems a little empty to me, so could I also add more a couple more badis and a single apistos or something?

For algae control in this tank, you could go either amano shrimp or nerite snails or both. They're both really light in terms of metabolism, so don't bother counting them much toward your bioload. I usually also like to include malaysian trumpet snails as detritivores, but most people probably disagree with doing so because overfeeding leads to snailogeddon.

If you're looking to add more fish, I say go with additional cardinals. The larger a school, the more fun it is to watch.

Oh, and hold off adding algae-eating stuff until there's algae for them to eat. I feel a bit silly feeding my nerites right now.

But all this is only suggestions, of course. Your tank should make you happy.

Thanks for the suggestions.