Want A Schooling Fish For A 20 Gal Long With Cherry Shrimp

[Ch4rlie]

The only suggestion I can think of that would be ok in a wide range of pH would be Threadfin Rainbowfish, Iriatherina werneri, they are good for pH range of 5.0 to 8.0.
 
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/iriatherina-werneri/
 
But I would certainly suggest you do a re-test of you water pH as suggested above from Daize and TLM and maybe gH and kH test as well if you have that or take to LFS and they might test that for you.

 

[attibones]

What is your tap pH after standing 24 hours?
If it's much lower then maybe there is something in the tank like a rock that's raising pH and you could take it out.

The pH is really high immediately from the tap. I'll leave a bucket out while I'm out of town and check the pH when I return on Monday. Thanks for that suggestion.

The only suggestion I can think of that would be ok in a wide range of pH would be Threadfin Rainbowfish, Iriatherina werneri, they are good for pH range of 5.0 to 8.0.
 
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/iriatherina-werneri/
 
But I would certainly suggest you do a re-test of you water pH as suggested above from Daize and TLM and maybe gH and kH test as well if you have that or take to LFS and they might test that for you.

My LFS doesn't test with a reliable method unfortunately. I like threadfin rainbows a lot, but I'm concerned that they need larger tanks? I think SeriouslyFish suggests like a four-foot tank. If they would work well with my soft water, I wouldn't mind having them. They are quite beautiful.

Rummy nose tetras and the danios are not appropriate for the length of my tank. 
 
I like several rasbora species, but I've never actually been able to keep them before. I've kept aggressive species lately. I'm just now in a place where I can get a functional community. I'm concerned that my pH is too high for all of those species. Many tetras are South American fish which prefer a lower pH. I think rasboras from the Thailand area also prefer lower pH.

 
FIsh which are naturally from low pH areas can survive quite happily in high pH, but generally not the other way around.
 

White mountain minnows can do well in higher pH so can zebra danios, buenos aires tetras and diamond tetras do well in high pH you might also want to consider and research emperor tetras and penguin tetras, they do very well in high pH but I don't know much about them
Like goggy said, gouramis are lovely fish

 
WCMMs and zebra danios both like much cooler tanks, and, as the OP has already said, they need much longer tanks than he has.
 

What is your tap pH after standing 24 hours?
If it's much lower then maybe there is something in the tank like a rock that's raising pH and you could take it out.

 
Perhaps your water company is using CO2 to raise the natural pH, to prevent the pipes from corroding (it's fairly common). As Daize says, test the pH after 24 hours, and see if it has dropped back to the level you'd be expecting.

Thanks, TLM. I didn't know that low pH fish were okay with higher pH. Maybe I'll give hatchet fish or rasboras another look. I'm assuming that the only thing I would really need to do is just a slow acclimation, right? I'll ask my LFS what their pH is to see how different we are (though we are likely both using the same water, maybe their pipes are better or something?).

 

[Ch4rlie]

 

The only suggestion I can think of that would be ok in a wide range of pH would be Threadfin Rainbowfish, Iriatherina werneri, they are good for pH range of 5.0 to 8.0.
 
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/iriatherina-werneri/
 
But I would certainly suggest you do a re-test of you water pH as suggested above from Daize and TLM and maybe gH and kH test as well if you have that or take to LFS and they might test that for you.

My LFS doesn't test with a reliable method unfortunately. I like threadfin rainbows a lot, but I'm concerned that they need larger tanks? I think SeriouslyFish suggests like a four-foot tank. If they would work well with my soft water, I wouldn't mind having them. They are quite beautiful.

 
Ah, then might be worth getting one of these API gH/kH test kit or any brand you prefer, even though you would rarely use it, its worth knowing exactly what you have from tap water, and it may be useful if issues arise.
 
That link IS from Seriously Fish, they suggest 60 x 30 cm tank being smallest considered which is basically a 15 US Gal size, I had Threadfins in a 90 litre  / 23 US Gals tank, they were perfectly good in that tank.
 
But of course thats just a suggestion and an example of what would be suitable in your tank not saying you MUST have Threadfins

 

[daizeUK]

It sounds like it's your tap pH that is strangely high and not just the tank then.  Not much you can do except ask the water company what's going on, I guess
 
I agree with TLM that you would probably be better off looking at soft water fish to suit your soft water.  Especially if your pH is normally much lower then you can assume it might be only a temporary raise and it could drop back to normal levels at any time - you don't want to be stuck with hard-water fish if that happens.

 

[BenVernon]

Cardinals, neons, embers just to name a few. Neons in general would be great. Livebearers will do great also such as guppies and endlers.

 

[attibones]

 

 

The only suggestion I can think of that would be ok in a wide range of pH would be Threadfin Rainbowfish, Iriatherina werneri, they are good for pH range of 5.0 to 8.0.
 
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/iriatherina-werneri/
 
But I would certainly suggest you do a re-test of you water pH as suggested above from Daize and TLM and maybe gH and kH test as well if you have that or take to LFS and they might test that for you.

My LFS doesn't test with a reliable method unfortunately. I like threadfin rainbows a lot, but I'm concerned that they need larger tanks? I think SeriouslyFish suggests like a four-foot tank. If they would work well with my soft water, I wouldn't mind having them. They are quite beautiful.

 
Ah, then might be worth getting one of these API gH/kH test kit or any brand you prefer, even though you would rarely use it, its worth knowing exactly what you have from tap water, and it may be useful if issues arise.
 
That link IS from Seriously Fish, they suggest 60 x 30 cm tank being smallest considered which is basically a 15 US Gal size, I had Threadfins in a 90 litre  / 23 US Gals tank, they were perfectly good in that tank.
 
But of course thats just a suggestion and an example of what would be suitable in your tank

not saying you MUST have Threadfins

 


Honestly I didn't even check the link, haha! I may be thinking about some other sort of rainbowfish. 
 
So, right now, I'm thinking threadfins, chili rasboras (as well as espei and harlequin), or hatchetfish. I also like glowlight tetras (especially the albino strain 

) and cardinals. Most of these are available at my closest LFS, but I can order any of them from the one further away. 
 
Monday, when I get home, I'll check the pH in the bucket of water I left out, run to my LFS and get their pH for comparison, and see about getting an actual gh/kh result. 
 
Would adding more plants help my pH situation at all, do we think? I was going to get a few new ones for the other two tanks. I'm happy with the plant population in the tank right now, but I don't mind adding more if it would help out.

 

[attibones]

After sitting out some water over the weekend, my pH has lowered to 7.4-7.8 on the high range scale. 
 
Also, I may not need to get any schooling fish for the twenty gallon because I know a pair of gudgeons who are courting~

 

[sparrow]

Neon tetras are fine with livebearers and they look great, a school of tiny fish together

neons are fairly easy to care for and fun to watch. Cardinal tetras also look beautiful in a large school

rummy nose tetras, they are also beautiful little fish

Zebra danios are lovely little unusual fish, they look great in a large school

Rasboras, there are different types to choose from, they are slightly bigger than the tetras but are still fairly small fish, they school and are very pretty, my personal favorite is the harlequin rasbora

hope I helped

neon tetras and cardinals are not schooling fish they are shoaling fish. however black tetras are schooling and would be ideal. you can tell if fish are schooling fish or not if you wave your hand in front of a tank with large numbers, schooling fish will swim side to side in groups. However neons or cardinals are good community fish as well as black tetras and will go well with platys and guppies.

 

[Ch4rlie]

neon tetras and cardinals are not schooling fish they are shoaling fish. however black tetras are schooling and would be ideal. you can tell if fish are schooling fish or not if you wave your hand in front of a tank with large numbers, schooling fish will swim side to side in groups. However neons or cardinals are good community fish as well as black tetras and will go well with platys and guppies.

 
 
Schooling fish are fish that swim in synchronized patterns and bunch up together to look fiercer or bigger so they don’t get eaten in the will or slim down their chances of getting eaten.
 
Shoaling fish are fish that swim closely together and in a similar direction. Fish in the Shoal may go out and scavenge for food as they please when relaxed so they do not swim together as tightly, when threatened they may bunch together.