Thinking about future changes/nano-fish?

Quantum

Thinking that in the future I would like to move the tetras and some of the plants and driftwood from my current set-up (20 tall) to a larger tank and add some other tetras, corys, and possibly some dwarf cichlids along with more sword plants, Brazilian Pennywort, Ludwigia etc. to create a South American (or at least a Western Hemisphere) biotope type set-up.

That would leave the 20 gal with Anubias, Java Fern, and crypts to which I would add more Asian plants, for a Asian/African/Eastern Hemisphere tank. I think I would like to stock this tank with some nano/micro fish.

I'm considering a group of small rasboras (either b. brigittae or maculatus) for the upper level and a group of Dario dario for the lower levels. Beyond those I'm not sure. I would like to add a group of slightly larger mid-level swimmers. Would glowlight danios (not glowfish) work here? And some substrate fish to round out the tank. Banded dwarf loaches seem to be perfect, but likely difficult to come by. Would regular dwarf loaches (sidthimunki) work? Any suggestions for something that would fit the bill for either of these? Think barbs, rasboras, danios, rainbows (no tetras) and loaches or catfish other than corys.

Thanks

kitten_penang

you might wanna be careful with the chilids as some eat tetras as adults and some are territorial as for the 20gallon ruby barbs will look great you wouldn't need the glowlights if you have them.since you have plants you might want to think about adding ottos instead of loaches

sik80

I love celestial pearl danios though they're quite similar in colour to Dario dario, which might not provide a great contrast

dwarf chain loaches are another option for the substrate, though a 20g may be a little small

Quantum

The cichlids would be of the dwarf variety (either rams, apistogramma, dwarf flag or possibly keyholes) and would go in the larger, probably 34 gal, tetra tank.

Hadn't considered the CPD as I thought they were hard water fish, but looking at the profile they might fit the bill, they are cool fish.

I think I've ruled out the glowlight danios (Danio choprae), as they seem to be a more active fish than what would work for what I would like to do with the 20 gal, but I'm not sure. Hoping someone who has kept them would share their experience.

Dwarf chain loaches are a possibility, they are great looking fish and are readily available, but quite expensive. I'll do some more research to see if they would work.

So far, the others I have found are:

High fin barbs (Oreichthys cosuatis)
Eyespot rasboras (Brevibora dorsiocellata)
Hengels rasboras (Trigonostigma hengeli)
Threadfin rainbows (Iriatherina werneri)

sik80

I've loved cpds since i went to the aquarium at my local zoo and they had a species only tank with about 100 of them in a nicely planted tank. The were beautifully coloured and exhibiting mating behaviour. It was spectacular!

kitten_penang

wouldnt the loaches uproot the plants as they burrow?

Byron

The Dwarf Loach and pr...

Banded Dwarf Loach Profile (You can edit this profile to improve it)

Quantum

I'm thinking that the stock would be:

10-12 Dwarf rasboras (probably brigittae or maculatus)
8-10 of only one of the six species listed above (with CPDs and glowlight danios as possibilities)
4-6 Scarlet Badis
5-6 banded dwarf loaches (found at least one online source)
maybe 8-10 shrimp

34 or so tiny fish maximum and if I choose the right mix of top dwellers, mid-water, and bottom dwellers, they should be able to find their own space.

This tank would be heavily planted and would have driftwood as you suggested. Filter would be either a sponge or small internal. Lighting would be subdued - came across a plant capable LED with great timing options that I think would be perfect.

See any problems with this arrangement? After reading a little more, the glowlight danios seem like they would work after all, any thoughts?

kitten_penang

pls minus the plant, substrate and decor space while counting how many gallons is left for fish that way you can't over stock and the tank won't look cramped...just a friendly reminder thats all

Byron

Sounds good to me. I happen to have that identical mix of fish [except for the CPD and GD which I have never seen locally] and they are fine. Even have a shrimp in with them.