[wake49]

Right now my 20 gallon long has two Mickey Mouse Platys, six Neon Tetras and one Cory Catfish. I would like to add a few more Cories, and maybe a couple more Tetras, but moreso I would like to add a nice centerpiece fish, like a fancy goldfish or something else with elegant fins. Any suggestions of something that will not outgrow a 20L?

 

[ZivaD]

Count the goldfish out - unsuitable for more than one reason.
Focus first on getting your corey the pals he needs...then add some neons to bring your shoal up in numbers. Once those two groups are in better balance you can start worrying about adding a new species.

 

[sparkyjoe]

I'm not an expert, but I think a goldfish would have different needs than your current fish require.

Good luck!

 

[wake49]

Count the goldfish out - unsuitable for more than one reason.
Focus first on getting your corey the pals he needs...then add some neons to bring your shoal up in numbers. Once those two groups are in better balance you can start worrying about adding a new species.

I'm cool with that. How many Cories would you reccommend? Should I add three? And how many more Neons should I add?

Right now:

6 Neons
1 Cory

 

[Freshcatch]

The Cory should be in groups of at least five. They are very social and hang together a lot. At the top of the page click on the Tropical Fish Profiles, and you can read more about fish that you are contemplating purchasing for your aquarium.

 

[wake49]

The Cory should be in groups of at least five. They are very social and hang together a lot. At the top of the page click on the Tropical Fish Profiles, and you can read more about fish that you are contemplating purchasing for your aquarium.

Thanks Freshcatch. I have looked over the profiles, but was looking for more personal answers in a discussion. I like to know what people do. I have kept SW tanks for years and in August just started my first FW aquarium since I was like 12. The rules are so different that I feel like a newbie when I ask about FW aquaria and like the rhetoric of hands on experience.

Five Cories sound good. What about the Tetras? I have six, would ten be too many? Not enough?

 

[ladayen]

Do you know what your water parameters are?

Hardness and PH?

Platys and neons/cories have quite different needs and and some of your fish are going to be at best uncomfortable or might be slowly dying even.

Should find out that before adding anything else.

 

[fairghum]

With platies and their reproductive capabilities, you may not NEED any more fish!!!

I agree with adding cories and more neons. Just don't overload your tank.

 

[wake49]

Do you know what your water parameters are?

Hardness and PH?

Platys and neons/cories have quite different needs and and some of your fish are going to be at best uncomfortable or might be slowly dying even.

Should find out that before adding anything else.

I actually do not know my params. I did a water change about a week ago and before that my last test strip said I needed one (Trates were high). pH is always around 7 or a hair above and GH is around 20.

I have had the tank up and running for 6 months and the only thing I have lost is one Cory and a Gourami. When I initially set up this tank I asked for a good stocking list here and I was told Platys, Tetras and a Gourami would be good with Cories to clean up the gravel some.

 

[wake49]

With platies and their reproductive capabilities, you may not NEED any more fish!!!

I agree with adding cories and more neons. Just don't overload your tank.

I haven't had any signs of them reproducing. Are they like saltwater clowns and change sex if need be?

 

[ladayen]

Hmm around 7 is neutral so not too bad either way. Should do a test once a month or so. My water comes out of tap at 7.8, after 6 months my tanks generally sit at 7.2. If your water changes much at all it should impact your future choices regarding fish.

Platy females can store sperm for up to 6 months, so a single encounter with a male can result in up to 7 different spawnings.

 

[fairghum]

I haven't had any signs of them reproducing. Are they like saltwater clowns and change sex if need be?

If you only have a couple, maybe you don't have M and F! They usually reproduce like rabbits (staying alive is another thing all together).

 

[Byron]

Back to those water parameters, is the GH of 20 in ppm or dGH? I would assume 20 ppm, which is very soft, a tad above 1 dGH. You are not going to keep livebearers healthy very long. This is ideal for the soft water fish like neons and corys. If the 20 is dGH, then the neons willnot last.

A 20g long is not much space, to the fish. Depending upon what we learn about the above GH, a group of 5-6 corys total is perfect. And the neons can be increased to around 12.

Byron.

 

[Freshcatch]

Back to those water parameters, is the GH of 20 in ppm or dGH? I would assume 20 ppm, which is very soft, a tad above 1 dGH. You are not going to keep livebearers healthy very long. This is ideal for the soft water fish like neons and corys. If the 20 is dGH, then the neons willnot last.

A 20g long is not much space, to the fish. Depending upon what we learn about the above GH, a group of 5-6 corys total is perfect. And the neons can be increased to around 12.

Byron.

I agree with Byron on this. The soft water will not support the livebearers well. And the neon increase would be great.

 

[BarbH]

I haven't had any signs of them reproducing. Are they like saltwater clowns and change sex if need be?

Unlike clowns that are able to change sex, platys have a definite female and male. If you look at the anal fin on the female it will be fanned out. On the male it will have a gonopodium extending backwards in the place where the female anal fin is.

Here is an example of a very pregnant female

Here is a nice example of a male

Just a note these pictures are not mine but are ones that I found on photobucket to show the difference between female and male.

 

[wake49]

Back to those water parameters, is the GH of 20 in ppm or dGH? I would assume 20 ppm, which is very soft, a tad above 1 dGH. You are not going to keep livebearers healthy very long. This is ideal for the soft water fish like neons and corys. If the 20 is dGH, then the neons willnot last.

A 20g long is not much space, to the fish. Depending upon what we learn about the above GH, a group of 5-6 corys total is perfect. And the neons can be increased to around 12.

Byron.

Thanks B.

Last night I used a 5-in-1 test to get:

Ph 7.5
Kh 80 ppm
Gh 150 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 20 ppm

I am slightly colorblind (not so much that I can't differentiate colors themselves, but I can't see different shades of the same color, or similiar shades of analogous colors)
so I had my wife check these and she wasn't as into it as me...

This looks to be ok for the Cories and Livebearers, but the Tetras are probably suffering from this. What should be my next step?

 

[wake49]

Just a note these pictures are not mine but are ones that I found on photobucket to show the difference between female and male.

Thanks BarbH,

I will look tonight.

 

[Byron]

Thanks B.

Last night I used a 5-in-1 test to get:

Ph 7.5
Kh 80 ppm
Gh 150 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 20 ppm

I am slightly colorblind (not so much that I can't differentiate colors themselves, but I can't see different shades of the same color, or similiar shades of analogous colors)
so I had my wife check these and she wasn't as into it as me...

This looks to be ok for the Cories and Livebearers, but the Tetras are probably suffering from this. What should be my next step?

GH at 150ppm is about 8 dGH, and that is not too high for most soft water fish. Neons are rather delicate though. There are other tetra that woould be better [check the profiles].

Nitrate at 20 ppm I would aim to get lower. Have you tested just the tap water for nitrate? It helps to know if the source is strictly the tank's biology, or if some or all of this is coming in with the water changes.

Byron.

 

[wake49]

GH at 150ppm is about 8 dGH, and that is not too high for most soft water fish. Neons are rather delicate though. There are other tetra that woould be better [check the profiles].

Nitrate at 20 ppm I would aim to get lower. Have you tested just the tap water for nitrate? It helps to know if the source is strictly the tank's biology, or if some or all of this is coming in with the water changes.

Byron.

I looked at the Fish Profiles and think I would like the Bloodfin Tetra. They seem like a hardier Tetra that can withstand my water params. What should I do about the Neons? Rehoming is not an option at my house. I have a 16 gallon bow that I can fill with Tetras, but my wife would not be happy about another tank in the house, lol...

 

[ladayen]

Bloodfins can cause problems if you want to add other species into the tank. I had a school that lived with the same fish for almost 6 months. Woke up one day and almost everything else had been beaten up.

So either make sure tank mates are at least a fair bit bigger or just have one big school of them.