fishlover78

hi everyone, I have decided that in the meantime while I am waiting for me big new tank I would get another small tank so the fish have more room, I will be between a 10-20 gal. tank depending on what I can get my hands on, I know that the tank will need to cycle for a while but question #1, my friend who owns her own little local pet store asked me if I wanted some of her filter floss to start the tank, what will this do for the tank? #2, I wanted to have 2-4 red wag platties, and between 4-10 fancy tail guppies, is this sounding okay? and in my current 27 gal. hex tank would contain a 2" common pleco (who will be given to my friend as he grows too big) 4-8 different barb types and 2-3 gold and blue/opal Gouramis, how is this sounding? please respond, I need some help with this! -fishlover78

sirdarksol

The filter floss will almost instantly cycle the tank.
A small handful of platies and four or five guppies in a 20g tank would be pretty easy to care for. More than that could be done, but you'd have to do more water changes.
That last seems to be pushing it for a 27g, especially with the gourami, which can be very territorial in smaller tanks. One gourami, a half a dozen barbs (give or take, depending on the kind), and the pleco (only while it stays small) would probably do well.

This is all, of course, just my opinion.

TFA101

1. depends on the filter you get. or she might be able to cut it to size to fit. whatever it is, you should do your best to get your hands on that floss, it'll kickstart the cycle and result in shorterwaiting time.

2a.

I would only go with your stock idea if it was twenty gallons. Otherwise, a group of 5 guppies (1 or 2 males/3 or 4 females) or 3 platies (1 male/2 females) in a ten gallon would work, but slight over filtration might be needed

2b.

1 pleco
4 cherry barbs
1 Blue/opal gourami
5 tiger barbs (introduce last because of slight aggression)

**i would not get a pleco as they create MUCH more waste than they clean up. Plus, they grow FAST. mine started at 2", and about one month later, grew to 7". Substitute your pleco for something like a shoal of 4 corydoras cats of your choice

fishlover78

I know TFA101 I already have the pleco and gold gourami, the pleco is messy and I have a hex tank so it is two feet deep and the HOB filter tube only reaches so far, so maybe the pleco is a no no. and I will definitely be gaetting my hands on the filter floss, thank you all for your help! -fishlover78

GouramiGirl1221

I wouldn't put multiple semi-aggressive gouramis together in a 27 gallon tank. Even if they're all female it is very likely that you will have major aggression issues, so I'd stick with the one you already have.

fishlover78

thanx everyone!