20 Gallon Tank: Would these fish make a good community?

[titusxander]

okay so i've just started cycling my 20 gallon tank. Of course i'm thinking ahead about what kind of fish i want i was thinking of neon tetras, cory cats, guppies, and maybe a pleco. What do yall think?

[bolivianbaby]

All of the species are compatible yes, but how many of each were you thinking and what type of pleco? Also what type of filtration will you have?

The inch per gallon guideline would apply to the fish you've chosen, but be aware that plecos have very large bioload, which if you don't have proper filtration, you'll have serious problems with your ammonia and nitrite levels.

[titusxander]

i was thinking maybe 8 neons, 4 cory cats, 6 guppies and one pleco. I have a penguin 110 filter with a bio-wheel. probably a common pleco because i believe that's the kind i have in my 10 gallon, but that one is young, maybe 2.5 inches at max. i've read that common plecos can get really big, max maybe 2 feet? the LFS can help me find the pleco that's right for my tank though. Thank the lord for this website and an awesome guy at the LFS who knows his stuff!

[Aldric]

becarefull with guppies as they are constantly breeding

[jwokmuba2]

, well first off a common pleco can reach 18 inches, they really need a very large tank to be happy. you can go with a smaller speices of plec, something that only reaches about 3.5 to 5 inches. i cant think of them off the top of my head but if you post a thread in the catfish forum im sure someone can help you, everything else seems fine.

[bolivianbaby]

Bristlenose plecos and clown plecos are two "small" species of pleco that would be fine in that tank

[peacemaker92]

Welcome to Fishlore, titusxander!

Firstly, Guppies are fin-nippers and might nip the tetras' fins as they are quite slow swimmers while the guppies are faster than them. I also agree with Aldric, Guppies are really wild breeders so maybe getting all male would be good? =) Good luck!

[titusxander]

i actually like the guppy breeding thing. i have about 10 guppy fry. i believe that i'm going to use the 10 gallon tank i have to raise guppy fry in. But first i have to cure the 10 gallon of ICH. i'll ask the LFS guy about the smaller plecos. thanks for the help!

[jwokmuba2]

is your lfs a comercial store or private buiness, i had problems trying to explain to petco that i wanted a clown plec and they just said they didnt know what i was talking about. so i went to the thirty year old private lfs and thay ordered me one and had it in a week. much more experience and care at a lfs thats privatly owned...

[MissMTS]

Originally Posted by peacemaker92

Firstly, Guppies are fin-nippers and might nip the tetras' fins as they are quite slow swimmers while the guppies are faster than them. I also agree with Aldric, Guppies are really wild breeders so maybe getting all male would be good? =) Good luck!

I respectfully disagree. Guppies are pretty slow little swimmers, while tetras are fast schooling fish that dart quickly around the tank. I don't think you should have a problem housing tetras and guppies together. If anything, the tetras would nip the guppies' fins, but as long as you have them in a school of 6 or more, they should be fine

[titusxander]

I thought that too MissMTS, because in the 10gallon i had guppies and neons together and there wasn't any problem. And Jwokmuba2, the LFS that i go to is a small locally owned fish store called (ironically) A Fish Store. The guy that owns it really knows his stuff. I can ask him a question and he'll tell me the answer and explain it for at least 10 minutes. He's awesome. I might get my tanks from petco, but i'll definatly get my fish from A Fish Store. The last fish i got from petco infested my tank with Ich.

[ToxicChloe]

Originally Posted by jwokmuba2

much more experience and care at a lfs thats privatly owned...

I couldn't agree more. I work at a fish store that's privately owned.
they only have 27 stores in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. And all of us workers know more about the stuff that we sell than petsmart up the street does. someone I work with has a friend that works at petsmart and her friend says the people who work there don't know anything.

I think neon tetras are the only tetras that are slowest swimmers out of the tetra family. and they should be perfectly fine with guppies. On the plecos, if you want to be able to see yours then go with a bristle nose instead of a clown. I love my clown pleco but he never comes out from his hiding spot. That area of the gravel is very clean though.

[titusxander]

what do yall think about getting otocinclus catfish instead of plecos?

[jwokmuba2]

well i think that otos need a very established tank to put them in, if you go with otos.

i agree with the fact that clowns plecs only come out at night but if you get a LED night light you can see them come out and feed after the normal lights go out. and if you get a piece of drift wood they will usually hang out around it. and they are cool looking

[titusxander]

what exactly is an established tank? i don't really know about the plecos. they are kind of creepy to me, now since my two died. very creepy in death.

[Regal]

Your stocking plan sounds great.

The otos would be great and have less of a bio-load (poo) than a pleco. The do prefer a well established tank (old and cycled) though and a lot of people say they are hard to keep alive when you first get them. If you do decide on a pleco, ask your lfs about a bristle nose pleco. They stay small but the bristles are a little creepy. You could see if they have a female, they don't have the bristles. I think rubber lip plecos stay small too (double check that lol) I see them in stores a lot more than the BN plecos.

[sheamurai]

An established tank is one that is cycled and has algae established for the ottos to feed on. I have 3 ottos in my tank and I like them a lot. They are busy little guys, and my tank is clean as a whistle. If you put them in a new(er) tank, tho, there is no algae for them to eat yet. I've put algae wafers in my tank thinking to give them a treat, but I've never seen one on them. Evidently they like to "pick" their own! So thats another reason for the established tank requirement...

[titusxander]

great info! i'll run the new plan by the LFS guy, he'll probably talk for 30 minutes about it. is there any other alternatives besides just plecos and the ottos?

[titusxander]

would a wagtail sunset platy be okay in the tank with the guppies, neon tetras, and cory cats? also any other things that i can keep that cleans the tank other than ottos and plecos?

[jwokmuba2]

i think that some shrimp are good for cleaning your tank, but i have heard mixed reviews from alot of members....

what do you mean "a creepy death"? i once had a common plec that got to big for my tank, he decided to swim to the surface for air alot, ( this is when i was young and didnt know something was wrong) anyway, he went to far and ended up behind the tank for a couple of days. pretty weird looking when i found him...

[titusxander]

he was creepy in death because he was laying in the middle of the tank with his top fin streched out and his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his eyes, and his eyes were jet black with a small dot of white in the middle. scarred for life, i am.

[sheamurai]

lol, there are lots of algae eaters/scavengers out there...loaches, chinese algae eaters, snails...if you search for algae eaters on this site, or google that phrase, you'll have lots of options to read thru!