20 Gallon Tank 20 gallon long stocking

[SuperSword48]

I have a 20 gallon long that’s moderately planted. It uses an aqua clear 50. I wanted to run my stocking idea past some other people. Would 2 honey gourami, 10 Pygmy cories and 10 harlequin rasboras work or would that be too much?

 

[KayBee3]

That sounds good to me! I would personally do maybe 6 or 7 rasboras just to keep the bioload a little lower, but what you have itsn't horribly overstocked.

 

[St3v3]

Yeah that be be to much maybe you could do 5 pygmy cories and five harlequin rasboras

 

[LHAquatics]

I would lower the rasboras and pygmy corydoras to 7 and you're good

 

[St3v3]

I would lower the rasboras and pygmy corydoras to 7 and you're good

Yeah Sounds about right

 

[SuperSword48]

I would lower the rasboras and pygmy corydoras to 7 and you're good

Thank you for the help!

 

[Pfrozen]

That sounds fine to me, but I wouldn't add any more than that. Here's why:

People recommend stocking heavier with a 20 Long because of the larger footprint. But is that really appropriate? Consider the 20 High for example. Many fish are perfectly comfortable with the footprint of a 20 High, yet no one would recommend stocking a 20 High as heavy as a 20 Long even if the fish are all appropriately suited to the smaller footprint. If the stocking is only about the footprint then why the disagreement?

I think your plan is great given these things and your oversized filter. The pgymys are small and the Harlequins have very low bioloads despite their size

 

[fallfever]

You are well within stocking limits. Your harlequins and cories will appreciate the extra six inch footprint. I wouldn't change a thing. If anything this is a pretty conservative approach and that's a good thing and well thought out.

 

[ProudPapa]

I think you'd be fine, maybe even bumping the honey gouramis up to 3 (1m, 2F), but it certainly won't hurt to start slower.

That sounds fine to me, but I wouldn't add any more than that. Here's why:

People recommend stocking heavier with a 20 Long because of the larger footprint. But is that really appropriate? Consider the 20 High for example. Many fish are perfectly comfortable with the footprint of a 20 High, yet no one would recommend stocking a 20 High as heavy as a 20 Long even if the fish are all appropriately suited to the smaller footprint. If the stocking is only about the footprint then why the disagreement?

The larger footprint means that there's a larger surface area, which allows for more gas exchange. Does that answer your question? It's not a matter of which fish can be in which tank as much as you can have a few more in the 20 long.

 

[Pfrozen]

I think you'd be fine, maybe even bumping the honey gouramis up to 3 (1m, 2F), but it certainly won't hurt to start slower.



The larger footprint means that there's a larger surface area, which allows for more gas exchange. Does that answer your question? It's not a matter of which fish can be in which tank as much as you can have a few more in the 20 long.

That's not what I'm trying to say. The extra surface area is pretty negligible in terms of dissolved oxygen. More important is your filtration system and surface agitation. I'm saying that a 20H and a 20L have the same internal volume, but people stock the 20L heavier because the footprint is larger. However, some fish are pretty indifferent to the extra swimming space. If I wanted to stock a 20H with fish that have no preference either way, then why the difference? For example, I have 7 pencilfish, 7 rasboras, and 1 juvenile SAE in my 20H. My stocking is much less than OPs stocking, but people call my 20H overstocked. However, OPs tank with a higher bioload is "understocked" based on the footprint. If the "yes" becomes a "no" due to a question of a few extra inches of tank then you should probably put those fish in a larger tank to begin with. Why push the limits of comfort?

 

[KayBee3]

Pygmy cories are incredibly tiny fish with a very minimal bioload. They will have plenty of space in a 20 gallon, high or long. Harlequin rasboras are much larger than the pygmy cories but also produce a small bioload, thus making a 20 long perfect for them. It gives plenty of space to swim and enough water volume to dilute their waste. Honey gouramis also have a small bioload, much much less than a SAE. They also stay much smaller than an SAE as well. So it doesn't just depend on the number of fish you're adding, the fish's bioload, size and activity level also play a huge part in stocking a tank.

 

[Pfrozen]

Y'all are missing the point of what I said and its derailing the thread. We all support OPs stocking choices and that's the main reason for the creation of this thread

 

[SuperSword48]

That sounds fine to me, but I wouldn't add any more than that. Here's why:

People recommend stocking heavier with a 20 Long because of the larger footprint. But is that really appropriate? Consider the 20 High for example. Many fish are perfectly comfortable with the footprint of a 20 High, yet no one would recommend stocking a 20 High as heavy as a 20 Long even if the fish are all appropriately suited to the smaller footprint. If the stocking is only about the footprint then why the disagreement?

I think your plan is great given these things and your oversized filter. The pgymys are small and the Harlequins have very low bioloads despite their size

Thank you! I currently have 10 harlequins, 6 corys, and the 2 honey gourami. I think I got 2 males but I’m struggling to tell. They chase each other a bit, will that calm down?

 

[jinjerJOSH22]

Hi, you could try posting a picture of the Gourami and we maybe able to tell if they are male or female =)

 

[SuperSword48]

Hi, you could try posting a picture of the Gourami and we maybe able to tell if they are male or female =)

I can do that tomorrow if you’d like. It’s getting late here and the lights are out. Thank you so much for the help!

 

[SuperSword48]

Hi, you could try posting a picture of the Gourami and we maybe able to tell if they are male or female =)

 

[LHAquatics]

That's a female Honey Gourami

 

[jinjerJOSH22]

Hi, so these aren't actually Honey Gourami, they are Thick Lipped Gourami.
Thick Lips grow a little bigger and have a little bit more of an attitude. They should still be fine in the tank with what you want to stock it with.

As far as I can tell the right one looks female(can't tell if that is the same fish in both pictures) and I can't quite see the dorsal of the left one. Thick Lips are quite easy to sex. They have the typical dorsal fin difference that most people will tell you about Gourami. Males have larger pointy dorsal and analfins. Females have rounded dorsal and analfins.

 

[SuperSword48]

Hi, so these aren't actually Honey Gourami, they are Thick Lipped Gourami.
Thick Lips grow a little bigger and have a little bit more of an attitude. They should still be fine in the tank with what you want to stock it with.

As far as I can tell the right one looks female(can't tell if that is the same fish in both pictures) and I can't quite see the dorsal of the left one. Thick Lips are quite easy to sex. They have the typical dorsal fin difference that most people will tell you about Gourami. Males have larger pointy dorsal and analfins. Females have rounded dorsal and analfins.

I think they are both female then, the fin on top for both of them is rounded. Thank you for the help.