Need help with 20 gallon stocking

[propel]

I just got a new 20 gal and I want to doa low maintenance community tank.

I want "smarter" fish that have a personality but aren't needy, like bettas but not because it's a community tank.

I want a showpiece fish that isn't super big that can also be in pairs. I'm thinking of German blues but I've heard they can be needy with parameters.
I also want something that kind of acts as a background fish, something small that schools but also has personality and doesn't act like a robot acting off of pure instinct.
Then, I want some cleaners. I'm thinking snails and shrimp but I've heard shrimp are also needy with parameters.

It'll be dirted and capped with sand. Will be either moderately or heavily planted. Floating plants will be included. Speaking of, any popular floating plants that are more resilient to water flow?

 

[fishnerd1111]

I had a 33 gallon tank that was a betta sorority(5 females), three bolivian rams, to many to count guppies, 3 balloon belly mollies, a dwarf gourami, and 4 platies.(I know it was over stocked) I would say you should go with bolivian rams they seem to be more adaptable. I would also try sylvania(not sure how to spell)make sure you have a lot of it I would keep some spare in a bucket just in case. not sure how that will work.

 

[propel]

I had a 33 gallon tank that was a betta sorority(5 females), three bolivian rams, to many to count guppies, 3 balloon belly mollies, a dwarf gourami, and 4 platies.(I know it was over stocked) I would say you should go with bolivian rams they seem to be more adaptable. I would also try sylvania(not sure how to spell)make sure you have a lot of it I would keep some spare in a bucket just in case. not sure how that will work.

Will definitely think about Bolivian rams. I've also been thinking about getting honey gouramis. Depends on what I find at the store.

I'm not sure what to get for tank mates though. Atm I'm thinking about panda corys, a snail, and maybe some mollies. I don't want it to look cramped with fish though.

Just to add, I'll be putting some jungle val, any type of "bushy plant", and a floater. Not sure which floater though.

 

[propel]

Wanting to get a bolivian ram pair, 5 corydoras, and a snail for 20 gallon high. Will the pair be aggressive to the other creatures during spawning? Should I worry about the offspring if they lay any eggs since I have no way to get rid of them?

Or maybe should I just get 2 females?

 

[Noroomforshoe]

It sounds like you do not have another tank for the fry? I recomend that you get just one ram. You do not need to deal with breading stress if you are simply going to remove a destroy the eggs. I you can be absolutly sure that both rams are femail I think that you could keep 2 female rams in a 20 gollon long "30 inch long" tank.

 

[propel]

It sounds like you do not have another tank for the fry? I recomend that you get just one ram. You do not need to deal with breading stress if you are simply going to remove a destroy the eggs. I you can be absolutly sure that both rams are femail I think that you could keep 2 female rams in a 20 gollon long "30 inch long" tank.

Dang. Guess I'll just get honey gourami.

 

[Noroomforshoe]

There are a lot of cool fish that you could get. Have you ever seen florida/american flag killi fish?
They look a lot like rams to me. They are cool fish, I read that they can be slightly aggressive to small species, especially if they are left to get hungry. I never had an issue with mine.

 

[propel]

Hello!
I've decided I'm going to be getting a couple of gourami for my 20 gallon high. A local pet store has sunset thicklip gourami (originally wanted honey gourami but the thicklip seem pretty close) and I wanted to get a couple. Are they similar in behavior to honey gourami? Are they peaceful and have personality?
Also, what genders should I keep? As much as I want to see a pair interact I don't want to deal with the babies. I feel like males would fight, and when they aren't, they probably wouldn't interact together much. Should I just get 2 females?

 

[Silverleaf209]

Hello!
I've decided I'm going to be getting a couple of gourami for my 20 gallon high. A local pet store has sunset thicklip gourami (originally wanted honey gourami but the thicklip seem pretty close) and I wanted to get a couple. Are they similar in behavior to honey gourami? Are they peaceful and have personality?
Also, what genders should I keep? As much as I want to see a pair interact I don't want to deal with the babies. I feel like males would fight, and when they aren't, they probably wouldn't interact together much. Should I just get 2 females?

Hello! I am pretty sure getting two females would be a good idea. From what I have heard I think Sunset thicklip gouramis and honey gouramis are about the same peaceful wise, I think personality probably just depends on the fish, but that is just my opinion. I really think it just comes down to what kind you end up wanting!

 

[DaveSch]

Hello,
I've never had honey gouramis so I can't speak to their behavior, but I have 2 female and 1 male sunset thicklip gouramis. They are beautiful fish. Yes, they definitely have personality and often swim to the front of the tank whenever anyone walks anywhere near it. They are peaceful in that they don't bother any of the other fish in the tank. In fact, they seem oblivious of the other fish. With each other it's a little more complicated. At times the 2 females are good friends, other times they can't stand each other. This involves chasing around but they have never bitten or harmed each other. Do not get 2 males, they will definitely fight with each other. Note that they get bigger than honey gouramis, about 4 inches. Make sure there are plenty of plants and hiding spots for the times they get rambunctious.

 

[TClare]

I would be wary of putting any potentially breeding dwarf cichlids together with Corydorus, except in a much bigger tank. You could have a single male Apistogramma or ram with no problem.

 

[kuhlkid]

From what I understand, the honeys get their peaceful reputation from being very gentle with one another, which is less typical of other gouramis. As others have said, they'll both generally leave your other tank mates alone. Just wanted to reemphasize the major differences from your original planned stock-- they will likely be individually more aggressive with each other than honeys would be, and they grow larger. Still beautiful fish, and if other keepers suggest that a 20g will suit the thicklips, it should be alright with a setup that includes hides and breaks in sight line.

 

[FunnyFish]

I love gouramis and have always had bad luck with multiples in my tanks in the past, so I was reluctant on getting 4 honeys to go with the one I had. They were also hard to sex when young, and what I thought were two males and 2 females ended up being 3 males, and 1 female to go with my one wild honey.

I have my tank very planted, and each of them use the plants as cover from one another. For the most part, they all get along well. They have their moments when they will chase another out of it's area, but never nip or aggressively fight. A few times I have seen two males swirling around each other like they are going to fight, but then they just swim away like nothing ever happened. Also, 2 of the males used to hang out a lot together side by side when I had floating plants, but now they don't as often. The female sticks to herself. She swims away from the males before they have a chance to chase her and they actually leave her alone mostly.

I don't know about thick lipped, but I do know I have had great success with multiple honeys, but be sure to provide them lots of hiding, plants, and space. The plants will block their line of sight helping to keep the peace

 

[chromedome52]

Personality wise, the two species are nearly opposites.

Thick Lipped Gouramis can be quite aggressive, with each other and with other species of fish. The Sunsets seem to be worse than the normal ones. Two males will fight if there isn't enough space, and they can be quite tough with the females.

Honey Gouramis are not overly aggressive with each other, and males and females have been known to work together on a bubble nest, just like Dwarf Gouramis. Being smaller seems to make them more reticent about starting fights that could draw attention from possible predators.

The fry of both species are extremely small, and even if they should spawn, it is unlikely for any to survive. However, in a tank with small, peaceful species, I have seen a few Honey fry survive in thick floating plants. Thick Lips are far more likely to eat their own once they hatch.

 

[fishnerd1111]

Just to add, I'll be putting some jungle val, any type of "bushy plant", and a floater. Not sure which floater though.

For a bushy plant I would get I giant clump of amazon sword. If you get mollies I would not recommend the balloon mollies they don't look as natural I like sailfin and black mollies.

 

[propel]

Personality wise, the two species are nearly opposites.

Thick Lipped Gouramis can be quite aggressive, with each other and with other species of fish. The Sunsets seem to be worse than the normal ones. Two males will fight if there isn't enough space, and they can be quite tough with the females.

Honey Gouramis are not overly aggressive with each other, and males and females have been known to work together on a bubble nest, just like Dwarf Gouramis. Being smaller seems to make them more reticent about starting fights that could draw attention from possible predators.

The fry of both species are extremely small, and even if they should spawn, it is unlikely for any to survive. However, in a tank with small, peaceful species, I have seen a few Honey fry survive in thick floating plants. Thick Lips are far more likely to eat their own once they hatch.

Okay. I'm mixed about this because a lot of answers conflict. There's also a bunch of sunsets in the tank together and they don't seem to bother each other at all. Maybe they're just used to each other?

 

[kuhlkid]

Okay. I'm mixed about this because a lot of answers conflict. There's also a bunch of sunsets in the tank together and they don't seem to bother each other at all. Maybe they're just used to each other?

Behavior in the display tanks at the shop really isn't reflective of a fish's long-term temperament. They are stressed owing to being mid-travel, intentionally overstocked (much as is often practiced with cichlid keeping) in systems receiving enough WCs for this not to crash water parameters, and neither comfortable nor in their element. Once a fish is in its own long-term housing, its confidence in the environment will increase, which is what you want. However, this also means a fish inclined toward aggression will begin exhibiting those behaviors in full force.

I would take chromedome52 at their word on this one. If you want long-term success, get the peaceful honey gourami you were already planning on.