Stocking a 76L (~20 Gal, I think?) tank!?
BySo my 76L tank is nearing the end of it’s cycling business, with Nitrites establishing themselves and suchlike. (The dimensions of the tank are 60cm long x 41cm high x 31cm wide, 24inch x 16inch x 12 inch, the inches are rough and the cm are accurate to the nearest 5 mill.)
I’ve got a 2mm gravel substrate (natural brown), a sunken ship ornament with silk plants, a really leafy, soft plant that is growing like something possessed & I’ve seen in lots of tanks, and three varieties of swords (Red, Amazon and something else, I think.) I’ve got a hang-over the back waterfall filter and an appropriate heater set to 26C (78F).
The first fish I’m going to get are Yoyo (Pakistani) Loaches (Botia almorhae), a pair of them. (Or three, my readings aren’t clear on which is best.) Later, I’ll be getting a variety of clown pleco (Panaque maccus) OR Bristlenose (Ancistrus Sp.3), but apparently they prefer more established tanks. Any suggestions for what else/how many other fish I can have?
The species I’m interested in are
Clown loaches(Chromobotia macracanthus) (minimum 3, I’ve been told? I’ve also been told that they won’t grow to their full size in a smaller tank).
Dwarf blue gourami (C. lalia) (a pair?)
Angelfish? (How much of a concern is their famed aggression? I can re-home these ones if they get too large easily)
Swordtails?
Or any easy-to-breed species that isn’t guppies?
Or any fish with awesome personalities?
(Or any other pleco or pretty catfish (not much of a fan of Corys) who aren’t too shy/expensive?)
If you know a price please include it even if it’s in currencies other than AUD, because I can always convert it and an idea is better than nothing! 
Oh! what is the general feeling about bubblers/air stones? My filter creates a waterfall which I think should aerate the tank somewhat, and I do have a few plants… But I live in a hot climate (it’s been 40C for the past 4 days… ugh), so how needed is one of these contraptions?
And I’ve brought a piece of driftwood and have been soaking it in a bucket for several days, can anyone tell me what to expect in terms of how it will change the water when I put it in the tank?
Thanks for reading my WALL OF TEXT (hehe )
Editor's Picks-
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
4 Comments
September 14th, 2010 at 11:43 am
The yoyo loaches seem fine, I’d probably go for 3 if I were you. I think the clown plec gets to 8cm right, and the bristlenose to 15cm? I’d go for the clown if that’s correct, smaller is better
You could get a nice shoal (8 or so) of tetras/danios/minnows/barbs in there. I recommend tetras for the variety, especially peaceful ones such as neons/cardinals/lemons. A couple of dwarf or honey gourami would go nice in there, along with a few livebearers if you choose (mollies/guppies/platies). Be careful with long tailed guppies, your gouramis might hassle them.
Good luck, and well done for fishless cycling
EDIT: Avoid clown loaches. They get too big for your tank and really you do need a shoal of at least 6 or so.
I mentioned above about the gourami, they are fine
I have a blue dwarf and they are cute 
!
Angelfish – really, you need a bigger tank for those. They are usually better off in a species only tank, so if you wanted them you’d have to get a larger tank and leave it as angelfish and various catfish/loaches.
You can substitute swordtails in for my livebearer comment above
All livebearers are easy to breed, you could go for mollies or platies if you don’t like guppies.
I personally really like mollies, they do develop a relationship quite well
I’d stick to the clown catfish, the bristlenose gets a little too big.
As a rough guide, depending on size of the fish and where I get them from:
Catfish – £8 (clowns might be harder to get hold of – it’s probably better to get these off the internet or somewhere else very knowledgeable, you don’t wanna end up with the wrong sort!)
Gouramis – £4, livebearers (including swordtails) – £2-3, angelfish are around £4 when small, I’ve seen them up to £10. These are in GBP
EDIT: Go for an airstone if you like the look of it. It’ll help, but not very much.
After a few days soaking (changing the water once a day) it should be pretty much fine. It might stain the tank a bit so you may want to leave it a couple more days if you can but it should be fine by now
September 14th, 2010 at 11:43 am
I looked over your edited part, your list of fish is fine.
I’d start out with a few sward tails first. Then STOP. Do not get them all at once. Let the swards cycle the tank again.
Then get your scavengers. (Hard to scavenge when there isn’t anything else to scavenge from.)
Wait on any form of sucker mouth, bristle noses for example until you start to see some algae. Though they do eat fish food, they are designed to scrap algae off surfaces. So it’s not so much they need an established tank, as one with some algae growth which happens to be an established tank.
And though bristle nose cats CAN get big, it’s been my experience they rarely do. I had several in my 70 gal. They actually SPAWNED!!!! Babies were a surprise for sure. And so cute! None ever got bigger than three inches.
Opinions on angels will vary, but I’m in the crowd that would tell you they could live in such a tank. Though they would probably be better off in a larger tank. I never had a problem with any “famed aggression” from them. They will happily eat any baby swards you get, but that’s about it.
Keep in mind though, full grown angels ARE big. About the size of your fist. At that point they would be out of place with your other fish. And IF you get a mated pair, then they do get aggressive. They will stake out a claim on a territory to breed in and anyone who intrudes is in big trouble.
Problem is, a 20 gal is just about the size of their breeding space. Not much room to run ya know?
Prices, well I haven’t shopped in ages, but nothing would be much over 3 dollars. But that depends on where you are, where the fish get shipped in from and a whole bunch of factors. Hard to ask about price. best to shop your area.
September 14th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
i agree with another poster in that angel fish would not work in a tank that small.. they need big tanks and do well in larger schools. i avoid clown loaches, just because they are prone to spreading ick easily..
if you want a pleco, go for a bristlenose.. they are great at eating algae. you wouldnt be able to get a common pleco in there, because they grow to be a few feet long.
i would try to keep the temp of your tank at 80 degrees and under, you dont want to bake those poor things lol.. and if you are running a little higher, the airline (bubbleline) would add that precious oxygen that the heat is stripping out of the water… remember the higher the temp of your tank, the less oxygen is in the water.
your choice of dwarf gouramis would be great!
September 14th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
i think you have enough bottom dwellers with the loaches — a pleco isn’t that necessary and better off in larger established tanks.
some of my favorite fish are gouramis — pearl gouramis, honey gouramis, thick lipped gouramis. they gladly feed on on anything so you don’t have to worry about leftover food. dwarf gouramis a little more delicate in my experience with them.
angels are better off by themselves or with small fish when they are small. i tried a couple and even my ghost shrimp got agressive with little dime sized angels. most of what i have read is if you raise angels with tetras then they won’t eat your tetras. if you have a breeding pair they will get territorial though.
airstones are great if you want bubbles for decoration. they don’t do much for your water.
the driftwood could stain your water for a few months. it makes it kind of brown — its actually softens the water which is generally preferable with most fish. if you do weekly maintenance (change 1/4 of the water weekly, gravel vacuum, etc) it won’t get that impossible to live with.