New tank

[CameronAdam]

I think I'm going to to start a new community tank in a 20 gallon tank. In it will be a trio of Apistogramma cacatuoides, 6 neon tetras, 2 dwarf gouramis, and 4 ghost or amano shrimp. Can anyone see problems with this???? Any feedback would be appreciated. (I can scrap the gouramis if that would not work???) It will be heavily decorated with many caves and fake and a few live plants.

 

[medge00]

i'd scrap the gourami's. They can be a pain in the butt. I've heard you either need 1 or 3-4 to be happy. Keep in mind the tetras may eat eggs if you're planning on trying to breed the apistos. other than that, sounds great. i love cacatuoides in planted tanks!

 

[farm41]

Not much off a chance for tetras to eat the eggs, mom will have them glued to the roof of a cave, and protect them ferociously. When they get to be free swimmers is when the problem arises.

 

[CameronAdam]

re

Is there something I would be better off with as a dither than neon tetras? I am willing to scrap the gouramis. What is the fish that is the elast likely to eat free-swimming fry and will not be eaten by Cockatoos?

 

[cootwarm]

I use mostly marbled hatchetfish and beckfordii Pencilfish, but I have glowlight tetras in 1 tank and cardinals in 1 other tank. Your 6 neons maybe OK in a well planted 20 gallon tank with caves.

My cardinals and glowlight tetras don't seem to be a problem at all. I've never noticed the cardinals bothering the fry. I've also never seen the glowlights bother the fry either, but they are much more active at all levels of the tank, so they make me a little leary.

I think cardinals and glowlights would probably pick off any strays, but those under the parents protection would be OK. The tetras learn their boundries and don't usually cross them.

I don't think pencilfish would bother fry in any size, shape, or form. I've seen my beckfordi pencilfish feeding along side of small fry with out paying the least bit attention to the fry.

Michael

 

[farm41]

I use rummynose and cardinal tetras, as these aren't my breeding tanks. No dithers in the breeding tanks.

 

[Wey]

20gallon? I would take some more tetra's and drop the gouramies. On a gourami forum I would have said: "drop the apisto's"... lol

I'm so in love with colisa chunas (like them better than the colisa lalias) , but it will be just too full imo.

Also, get some more shrimps
They play hide and seek all the time. In a large(r ) group they will show themselfs more often.

 

[CameronAdam]

Would I be allright getting both amano and ghost shrimp or would they kill one another?

 

[farm41]

I think the shrimp will be OK together