# Bioload 20l?



## colindoug (Mar 16, 2006)

Well the 'ol 1" of fish per gallon has been tossed out just like wpg right? Too many variables I think. Filtration, substrate, circulation, co2, #/type plants etc...
Is there a somewhat general rule to follow? I currently have 6 pygmy rasbora, 6 small neon tetra (not sure exactly, i could have sworn they were cardinals...), 2 oto cats, and a handful of red cherry shrimp. would like to get some dwarf cory cats (no more than six, specific number under 6?), and 1 big fish. when i say big i mean probably a dwarf gourami. something that will encourage the shoals to stay together. 
i dont know if this is too much. im running an eheim 2213.


----------



## mrbelvedere138 (Jan 18, 2006)

Well as long as you kept up with water changes, kept the water quality excellent, etc. I do not see any problems. However, I would not personally put a gourami in there, for 3 reasons. First, I do not like gouramis (just a personal opinion). Second, I think you are pushing the bioload when you add him. Third, he may eat your shrimp, and will definitely eat babies.


----------



## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Adding the dwarf corys will be no problem. Any large fish will most than likely eat your shrimp. Other than that a Dwarf Gourami would also work well.

Cardinals have a full red strip, where the Neons only have a half read strip.


----------



## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

I have to agree with mrbelvedere about not adding the Gourami. Otherwise your plan sounds just fine. I think any sort of bigger fish would be a distraction from the beauty of the smaller fish theme.


----------



## colindoug (Mar 16, 2006)

thanks for the replies. i didnt think about them eating my shrimp babies... once they come.
in a 20, how many cory cats would be good? from what i have read, they do very well in a pack of 6. one of my LFS has corydoras habrosus for a good price (1.99). 
the guy at the store showed me three distinct tetra. one i knew as neon tetra (after looking up Paracheirodon innesi and yes, neon tetra) which he called cardinal tetra. the cardinal tetra have blue and red nearly all the way to the back, as the blue top does not go all the way to the back. the ones i have the blue and red are even all the way to the tail fin. i used liveaquaria.com's pictures as reference. http://liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=890
not pictured are the ones i have.


----------



## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Whoa, grab up those habrosus for that price.  
You could easily have 6 or 8 of them with very little additional load to the tank, and they are sooo cute.

You could also get 6 or 8 of either neons or cardinals and you'd have a reasonable load in your 20.


----------



## colindoug (Mar 16, 2006)

oh great  this is my girlfriends tank. she said she is over the big-little fish anyways and loves the little fish. i need to do a little filter maintenance and a small water change and ill hit the lfs tomorrow.  ill try to get a good picture of the fish so someone can properly id it (the store cant...) but its tough to take good shots...


----------



## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

just curious, is your LFS anywhere near southern california? i want to get a couple more corydoras habrosus myself, but i'm shying away from the 30 dollar shipping from betterbettas


----------



## colindoug (Mar 16, 2006)

i am in san diego. the LFS i got them from was Aquatic Warehouse.
they only had two habrosus left when i went. they had a bunch of panda cory cats on the back side. these were the ones i wanted in the first place. those were 2.99. so, ive got a 6 pack of these guys. they don't always stick together like ive read, but they are still a neat little fish. is it normal for them to dart up to the surface and back down?


----------



## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Yes, most Cory's will dart to the surface from time to time for a gulp of air. It's perfectly normal.


----------



## TetraFreak (Mar 15, 2006)

Cories definately are fun to watch when they launch themselves to the surface!

My Julii Cories on occasion have nailed the glass top when doing this. Usually after a water change when the level is way up there!

Also,
Colindoug...Since you're in San Diego, Perhaps you should join SCAPE! The More, The Merrier!


----------

