--- In tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com, Dawn Moneyhan wrote:
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Hi Rose, this is Matty if you deside to go with tetras you can go to petsmart chain stores. They have all kinds of tetras on sale for a dollar apiece until Feb. 3 ,then it will be some other types of fish like livebeares on sale for a dollar after that date. If you decide to go there make sure they are healthy. Also if you can go for a thirty gallon tank, they look great and are big enough for most fish.
> Rose,
> For 20 gallons you can still keep livebearer fishes, just stick to all males and don't crowd them and you should be fine. Other options would be some of the smaller tetras (too many to list here) or smaller rasbora species, or even white clouds would look pretty and be active for you... all without the breeding issues. That's not to say they won't ever breed, just that if you aren't taking special precautions to preserve/hatch the eggs there is little chance anything will survive before you even know it's there.
> Â
> As for snails, see if you can find some freshwater nerite snails. Those won't hurt your plants, are pretty, and just as fun to watch as any other... plus they won't breed in freshwater so you don't have to worry about over population problems with them. There are a lot of options available to you if you take your time, ask a lot of questions, and do your research. We can help you here in the group as much as you let us. :-) If you have questions about any specific species of fish, stocking limits, even what is needed for the different species of plants... we can cover it all. Just don't be afraid to ask questions. The only dumb question is the one that isn't asked, lol.Â
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> For 20 gallons I would stick to fish that have adult size of 3 inches or less and just be careful not to add too many of them. The general rule of thumb for small fish and small tanks is 1 inch of ADULT fish per gallon, but that isn't taking compatibility into account... so again, just ask and we can guide you through safely and easily.Â
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> Have a great night!
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> Dawn
>
> Dawn Moneyhan
> Aquatics Specialist/Nutritionist
> To learn more about me go to
> http://www.helium.com/users/449334
>
>
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> --- On Wed, 1/30/13, Rose Lieberman wrote:
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> From: Rose Lieberman
> Subject: Re: [tropical fish club] New to Group with THREE QUESTIONS
> To: tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Wednesday, January 30, 2013, 6:38 PM
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> Hi, Dawn. Thanks for the response. Donna was a big help and between the both of you I’m finding out that the “vision†I have is based on incomplete knowledge on my part. For instance, I had a 50-gallon tank back in Brooklyn and I had Oscars. They were easy, the tank was easy upkeep. Now, my very first tank was probably about 10 gallons and I had a range of fish from a few tetras and swordtails to a few other species I can’t readily recall their names. (Like I said â€" that was about 40 years ago).
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> Anyway, I didn’t realize that the species that would live-bear or the easy egg layers (Cichlids?) would overrun my tank. And I don’t have an outlet for overproduction.
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> I’m not planning on anything huge. 20 gallons would be the maximum. And the more I think about this, the more my mind seems to favor plants vs fish. I know, right?! But the more I learn and remember, the more my vision for my tank setup changes.
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> So, I think I need to forget about breeding fish â€" I’d be quickly overrun. So, maybe my QUESTIONS need to change:
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> if my interest is more toward plants, and I’d certainly like to have some fish in that “aquatic plant tankâ€, what candidates would be good for me? Swordtails? Tetras? Angels? Fancy guppies? You know, something small, relatively easy to care for, (I know no species is care-free), pretty to look at, while I’m enjoying those aquatic plants.
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> As far as the snails go, I’d rather keep my plants uneaten, so snails of that type would be bad.
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> Thanks for your help.
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> Rose
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