[Nazasaki]

6 harlequin rasboras
5 nerite snails
4 albino cory cats
2 red eye tetras
1 otocinclus

20 gallon long low tech. Running two HOBs aqueon quiteflow 10 and 20.

I have a king betta as well. He may get moved to his own planted 2.5. Unless he could work out in the 20 community.

Will this mix of fish be a good idea? Are they all generally peaceful species?

Whoops...typo. 2 BLEEDING HEART TETRA. not red eye tetra.

 

[GrampsGrunge]

< See the Bleeding heart tetra in my Avatar? It's one of my males in my 40 Gallon long from years back. In that tank, which had about the same, (roughly) fish stocking, he was about 3.5" and they're deep bodied also. They like to have some room to swim. I'm thinking the H. erythrostygma might get larger than you would like for a 20 gallon, and they do better in a larger group.

 

[PlantedRich]

I feel there is a good deal of room in the definition of overstocked that might be sorted out before going too far. Some define overstocked as overworked, perhaps? That is when you have more bio-load that you are willing to deal with due to cleaning filters and water changing. I would not say you are overstocked for me on that definition. But then I'm also set up to make water changes easy and I do a lot of it. For others the answer is different.
Then there are those who define overstocked as when they feel the fish will not be able to grow to full potential and live their best lifespan. You may be pressing the limit on that definition.
To me and my decisions on stocking I do less worry about the potential for growing fully and total longlife than I do about how I feel about the work involved and I include the far greater effort it takes to fight off disease when they are crowded. I can handle the work of water and filter but not if I'm pressing the limit so hard that I'm going to be fighting to keep fish healthy.
I would start with that group and shed some of them as I started to see it was needed. Not married to my fish for life! They serve at my pleasure until such time that they need to move on. Something like children but with a whole lot less love and attachment involved?

 

[Nazasaki]

< See the Bleeding heart tetra in my Avatar? It's one of my males in my 40 Gallon long from years back. In that tank, which had about the same, (roughly) fish stocking, he was about 3.5" and they're deep bodied also. They like to have some room to swim. I'm thinking the H. erythrostygma might get larger than you would like for a 20 gallon, and they do better in a larger group.

Thank you! I decided just to stick with my betta, the nerites, cory cats, and I think I will get a small school of the rasboras instead of the Bleeding hearts

 

[GrampsGrunge]

Not to dissuade you from keeping your Bleeding Hearts, far from it, because they were a very nice fish in a shoal of 5 or more, and more would be a great centerpiece as schooling fish in a 55 gallon, and they would be less cramped.

Schools of Harlequin Rasboras are always very pretty.

 

[Nazasaki]

Not to dissuade you from keeping your Bleeding Hearts, far from it, because they were a very nice fish in a shoal of 5 or more, and more would be a great centerpiece as schooling fish in a 55 gallon, and they would be less cramped.

Schools of Harlequin Rasboras are always very pretty.

I really like the Bleeding hearts. But all I have is the 20 long. Do they show any aggression at all? Even towards other tetras? I don't think they would work with my betta. I'd have to relocate him if I got a pair.