20 Gallon Tank Currently Cycling....fish Ideas?

[TropiFish]

Hey everyone, I currently have a 20 gallon freshwater tank cycling for 3 days now and am interested in hearing peoples opinions as to what type of fish and how many will fit comfortably. Ive been to petsmart, petco, and a list of other small pet shops and it seems everyone has different advice, some contradicting others. My girlfriend really would like angelfish and some of the poeple at the pet stores say this tank is not big enough while others say I could put 2 or so in there with no problem. Any advice on the angelfish as well as types and #'s of other fish for our beginner 20 gal. tank? Thanks

 

[Westwood]

Angel fish would be a very tight squeeze in a 20 gall even if they were in on there own with no other fish, but if you are looking for a community setup, dwarf cichlids would be the best option in my opinion. Also welcome to the forum!

 

[TropiFish]

Angel fish would be a very tight squeeze in a 20 gall even if they were in on there own with no other fish, but if you are looking for a community setup, dwarf cichlids would be the best option in my opinion. Also welcome to the forum!

Ok i'll keep them in mind. Are there any shark specices that don't grow very large and are not aggresive towards community fish such as rainbow sharks that could possibly fit in my tank?

 

[waterdrop]

A pair of angels would need 17" tank height and 30 US gallons minimum really, so I agree, dwarf cichlids of some type would be a good thing to be looking at and thinking about. It often takes about 70 days to fishless cycle and that gives you plenty of time to interact with the members and work on a stocking plan. Have you read our articles on The Nitrogen Cycle, The Fishless Cycle and obtained your liquid-reagent based test kit and household ammonia of the right type?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[TropiFish]

A pair of angels would need 17" tank height and 30 US gallons minimum really, so I agree, dwarf cichlids of some type would be a good thing to be looking at and thinking about. It often takes about 70 days to fishless cycle and that gives you plenty of time to interact with the members and work on a stocking plan. Have you read our articles on The Nitrogen Cycle, The Fishless Cycle and obtained your liquid-reagent based test kit and household ammonia of the right type?

~~waterdrop~~

I cannot say that I have. I am familiar with the nitrogen cycle but i have not yet purchased a test kit yet. I'm confused because the local pet stores say that after a week or so of cycling I should be fine to add fish. I have conditioned the water and added a bacteria supplement to the tank. I watched as it went from clear, to extremely cloudy, and then back to clear. I had a ten gallon tank a few years ago and never cycled the tank which, if i can remember correctly, had three bloodfin tetras. They turned out fine for a long time.

also, the angelfish will not work comfortably so we are thinking more along the lines of:
-rainbow fish
-leaf fish
-bloodfin tetras
-peppered cory
-and possibly a red tail shark?

would these fish be able to coexist together? if not any suggestions?

 

[waterdrop]

Have a look at our articles. That's what this subforum is all about. The bottled of bacteria material provided a bunch of dead organic material (same as fish waste would) and the heterotrophic bacteria (not the ones we're trying to grow to create a working biofilter) had a feast, which was part of the bacterial bloom you saw. Have a look at some of the other threads of fishless cycles going on here in the section.

~~waterdrop~~