Fish Suggestions For My Tank...

[Mounit98]

Hi all......

Even tho I just started my fishless cycle, and I kno it could be a month or so before I can add any fish to my tank, but I was wanting to get an idea of fish I could possibly add to my tank.

I have a 20 US Gallon Hexagon tank, and before I started my fishless cycle my PH was at 7.6 and the High PH was at 8.0

The only thing I kno about fish is going to the LFS and looking at all the fish and picking the ones out I like the best LOL well that didnt work out so good last time around, bc I guess I had fish that were not fit for my size tank. I like fish that are colorfull and different.

Is there a website I could look at and find the perfect fish that I would like?

Everytime I would go to the LFS I would find a fish I like and it was semi aggressive, or it was a gold fish....so on and so on. I want to have peacefull fish, and I think I really like school fish. Here are some of the fish that I like, so maybe someone might be able to suggest something for me....

Just remember I kno NOTHING about fish lol so if you give me a name I will have to look it up =)

I like Angel Fish!!!! Tiger Barbs are pretty....irridecent sharks....puffer fish....I like the fancy guppies, but they seem stingy when it comes to feeding time...the dicus are pretty, but I heard they should be by themselves...oscars are cool too but I heard they are very messy and like to be by themselves. My husband wants a couple sharks, and this baby whale that we saw at the LFS one time we were there. The LFS said she was getting in baby dolphins too that kinda look similar to the baby whales.

PLEASE HELP!!! lol Im so confused, so this is why I am asking in advance for help! The lady at the LFS said she could order fish for me, so Im up for any suggestions on some nice, peaceful, colorful fun fish!

THANK YOU ALL!!! <3

 

[Wills]

Hi there welcome to the forum! Fantastic to hear your doing a fishless cycle it really is the best way!

Have to say though the fish you mentioned on the list sent quite a lot of alarm bells ringing to me, Ill go through and explain what I mean. Im not getting at you but I think its worth while teaching you why fish are not suitable rather than just saying no no no I hated that when I was starting out.

Angelfish - Could be okay but how tall is the tank? If you went with these they would take up a decent amount of your stocking list.

Tigerbarbs - Nice fish for this size tank but they are very nippy and you have to compensate for that by putting them in a big school of about 10 which would again be pretty much your tank stocked when they are adults.

Irridecent sharks - Avoid these at all costs, they should not be sold in pet shops these are 5 foot fish I kid you not it is a massive problem in the hobby and they are far too commonly sold to people unaware of just how huge they get.

Puffer fish - Dwarf puffers like the pea puffers, red eye red tailed and red tailed would be okay in that tank but because they are quite aggressive its best to keep them 1 puffer per 5 gallons so that would be 4 puffers in that tank with a few limited tank mates like ottos as they will bite other fish and because of their sharp beaks it is always a nasty bite. My red eye red tails used to draw blood when they nipped me in feeding

Guppies - yeah nice fish for the tank quite a common fish lots of colours and strains available but if you want a more special tank there are others for you to consider.

Discus - Need a four foot tank for these minimum and as said need special considerations and are sometimes chalenging and expensive for newbies.

Oscars - Too big for the tank, they usually get to a bit over a foot and its recommended to have 75 gallons for one and then around 100 gallons before you think about adding any other fish.

Sharks for the husband - If your thinking of bala sharks or silver sharks again too big for the tank they get to a foot long and need to be in a group so need big big tanks. Trying to think of a smaller alternative for your tank though.

Baby whales/baby dolphins - Not heard of baby dolphins but guessing they are similar to the whales. Either way I would avoid these as they are often quite delicate fish and need a bit of specialist care. Also the whales get to about 8-10 inches and can get quite aggressive as they get older. From what I have read fish like this are best kept in a group of 6-8 to spread the aggression out between the group otherwise they can over power the other fish.

Right so that said there are a lot more fish suitable for your tank and from the sounds of things your fish shop can get quite a few rare things in so I think you should be able to find a really good balance between tank size and what you want.

From the fish you spoke about it sounds like you want more feature fish that you can identify and name etc Im the same I just prefer it than having a tank purely of schooling fish as cool as those tanks look its just not for me. But then again its still nice to mix the two for various reasons both looks wise and sometimes balancing fish species together.

So lets start with feature fish, these are dwarf cichlids which are kind of a semi aggressive fish but not all out murdering types just those intelligent enough to care for their eggs and young and also that claim territories so a few you could consider -

Laetacara Dorsiger or Laetacara Curviceps
Bolivian Rams
Cupid cichlids
Apistogramma Cacatuoides
Apistogramma Panduro
Keyhole cichlids

Or there are a few gourami you could consider like -
Dwarf Gourami - various colour varieties but some are quite weak on a genetic basis and its quite common for them to die young as a result.
Honey gourami
Thick Lipped gourami - you can get a nice orange strain now

So yeah have a look at them a few other members might chip in a few ideas and then when you decide on which you like it makes it easier for you to plan a stock list around each species and also work out how many of each you want.

Also a good site for profiles of fish is seriouslyfish.com really good for reading and pictures.

hope thats helped a bit!

Wills

 

[OldMan47]

Oscars are way too big for your tank. I avoid them even in my 120 gallon tank because if I had one in there I couldn't have anything else. Sharks deserve their name, it is not because of the body shape but has more to do with their feeding habits. Guppies can become a hobby all on their own. There are people who spend all of their fish keeping effort trying to improve guppies to meet show standards and to move breeding forward on their personal favorite pattern of guppy. Tiger barbs are much like sharks they have earned the name tiger with their attitudes. They are OK in a tank by themselves but will damage more peaceful fish if they are kept together with them. As much as I like their look at the LFS, I now just leave them in the shop and pick up other fish for my own tanks. Baby whales and baby dolphins are becoming popular again but I have no experience with them so I can't help much there. Discus are for much larger tanks than yours, they can easily grow to over 5 inches in diameter with proper care and will have no place to swim in your tank. They are also recommended for experienced fish keepers only, although I think they are gorgeous, because their care can be a bit difficult. A 20 gallon hex means you should be looking for small fish, under 2 inches at adult size. The fish in a tank that size should also be somewhat slower swimmers so that they can happily live in the short swimming distance that they will have. Fortunately there are many fish that fit into that size category but angels and oscars are not among them. Some nice schooling fish for a tank that size would include rummy nose, head and tail lights, rasboras, neon tetras and many of the livebearers including guppies. The Laetacara are a bit bigger than I usually think of for a tank that size but I must admit that I really like them. Another smallish cichlid that would work in a tank that size is a pair of kribensis. You might want to walk through the LFS again with a pad of paper and just write down the fish that you and your husband can agree are ones you both like. It is always better to have a second person who wants to participate in your hobby. My wife will sometimes accompany me to a fish event but has little enthusiasm for the hobby so I seek that social interaction in my local fish club.