Fishy Suggestions 20/25 Gallon Tank?

[Raticataticus]

Hi guys, so I am considering getting a fish and at the moment I am just doing some research and looking for some suggestions. 
 
I have had goldfish and an axolotl when I was a teenager so I do have a small amount of fishkeeping experience but not much.
 
I can't really get a very big tank. 25 gallons is probably as big as I have room for. Is it a bad idea to keep a fish tank on top of a chest of drawers? This is really the only place I have got to put one unless I get a tank with a stand but then I don't really have a lot of room for a stand either.
 
I'm not really set on any particular breed of fish. I know that I don't really want a community tank, I would just rather have one or two fish.
 
What type of fish would you suggest I get for this tank size? As much as I loved having an axolotl I don't really want to get another one of those.
 
Thoughts?

 

[Ninjouzata]

Hiya! Whilst doing your research, if you havn't already, fishless cycles are highly recommended and you can read about it at the top of the page 'Cycling a Tank'. That's really neat that you had an axolotl, I hope to have one..one day

 
I've seen people keep fish tanks on their dressers so I'd imagine it's safe..they're certainly sturdy. Have you measured it? If not do that and plug the measurements into the calculator at the top of the page so you can see if all you really can fit is a 25g or if it'll be bigger.
 
By one or two fish do you mean like actually one or two fish, or do you mean one or two types of fish?
A good thing to do is go to your LFS and check out the fish, write down what you're interested in and come back here to see if they will work for you.
 
A beautiful and very personable fish is the betta, you could divide the tank in half and keep two, or just let one be king of the castle.
Would you like to keep goldfish again? If you can fit a 30g then that would be fine for one fancy goldie.
 
Something else to help with recommending fish is we need to know your pH and the hardness of your water, if you can post that info that'd be helpful

 

[ncguppy830]

on ninjouzata reccomending a single betta, we would need the measurements of the tanks for bettas appreciate more length less height and wouldnt thrive in a large  too aquarium.

 

[Raticataticus]

Hiya! Whilst doing your research, if you havn't already, fishless cycles are highly recommended and you can read about it at the top of the page 'Cycling a Tank'. That's really neat that you had an axolotl, I hope to have one..one day

 
I've seen people keep fish tanks on their dressers so I'd imagine it's safe..they're certainly sturdy. Have you measured it? If not do that and plug the measurements into the calculator at the top of the page so you can see if all you really can fit is a 25g or if it'll be bigger.
 
By one or two fish do you mean like actually one or two fish, or do you mean one or two types of fish?
A good thing to do is go to your LFS and check out the fish, write down what you're interested in and come back here to see if they will work for you.
 
A beautiful and very personable fish is the betta, you could divide the tank in half and keep two, or just let one be king of the castle.
Would you like to keep goldfish again? If you can fit a 30g then that would be fine for one fancy goldie.
 
Something else to help with recommending fish is we need to know your pH and the hardness of your water, if you can post that info that'd be helpful

 
Thanks for your awesome reply

 
I will definitely be doing a fishless cycle, don't you worry about that

 
When I said I wanted one or two fish I meant that I really wanted just one or two perhaps slightly larger fish. My dream is to have an Oscar but that isn't going to happen any time soon so I would love a fish that is similar to an Oscar but smaller in size if such a thing exists.
 
I would definitely consider keeping goldfish again.
 
I'm not really into Bettas, not sure why, they just don't really interest me.
 
After further consideration it looks like I am able to fit a slightly less than 30 gallon tank. I have found one for sale for second hand that is around 28-29 gallons.
 
And now I'm torn between a community tank or having one or two bigger fish.
 
I can't get my water info right at this very second but I will try to add it in some time sooner or later.
 
I should probably also add that I live in a relatively warm place. It never snows but it's not particularly hot either. The lowest it ever gets in winter is 0'C at the very worst and the hottest it gets in the summer is 40'C but it's very rare for it to get that high.
 
Also - I would love to have a planted tank.

 

[ncguppy830]

well if you get a 29 gallon you can get ONE goldfish, what fish for a community are you intrested in?

 

[Raticataticus]

well if you get a 29 gallon you can get ONE goldfish, what fish for a community are you intrested in?

 
I like a lot of types of the community fish, I really love Guppies, Mollies, Platys and Tetras and I would love a little school of Albino Corydoras.

 

[ncguppy830]

cories need a school of 6 plus...not sure if thats what you mean by little school. 

 

[DerpPH]

A centerpiece fish could be some panaque or any other fancy loricariid

 

[ncguppy830]

dont most panaque get quite big though right?

 

[DerpPH]

Well not the clown panaque

 

[ncguppy830]

oh yes those look great, a must have for sure.

 

[Raticataticus]

cories need a school of 6 plus...not sure if thats what you mean by little school. 

I've heard that they can do okay in 3-4. Maybe I'll steer away from them as my 6 seems too many for my tank size.
 
Do you have any suggestions for bottom feeders that would be okay in a community tank of this size?
 
Also what would be a good type of filter and heater for a tank of this size?

 

[ncguppy830]

well there are smaller versions of cories lke the pygmy varaties.

no clue on whats the best heater or filter for your tank size.

 

[DerpPH]

Hm... For bottome feeders i would recommend peckoltia vittata or candy stripe pleco or clown panaque

 

[Ninjouzata]

It really just depends on what you like. Most fish can adapt to your pH and whatnot, especially if you buy them close by then the pet store is more than likely keeping them in the same kind of water.
One fancy goldie should be fine in a 29g, just would need to make sure you have good filtration as they are messy. I'd imagine that would be close to what you want, beautiful, decent sized, and will more than likely be your buddy!
 
Everyone likes different fish, no biggie that you're not interested in bettas Like you the fish I want is much too big for my tank. Just need to find something else that you enjoy, which shouldn't be too hard, there are so many lovely fish.
 
If you want to have a community then really it would be best if you can, like I mentioned earlier, go to the lfs and write down the fish that interest you. You can certainly get cories you just need the smaller variety of them (pygmy, hastatus, habrosus). The others you mentioned would be fine too, I think, but just be careful if you get males and females you'll have lots of fry, and will need to do something about them. 
 
For some smaller fish, check out this: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/418749-nano-fish/
 
As long as you have a heater in your tank, depending on if the fish you keep need it ofcourse, you should be fine temperature-wise. There are a few methods to cool down a tank if it gets too hot.
 
Remember to get the length of the tank for us!