If You Had A 20 Gallon Tank...

[Iron Man]

I'm just trying to get some ideas as what to put in my 20 gallon tank. When I first got it I had 1 cory and 1 neon (came with the tank) and then I got two small oranda goldfish to keep in it without getting rid of the neon and cory, so I still have em in there.

But lately I've noticed that even at such a young age both of these goldfish are already developing the "float" problem that some fancy goldfish are prone to have and its just turned me off from goldfish for this tank now. I'm know what's involved in dealing with this in goldfish and I'm just sick of dealing with it. So I'm going back to keeping tropicals. So....

With a ph of 5.5 water (confirmed with multiple tests) what should I look into getting? Should I just keep the neon and cory and add to them and put something else with them?

Would livebearers do well in this size a tank? I could keep platies, guppies, and mollies and keep them in brackish water (which would bring up the ph too).

Again, I'm just trying to get some ideas.

 

[shroob]

With that pH I would go for a pair (or trio) of dwarf cichlids from SA.

 

[Luketendo]

If I won the lottery I'd go saltwater in it.

Yup but with that pH lots of rarer fish can come in.

Stuff that aren't that hardy like chocolate gouramis and cichlids ad weird fish.

 

[caboose_122]

i would do a pair of south american dwarf cichlids and some tetras heavily planted

 

[3ndl3r]

you could do a chocolate gourami set up as some one said above. hard to keep but worth it as they are eally nice fish

 

[Iron Man]

Thanks for all your ideas. I had seriously considered a couple (pair) of dwarf cichlids along with more neons and cories. The cory and the neon are doing just awesome in this tank with this water, and the goldfish are just getting worse.

I even stopped feeding them the floating Hikari oranda pellets and feed them flakes that were initially soaked in tank water before I dumped em in so they would sink. And they just get worse.

Though some fancy goldfish are more prone to this floating problem than others, I have finally accepted the fact that this is due to how these fish have been bred on a general level and I guess borders on them being mutants.

I feel bad for having kept goldfish all these years now, as I've only supported the sell of them.