Recommendation For 20 Gal Tall Tank

[lakeshore]

Hi everyone, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.

I have just set up a fish tank for my children, and I am almost ready to place some fish in it.

Any suggestions aboud what would be a good choice(s).

I would like to have fish that the children will enjoy viewing and are relatively easy to keep. I will be doing alll the work and am familiar with the basics of water chemistry and fish health.

I have discussed the liveberaers and have sown the kids some (platys, swordtails, mollies) and also smaller tetras (not experienced).

I would also like something that lives on the bottom too, any suggestions (catfish??, pleco, clown loach). I am not sure how to approach this just yet.

I am aware that the final adult size of the fish must be taken into consideration, so I would rather have more small fish than a few larger ones.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chri$]

How does this sound:

4 x corydoras - spend a most of there time at the bottom
6 x Harlequin Rasbora - very colourful and active shoalers
6 x Cardinal Tetra - very colourful again
1 x Male Dwarf Gourami - would make a nice 'centerpiece'

or something along those lines. If you wanted platys for example you could replace the cardinals with them. But remember it's best to keep 2 females for every male - so you could get 4 females and 2 males or all females.

 

[timmystood]

That's a great stock suggestion list chris. - I would maybe add a female dwarf gourami aswell.. it's always nice for the kids to watch a male and a female - it gives them personality (the fish that is.. not the kids! )

 

[Chri$]

That's a great stock suggestion list chris. - I would maybe add a female dwarf gourami aswell.. it's always nice for the kids to watch a male and a female - it gives them personality (the fish that is.. not the kids! )

Or how about something along these lines:

4 x Corys
12 x Harlequin Rasboras
A pair (m/F) of Dwarf Gourami

I find that with most shoaling fish they become much more active and shoal a lot more if there in larger groups.

 

[Torrean]

not sure about keeping more than one dwarf in a 20 gallon. I think it'll be ok but research that please. If you do then I'd get 1 male and two females to spread out the aggression between the two females. If you want babies then you might want to avoid putting anything else in the tank. You could use it as a lesson on life for your children. Also you'll want lot's of floating plants not much surface movement lot's of different foods.

Other options include...shelldwellers, moonlight or sparkling gourami, guppies (a sure fire way to teach your children the facts of life) some species of dwarf south american cichlid lot's of options there. Or if you don't mind hybrids you could go for jellybean parrots (blood parrot X pink convict cross) be specific when asking about them. Don't just say jellybean parrots or you'll probably end up with dyed blood parrots and you do NOT want that.

I assume you know about cycling.

 

[lakeshore]

Thanks for all the great suggestions.
The corydoras idea is one that I was hoping someone would mention. I love the bottom guys.
The pet shop personelle mentioned Dwarf Gouramis as a centrepiece as well, without me even mentioning it.
She also siad that most tetras will be fine, as long as they stay small.

I enquired about a pleco, though they grow way too large, they have some really small ones 1.5" and said that when it gets too big for the tank that I can come in and exchange it for a smaller one. Sounds great to me, but what does everyone here think?? How big would mean exhanging it??, and how long would that take?

I would really like one, despite their growth rate and size.

Thanks everyone

 

[Torrean]

you can get small species of plec. like the bristlenose or the rubbernose. for a 20 gallon I would go with the rubbernose for sure though. I think the bristlenose is just a bit too big for the 20 gallon your stocking. Be warned dwarf gourami are just a bit on the fragile side. So be sure to keep up with water changes and keep an eye on your water stats. you can look at khuli loaches too they are neat fish but they tend to hide a lot.

 

[xoedusk]

The corydoras idea is one that I was hoping someone would mention. I love the bottom guys.

For cories, either sand or very fine gravel is best. Else food falls between the cracks of the larger gravel. Also, how is the pH of your tap water? Let some sit out for 24 hours then test it. Although fish can adjust, they do best in their nautral pH range (below 7 for corydoras, I believe).

I enquired about a pleco, though they grow way too large, they have some really small ones 1.5" and said that when it gets too big for the tank that I can come in and exchange it for a smaller one. Sounds great to me, but what does everyone here think?? How big would mean exhanging it??, and how long would that take?

I would really like one, despite their growth rate and size.

These guys look so cool. Kind of creepy, says my lovely. The only down side to the exchanging I see is that every time you bring in a new fish, you introduce the possibility of disease to your tank. This may not be an issue if you have a quarentine tank, but it is something to consider.

 

[Torrean]

another problem with trading plecos is that they grow quite quickly and they (from what I've heard) grow more quickly and to a larger adult size in larger tanks. I would not get into the switching off fish deal unless I had no choice (if I already bought the fish for instance)