Starting A 20 Gallon Tank

tsp813 · Feb 27, 2008

I am restarting a 20 gallon tank. The last time I had my tank I went with community fish and they were quite boring. They didn't swim around much and generally hid behind rocks and plants.

I've been doing research for the past few days and it seems fish will be much more active if you keep them in schools...which I did not realize and generally only had 1 to 3 of each species.

In my research it seems like Tiger Barbs are a good, active fish when kept in schools of 6 or more. Therefore I am going to go with 6 Tiger Barbs. I would like to have one more school of fish and am not sure what to go with. Presumably it would have to be small fish as it is only a 20 gallon tank. What I would like from these fish is for them to be active and colorful...to counter the black and white of the Tiger Barbs.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a school of small, active, colorful fish that will interact well with a school of Tiger Barbs?

Also, which fish would you recommend starting with to cycle the tank...and should I buy all 6+ at once or ease them in a few at a time?

Thanks!

rdd1952 · Feb 27, 2008

Hello and welcome to the forum. :hi:

As you mentioned, most community fish are best kept in groups of at least 3 and preferably 5 or 6. Usually, when fish hide and aren't active , it is becaused they are stressed or sick. Tiger barbs, in my opinion, aren't the best community fish. They are very aggressive and will attack other fish. Larger groups help spread the aggression but may not prevent it. Here and here are the forum profiles on them (I don't know how we ended up with 2 profiles of the same fish). You will notice that both mention the aggression. As mentioned in the first, slow moving fish are not good tank mates as they are easy targets for their aggression. I don't think any fish will interact with the tigers and most may stay hid because of their aggression.

As for cycling, I would suggest a fishless cycle. It prevents you from having to buy fish you don't really want to keep to cycle the tank and then have to figure out what to do with them once it's over. It also prevents the fis from being subjected to high levels of toxins and the diseases and problems (such as white spot putbreaks) that usully come with the stress caused by bad water parameters. If you do cycle with fish, I would not get more than 3 to start with. I think TBs are hardy enough to handle a cycling tank but keep in mind that even low levels of ammonia and nitrite cause damage.

tsp813 · Feb 27, 2008

Thanks for the response!

I set my tank up last night and have the filter running so it's too late to follow the detailed instructions for the fishless cycle.

Also, I am not necessarily looking to get community fish. If there is a vibrant group of semi-aggressive fish that would be great. However, I have read a lot about how the Tiger Barbs seem to get along fine with Tetras, Danios and some other community type fish as long as the Barbs are in a group of at least 5 or 6.

rdd1952 · Feb 27, 2008

Unless you have fish in the tank already, you can still do a fishless cycle. It has to be set up with the filter running anyway. From there, all you do is just start adding ammonia.

Danios would probably be fine with the tigers since they are also very active and fast. You might want to ask about potential tankmates in the Cyprinids, Characins and Atherinids forum. They should be able to give you more advise on that.

CaysE · Mar 21, 2008

Personally I would go with even smaller fish... like 10 Celestial Danios, Microrasboras or Endlers. Will this be a planted tank?

rocknurworld2006 · Mar 21, 2008

CaysE said:
Personally I would go with even smaller fish... like 10 Celestial Danios, Microrasboras or Endlers. Will this be a planted tank?

celestial pearl danios should nt be used unless attempting to breed as there are a shortage which you know!
endlers could get bit my barbs again same as guppies.

CaysE · Mar 21, 2008

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I thought Celestial Danios were being bred now?

Texas_Wolf · Mar 21, 2008

I had green tiger barbs awhile back(I've seen them called "moss tiger barbs" too) And I kept mine with Serpea tetras, active bold red tetras. I loved the way the 2 fish looked next each other.