fish for a 20 gallon starter tank

[betsonmets12]

I am starting a new 20 gallon warmwater tank. I would eventually like to make it a nice community tank. I read that danios are good fish to start with but I don't really want to waste tank space on them. I was wondering if guppies, neons, or guoramis are a good fish to start with and how many. Please give me ideas of some other fish that can be good starters.
I was also looking into the future and thinking about bala sharks, a betta, corys, or maybe a Ram Cichlid. Let me know if this would work out.

Thanks

[attiladahun]

danios would not be a waste of tank space. they are about the hardiest and best fish fit for the job of starting the nitrogen cycle, or in the case of fishless cycle, i'd still recommend them because they are hard to kill. after your cycle is started, gouramis and guppies would be good choices, but make sure you don't get any male bettas (the ones with big, flowering fins) in a community tank, they are hostile to other fish. also, most cichlids are aggressive, including the ram you mentioned.

[knashash]

I am starting a new 20 gallon warmwater tank. I would eventually like to make it a nice community tank. I read that danios are good fish to start with but I don't really want to waste tank space on them. I was wondering if guppies, neons, or guoramis are a good fish to start with and how many. Please give me ideas of some other fish that can be good starters.
I was also looking into the future and thinking about bala sharks, a betta, corys, or maybe a Ram Cichlid. Let me know if this would work out.

Thanks

Neons are very sensitive, so I would advise against them until you have an establishe, cycled tank. Also by "to start with", do you mean you want to have these fish during your cycling process?

[Diego L.]

umm well you gotta do the nitrogen cycle thing its basically...fish make poop..which turns in to amonia bacteria get in your tank and turn it into nitrite other bacteria come and turn it into nitrates...oh yeah and gouramis are very water quality sensitive so you should get those last...same with neons good luck...... :clap:

[betsonmets12]

about how long should i have just danios before I add more fish

[dimramon]

about how long should i have just danios before I add more fish

Check your cycling values and make sure your values are at 0 (Am and Nitrite). Check the post at the topic of this forum for more information.
Once your tank has cycled, you can add more fish.

I noticed that you mentioned bala sharks. They tend to get big so, they are not suitable for a tank your size.