centerpiece for 20 gallons

[JohnJohnson]

Hi, I haven't been on for a while. I recently got a used 20 gallon tank from a neighbor who is moving out of town. It is currently stocked with 6 neons. Im looking for a centerpiece fish for it. I want something as big as possible as long as it will live a full happy life. A fish with long fins would be nice. any ides?

[twig]

big fish in small tanks never do well :/

[Captain Hook]

I'd go with a dwarf cichlid like blue ram or apistogramma. Or a dwarf gourami.

[Emg]

big fish in small tanks never do well :/

I think that John was asking "what is the biggest fish that I can have in a 20"...

If it's a 20tall....one of the larger gourami would be ok....blue, opaline, gold, etc....would be ok in a 20tall. Not sure if it's a 20long though. I believe they like a bit of verticle space to swim in. If you have plenty of plants and stuff for them to hide in, they feel more secure and will spend more time out in the open.

If it's a 20long....the german blue ram would make a very nice centerpiece fish.

For either of those I would also add a small shoal of one of the smaller cory species. They do a great job of eating up any leftover food and keeping the substrate tidy....though with a 20 with neons and a larger fish...a bit limited to how many more fish you could add to that.

[JohnJohnson]

I wasn't asking for a big fish just to fill space, if you read the rest of my post I asked for the biggest fish tha will live a full happy life in a 20 gallon. I of course don't want a fish that will grow real big, just something big enough to catch peoples attention.

Its a 20 high so I probably wont go with any cories, just 1 centerpiece fish and maybe a couple of snails for cleanup.

[Web Gazelle]

Gouramis(from what I have read) like shallow water so the optimal tank would be a 20 gallon long. I think a Dwarf, Blue/Oplaine or Honey Gourami would be just fine in a 20 gallon. You may also want to add a few more neons to your school.