20 gallon inventory

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Jmerk

Fish geek
Apr 17, 2007
169
0
0
Cache Valley, Ut
I want to get some South American cichlids for a 20 L. I would like some suggestions for it.



Thanks
Jmerk:argue:
 

Jayhawk

AC Members
May 12, 2001
1,358
4
38
Lawrence, KS
A 20 long will limit you to a single species if you're thinking pairs (start with 4-5 and see how they're doing after a pair forms - you might need to remove some or all except for the pair), but you could have 2-3 single specimens of different species if you'd prefer that - oh, and we're talking dwarf species here. For example:

M. altispinosa (Bolivian rams), M. ramerezi (Blue/Gold/German ram), any Laetacara (dorsigera & curviceps are the most common), Keyholes (not sure I'm up to spelling their scientific name - biggest fish listed so far, but very peaceful), N. anomola (golden eye dwarf cichlid - have lots of hiding places for the much bigger male if you have a pair - females with fry are remarkably aggressive), dwarf pikes, Apistogrammas (lots of choices - borelli, cockatoo, etc. - most are harem breeders so one male and 2 female would do well in a 20 long), etc.

Take a look at the profiles on this site and see what catches your fancy.

All the above do best with a nice dither tetra school up top. My favorites are bolivian rams and the dwarf acaras (the keyholes and Laetacaras) because I find them to be dwarf cichlids that are outgoing and tough (i.e. - they don't know they're considered dwarfs) yet not actively aggressive. For example, my large male L. dorsigera bosses around two angel fish right now - not aggressive, but he gets first choice of foods, space, etc.

Eric
 

Jmerk

Fish geek
Apr 17, 2007
169
0
0
Cache Valley, Ut
Ok. I think that I want to get a few different species in the tank. I like the rams (blue) and I like JDs, Convicts, and parrots. I also like green terrors but they may be too big for that tank. If you could tell me for sure that would be cheese. (my way of saying great)


Thanks
Jmerk
 

xaosGK

AC Members
Mar 30, 2007
20
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45
The problem is, with a 20g tank, you can really only have one pair of dwarf cichlids, any more and you run into aggression issues.

Dempseys, Convicts, and Parrots are not an option, as they all get too large for that size of tank...though I'd put convicts more on the 'too violent to have anything else in there' side. Green Terrors definitely grow too large.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm afraid that's how it is. You may find that you enjoy the other fish you put in with a pair of dwarf cichlids just as much as the cichlids themsleves, which is always a good thing :)
 

ecal468

Newb
Mar 7, 2007
79
0
0
38
South Florida

Jayhawk

AC Members
May 12, 2001
1,358
4
38
Lawrence, KS
Bolivian rams are hardy...I'd never call them sensitive (they handle cool temps in the low/mid 70s up to the middle 80s without problems, can handle a huge pH/GH/KH range, etc.). Blue/gold/german rams on the other hand...definitely sensitive to water conditions.

Eric
 

Jmerk

Fish geek
Apr 17, 2007
169
0
0
Cache Valley, Ut
Ok, I like blue rams so you can just tell me the water conditions and what fish they can live with also. I have heard that blue rams are not very aggressive so I think I would just have a semi-aggressive community. I like anglefish, danios, goramis, silver dollars, tetras (the more aggressive ones like red minors) and barbs (tiger, tinfoil, and green tiger)

Please review
Thanks

Jmerk
 

nomadofthehills

AC Members
Apr 10, 2005
247
0
0
36
Dempseys, Convicts, and Parrots are not an option, as they all get too large for that size of tank...though I'd put convicts more on the 'too violent to have anything else in there' side. Green Terrors definitely grow too large.
A 20L is generally considered a good size to breed cons in with proper hiding spots.
 

Jayhawk

AC Members
May 12, 2001
1,358
4
38
Lawrence, KS
Convicts, with nothing else in there, and with a hiding place only the female can squeeze in there will do fine in a 20 long most of the time. I tried it, and it didn't work - the male was too aggressive and the female, despite spawning with him twice, stopped coming out of her safe cave, ever, and stopped spawning with him.

If you like blue rams - raise the temp to 82, soft water with pH 7ish or below, and keep them with smaller tetras - serpaes, black skirt, black neons, or cardinals. You could toss in some otos or dwarf plecos (clown plecos would work well), and even a few cories. It'd be a cool tank, and I think you could keep 4 blue rams in there (possibly forever even if two pair up - you'd just have to wait and see).

Eric
 
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