What would YOU add to my 20g?

M8D · Mar 10, 2014

so currently i have 7 neons (that i will up to 10) and 4 cories (that will be upped to 6) 3 harlequin rasboras (no intention of restocking them, I have someone waiting to take them to put in their kid's 20g and willing to up their numbers (he takes care of the tank, the kid is really young). a female betta, and a BN Pleco. and about 10 MTS.

So....... i don't know what to add next after my heat ich treatment is done. (these fish will be from petsmart and QTed in a large tub i have that i'll buy a spare filter/heater for) I wanted an angel or two. They're only about quarter size in body size at the store cus i LOVE angels... and I do plan to upgrade to a 40g after i move this summer (would do it now but its easier to move a 20g than a 40g) so the angelfish would be in a new home before the year's up. Thoughts on this? I know as they get bigger they'll eat the neons, which is why i plan to keep the 20g somewhere else and get a new 40g to put on the stand the 20g is currently on and put the 20g on a dresser or something..

So would getting a few angels be okay?

If not angels, what would you guys recommend to add in my tank? I've always preferred to have fish i can identify separately, give names to, bond with, etc. Like betta's or goldfish for example but i can't have a cold water fish in a warm water environment HAHA plus i love my planted tanks and I hear they're wrecking machines in planted aquariums.

I guess... i could get some more female bettas, but i hear that you'd want at least 5 to spread the aggression and I don't think there is enough space in a 20g for 5 bettas to all have their own territories.

Byron Amazonas · Mar 10, 2014

I would not consider angelfish. Being a shoaling fish, they should be in a group of five or more, and that means a 4-foot tank like a 55g or above. Although I myself would never keep a lone angelfish, others do, and the 40g with carefully selected tankmates can work here. A mated pair can manage in a 40g, but I don't know if you want to get into raising dozens of fish. Aside from some substrate fish (though these would mean few if any fry survivals, depending), the angels would be it.

To the 20g, is this a standard (high) 20g at 24 inches in length, or a long 20g at 30 inches length? This can make a significant difference for stocking, and some species need the extra length while others don't. Increasing the neons and corys is very good (and will work in either 20g). I would stay with another shoaling fish. The betta has to be considered too, and on a betta sorority I will leave that for those with more direct experience.

Byron.

ktrom13 · Mar 10, 2014

I wouldnt put an angel in your tank. Its too small but once you get a 40gallon an angel would be fine. You mentioned bettas. Theres a betta by the scientific name betta macrostoma. not very common in the hobby so it may have a price tag to match( unless you find a local breeder) I think you might like that betta

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M8D · Mar 10, 2014

20 gallon long. i figured the length for active fish was better than a tall.

stephcps · Mar 10, 2014

Consider a pair of apistos. They have tons of personality. there are several different species to choose from. Most of them are pair breeders though some prefer harems. They are usually very beautiful. Almost all would be very comfortable in a 20.

Jayhawk · Mar 10, 2014

Bolivian or German/Gold/Blue rams, Apistos as mentioned above, L. curviceps (Dwarf Flag Cichlid), lots of dwarf cichlid choices if you want a cichlid.

livebearerfreak · Mar 11, 2014

Byron Amazonas said:
I would not consider angelfish. Being a shoaling fish, they should be in a group of five or more, and that means a 4-foot tank like a 55g or above. Although I myself would never keep a lone angelfish, others do, and the 40g with carefully selected tankmates can work here. A mated pair can manage in a 40g, but I don't know if you want to get into raising dozens of fish. Aside from some substrate fish (though these would mean few if any fry survivals, depending), the angels would be it.

To the 20g, is this a standard (high) 20g at 24 inches in length, or a long 20g at 30 inches length? This can make a significant difference for stocking, and some species need the extra length while others don't. Increasing the neons and corys is very good (and will work in either 20g). I would stay with another shoaling fish. The betta has to be considered too, and on a betta sorority I will leave that for those with more direct experience.

Byron.

Um, he can have one it a pair and they are not schooling species ( angels )

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livebearerfreak · Mar 11, 2014

M8D said:
20 gallon long. i figured the length for active fish was better than a tall.

Oh, well scratch off the angels, pair OS apisto?

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Byron Amazonas · Mar 11, 2014

livebearerfreak said:
Um, he can have one it a pair and they are not schooling species ( angels )

Angelfish, being Pterophylum scalare (or the other two species, P. altum and P. leopoldi) are shoaling fish by nature. They live in groups of several fish, and establish a hierarchy within the group. They should never be kept as 2 (unless a mated pair), 3 or 4 but only five or more in suitable space. When the group is less than five, the dominant fish will almost inevitably harass subordinate fish until death. Once settled, new fish should never be added to an existing group for the same reason, it will affect the established hierarchy. There was a scientific study carried out a couple years ago on shoaling fish numbers, and angelfish were one of the species studied; the result was proof that in groups less than five, aggression is increased.

Here is a rather good video (not mine) of a tank of wild-caught P. scalare from the Rio Cuiuni that runs along the border of Venezuela and Guyana. If one watches the entire video you will observe how these magnificent fish interact continually, but no physical damage occurs because they are in a good-sized group and have the space to interact as nature intended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gXVgWLbZ-g

I might also add that I have observed wild-caught angelfish fish in a huge display tank at the Vancouver Aquarium behaving exactly the same; in that space of several hundred gallons, they remain clustered around a sunken branch, interacting the same as in this video.

Byron.


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What would YOU add to my 20g?

M8D

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Byron Amazonas

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ktrom13

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M8D

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stephcps

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Jayhawk

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livebearerfreak

you are hypnotized! LOL

livebearerfreak

you are hypnotized! LOL

Byron Amazonas

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