Amounts of Fish for New Tank

[DancesWithFish]

Hi, I'm new to these kind of things and have a question. There are some fish I am interested in getting for my new 20g. tank I'm getting. My aunt and uncle once have a freshwater tank, but are mostly saltwater people. I know about cycling and stuff, but do you guys have any ideas on how many fish I could get of each type while not overcrowding the tank? I'm interested in swordtails, lyretail guppies and glowlight tetras. Any suggestions?


Thanks :help:

 

[jm1212]

if you want swordtails, i would go for a species tank, because you are going to need 1 male per 3 females to keep agression down, and you tank isnt that big. i would say get 2 males and 4 females and see how it goes.

if you want guppies and glowlites instead though, you can have 6 glowlites and a couple of guppies

 

[dorkfish]

if you want swordtails, i would go for a species tank, because you are going to need 1 male per 3 females to keep agression down, and you tank isnt that big. i would say get 2 males and 4 females and see how it goes.

if you want guppies and glowlites instead though, you can have 6 glowlites and a couple of guppies

Seems a little light for a 20g. I'd say you could do about twice those stockings, unless it's an extra tall 20g. Or do you know something I don't?

 

[DancesWithFish]

The tetras and guppies sound nice.

Or do you know something I don't?

I don't really know anything, so...... :huh: also, should I have an algea eater in there, and if so, is there one small enough in to fit in my tank? What about a few plants? Maybe a goldfish to eat any duckweed that sneaks in.:thud:God, I'm way too new at this. :OT:

 

[Aussie_hippie_2]

don't add the goldfish, it will dirty the tank. Plus I don't know if it'll survive the 76-78 temp you'll need.

 

[DancesWithFish]

don't add the goldfish, it will dirty the tank. Plus I don't know if it'll survive the 76-78 temp you'll need.

Thanks. I've seen that it is beneficial to some fish to feed them fruits and veggies. Is this okay? Can my tetras and guppies eat, say, orange slices, or other fruits? I'm open to suggestions, as i still have no idea what I'm doing. I'm doomed without your help. :hang: :shark: Or at least, all my fish will die. :sad: :sad: Close enough.

 

[jm1212]

you should get mollies or swordtails. they are really hardy and have great colors and finnage. i came up with some possible tank stockings for you for mollies and swordtails

MOLLIE TANK
2 male sailfin mollies (you could get one with black spots on a silver background and one with orange spots on a silver background)
6 females of various colors

SWORDTAIL TANK
2 males of any color
6 females of any color

they are both pretty good stating fish and are very active, and the males will be showing off to the females and the other male in the tank and you are going to get really good colors. you are going to get babies, but if you dont want to keep them, just leave them in the tank and the other fish will take care of them for you lol

BTW, thank you dorkfish, really. i wasnt sure before how many swordtails could fit, but if they could add more females, that better for agression.

 

[dorkfish]

Or do you know something I don't?

I don't really know anything, so...... :huh:

That was in response to jm1212's proposed stockings, incase your confused...

also, should I have an algea eater in there, and if so, is there one small enough in to fit in my tank?

This depends on personal preferance and wether or not you are prepared to make sure it/they are geting a proper diet and what you prefer.

What about a few plants?

Again, this depends mostly on personal preference and wether or not you are prepared to care for the live plants. Some kind of cover as well as a few caves is highly recomended by me, as IME (in my expierience) and IMO (in my opinion), if there isn't enough cover you will end up with stressed fish. Fake plants are as easy as as taking them out of the package and dropping them in the tank. Some of the hardier live plants only need a "low" amount of lighting to grow - others need lighting that's comparable to having a sun over your tank, fertiliser dosing, CO2 injection, special substrate, the works.

Maybe a goldfish to eat any duckweed that sneaks in.:thud:God, I'm way too new at this.

:OT:

For one, the chances of duckweed sneaking in your tank is slim to none. Secondly, any duckweed wich does sneak in can be easily enilelated with a fish net - it's not like your dealing with a 20 foot by 20 foot pond here. Thirdly, goldfish are completely unsuitable for your tank and tank size, as "sort of" mentioned above. Also, I think a covering of duckweed would look pretty sweet in an aquarium, however, that's just my opinion.

Now, I think I should answer the original question...

How does 9-10 neon rainbows sound?

 

[DancesWithFish]

[ Thanks for the advice.c: I think I'll go with the guppies and glowfish, though. I'm going to have the guppies be all male, of course, or I will have swarms of guppies very soon. That would be a surprise to find out about after school. :laugh: Does anyone know about the fruits and veggies, though?[/FONT]

 

[EMontondo]

Just a small note, for fish and how many you can put in a tank? My uncle once told me only put in 1 fish per gallon of water depending on it's size at adulthood? is this true? and Goldfish are very dirty fish but if the tank is kept clean they can be very beautiful too... I have 2 Gold's in a 30 gallon tank, they started out as carnival prizes that the kids won... but now one ("fish") is about 6 inches long not counting fins and the other ("stick") is about 5 inches long, which I am not sure is this still considered goldfish or koi?

as for the amount for a 20 gallon tank, like I said depends on how big they'll get, the smaller the more you can have....

:girl: EMontondo