ideas/input for my tank

[attiladahun]

any ideas for a 20-gal, tropical community aquarium as far as fish go? i don't really have an eye for design, but i want special emphasis on the fish's hardiness, colors, and compatibility.

all ideas are appreciated, thanks

 

[zazz]

You may have already done this.
Look online for fish profiles with pictures.
There is a LOT to see.
Maybe if you focus on fish that will fit in a twenty gallon tank, that ould be a good way to start narrowing.
the profiles usually mention hardiness, and, a really cool feature on many of them is "compatible tank mates"
It all can get very confusing, but you might get some ideas of fish you might like, or types of fish, and then bring those back here for a starting place for feedback.
Also if you browse through these forums for questions aimilar to yours, you might get some ideas too.
Not sure what you meant by design, another factor to consider is aiming for activity atthe bottom, middle and top of the water. Also, maybe think about whether you'd like zippy, active fish? calm, gentle fish, fish with interesting behaviors to watch?
I hope any of this is in the least helpful.
PS I just 'Googled' "twenty gallon aquarium" and got some interesting results.
Give it a shot, if you havent already. I am thinking you might get better reponses here if you gave a little bit more of a place to start.
checkout fishprofiles.com

 

[greendeltatke]

That is really good advice, zazz. Some thing else you might consider is what your temperature and water parameters are going to be. You won't get a really good idea just from the tap water. Set up the tank complete with whatever plants and driftwood you are going to use, wait a few days, then measure the parameters. My ph went from 7.6 in the tap to 6.8 after a week with my malaysian driftwood. I also found that even without a heater one of my tanks stays steady at 74 degrees. If that were to be a cold water tank I would have a hard time cooling it over the summer.

Also, if you haven't already bought the tank, go up one or two sizes. Trust me, once you start the temptation to go bigger will be overwhelming.

 

[d0nuT]

I can vouch for the wanting to go bigger straight away! I have a 20 gallon that a friend gave me (how lucky am I? ) and I really want a bigger one too! (notice the too? No way I'd get rid of this one either! )

There's a wealth of information on this site and the people here are great with helping out with ideas and hints too! With a 20 gallon there's a huge array of things you *could* do. The thing that I did was to just read up and really decide on my set-up before I did anything. That way I minimalised any mistakes that could have happened with fish compatability and the like Tetras are quite nice, as are loads of others! They're very pretty and would go nice in a 20 gallon Cories are cool too and very cute

Good luck with this!

D

 

[Holly9937]

Another good idea is to search through the members aquarium specs. in the forums here. There is no guaruntee that the stocking choice of any given tank was a good idea, but if something catches your eye, you could repost specific fish and see what people think.
Also, make sure you do research on whatever fish you decide and do not rely on the fish store to give you accurate advice on what fish will be ok for your tank. I was told that bala sharks (that can get over a foot long) would be ok for a 35g tank !! I recently upgraded to a 180 gallon tank so that I could keep them.
In general, one fish that would work with your tank size wise, are cory cats, 3-5 of them. They like to be with their own kind (preferably same species too) and are very cute and active. Also, take a look at the tetras (try the species profile on this site). A group of corys and 10 or so of one kind of group of tetras might be nice. Also, mollys, platys and swordtails come in lots of colors and are neat fish, you could check those out.
Let us know if you come up with any ideas!! Good luck

 

[zazz]

I read some of your old posts. What did you have in your ten gallon?
What would you like the same or different in this one.?

 

[attiladahun]

-zazz

I started out w/ 6 zebra danios, then got 2 serpae tetras, one died, then 2 tiger barbs, one died right away, the other a few months later, the serpae died, then 3 of the zebras, then got a pair of swordtails, they died QUICK, got a snail, it did nothing for 2 weeks, then died, then i got a (don't remember the specific kind) barb and 2 scissortail tetras. the 3 zebras, barb, and scissortails lived happily and merrily until a couple of months ago, when i got a pleco which died and gave me my first ick plague, killing all but my barb. this is why i'm so worried about hardiness. i don't think that i've done anything wrong that killed the fish, maybe high tank temps and sunlight, but the 20-gal is in a better spot.

i was pretty happy with all my fish, but i'd like more mid-tank and bottom activity.

also, if you have any opinion on what is killing my fish, please tell! ask me Qs and I'll get back w/ you on that 1

 

[Holly9937]

Losing that many fish would make me think something is going on. You probably want to get that under control before you buy fish/set up a new tank, just to save you the money and trouble, if for no other reason! On the tank you have problems with and if you already have the 20g set up, can you list your ph, amonia, nitrite, nitrate and temperature? Also, FYI, most plecos will get too large for a 20 gallon tank, otos would make a good choice for algae eaters

 

[attiladahun]

more q's

i did some research, and i found out a lot, but i still have some questions:

do you really need 50 gallons for an angel?

do you really need salt for mollies and swords?

do cardinal and neon tetras really need a dark tank?

can you put schooling fish in groups of 2 or three?

do plecos really need something other than algae to eat?

can you put neon and cardinal tetras with larger fish? say and angel? or tiger barb?

do plecos (pl*cos) really need driftwood, etc. to survive?

will salt for the mollies and swords hurt the other fish?


the fish profiles sound pretty liberal on care for even the hardiest fish, i just want a reality check.


PS, how does a 20 gal sound w/ a small (5) school of zebra danios (i want them to start the tank cycle) , some mollies, some platies, some swords, a small school of cardinal tetras, a tank-cleaning or algae eating species, and a few tiger barbs or an angel?

 

[attiladahun]

On the tank you have problems with and if you already have the 20g set up, can you list your ph, amonia, nitrite, nitrate and temperature?

i have a thermometer in the problem tank, it stays between 75 and 81 during most of the year.

i get my ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite tested periodically at my local pet store, it's always fine as long as i've done a water change lately.

the pet store doesn't test for ph, i don't know how, and i don't want to spend a truckload of money for a kit, and i don't know what to do if the ph is out of whack. since the pet store didn't offer ph testing, i never thought that it was a big deal. i guess i'll try to get my hands on a bit of ph paper, although i'm not for sure this is the problem.