Help me get started w/ palmas

[BrynnFlynn]

Alright, so I've wanted to get a P. palmas for the longest time (going on two years now), and I think I'm at the point where I can start putting aside money. Rather, I've found a pet store at college that claims they've had several palmas over the summer.

Here's my plan for the little bugger - the palmas would be the only fish in the tank, period. I don't need to get other fish to make his tank pretty, I'm more than happy to do that on my own with plants and the like. So I feel comfortable getting a 20g long to start him off with. I'm planning to feed him/her a combination of krill, silversides, and Hikari Carnivore pellets and mysis shrimp. I've had tons of experience rasing and caring for fish (spent my summer raising betta fish), so I'm not too concerned about not being able to get the water parameters and temperature at the right levels. The substrate is going to be some sort of sand, with cloth plants until I'm more comfortable with putting live plants in there.

Is the sand a good idea? How about the food? Is the 20g going to be okay for a couple months? How big is too big (aka, how many inches till it's tank upgrade time)? Any and all help is appreciated!

 

[beblondie]

Yes sand is a good idea,you have a good grasp on the ddiet also,a 20long should last you at least a year if not longer as long as you keep it well filtered and the changes
on schedule.There is in the sticky section a primer its full of useful information.But so far you have this under control-Anne

 

[Andri Pogo]

which palmas species is the one you want?
palmas polli, palmas palmas or palmas buettikoferi ?

 

[BrynnFlynn]

Thanks Anne! It's good to hear that the 20g will last him a while - my mum's going to kill me when she finds out, so I'm going to try from needing a new tank for a little while. I read that FAQ, I was just checking that the 20 would be good to start with, since it only really talked about ginormous tanks for groups and not a single fish.

I'm hoping to get palmas palmas or palmas polli, but I'm going to double check with the store owner as to which species he can get for me. I don't have the room for the larger species, which is why I've decided on the palmas spp..