idears?!of all shapes and sizes please!

[Elgo_Sweettooth]

Ok, once i get my 55 running again, i will have a 20 long that will be empty. Id like to try breeding some fish, any ideas on what would be easy to start with, that arent live bearers?
What would fit in there, be comfy, easy to sex, and fun to watch. i would like a mouth brooder and agrresive isnt a problem since they will be the only fish in the tank, aside from a cleaning crew. and that is usually ghost shrimp that just become causualties of war so to speak.
Id like something with color, and that is active. not getting too picky am i?*L*
Again any suggestions here would be greatly appriciated(or how ever the heck you spell it*L*)

I have been looking at alot of posted that are already up, and i feel liek i am running into a wall making a choice*S*

 

[Oddball]

A pair of Geophagus steindachneri would be good candidates for a 20 long. These humphead (male on the left) geos are great mouth-brooding parents and the fry are large enough to feed on crushed flake foods for their first feedings.

 

[straitjacketstar]

Geo. steindachneri are pretty easy to breed but would eventually outgrow a 20 long. Males can reach 8" and become hyperagressive on females. They don't develop a pair bond.
At 2-2.5" mine spawned several times in a 29gl (same footprint as a 20 long) before I moved them up to a 50gl.
Sexing can also be tricky if you go by visual characteristics only. Some males don't color up till they're about 4". Dominant males can color up as early as 1.5". Mistaking a subdom male for a female is quite common.

Maybe you could do a pair of Cryptoheros sp. Honduran Red Point
http://www.tangledupincichlids.com/images/honrp.jpg
http://okcaa.org/Photo/0606/hrp1.jpg
http://www.petfrd.com/gallery/files/2/3/0/8/maleHRP1.jpg
http://www.cichlidgallery.com/album217/hrp1

Or Cyrptoheros nanoluteus
http://www.cichlidforum.com/profiles/species.php?id=131
http://www.cichlaholic.com/refpics/centralamerican/cryptoherosnanoluteusfemale.jpg
http://aquarium.discus.chez-alice.fr/cryptoheros_nanoluteus.htm
http://burnel.club.fr/Photos/Cryptoheros_nanoluteus.html
http://www.gcca.net/fom/Archocentrus_nanoluteus.htm

Not mouthbrooders but both would stay within the realm of keeping in a 20 long.

If you wanted to stick to mouthbrooding but get into something a little more interesting you could look for some mouthbrooding species of Betta. Most require relatively soft water and special care in regards to rearing fry however, so that might exlude them as a possibility.
One of the most impressive mouthbrooding species is Betta macrostoma.
http://www.israquarium.co.il/FishPhoto/Betta macrostoma.jpg
http://www.fishbreeding.dk/grafik/b_macrostoma_stor.jpg
http://www.internat-anabanassoc.org/1-B-MA1a.jpg
http://www.atisonbetta.com/picture/Stock6/headmacro.jpg
http://uk.geocities.com/mohdnooradnin/album1.htm
(monster looks without the monster size )

The peacock gudgeon, Tateurndina ocellicauda, is a very pretty little fish that isn't picky about params so long as they don't tend toward extremes, and are easily bred. You could keep a small colony in a 20long.
http://www.tolibra.com/fish/tateu.htm
http://www.ahappypets.com/pet_info/Gobies_fish_species/Peacock_goby_tank.htm
http://www.sozo.sk/digi/2005/902/tateurndina_ocellicauda1.jpg
http://www.aquadigital.net/images/DSC_7712b500.jpg
http://www.aquadigital.net/images/DSC_7517b500.jpg
http://www.akwafoto.pl/fotoreport/ostrava2003/tateurndina_ocellicauda3.jpg
http://www.akwafoto.pl/fotoreport/ostrava2003/tateurndina_ocellicauda1.jpg
http://www.aquanet.at/doerfler/tate.jpg
http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Photos/PicturesSummary.cfm?ID=15907&what=species
http://www.famille-schneider.net/poissons/Fiches poissons/fiche_tateurndina.htm
http://www.cab31.free.fr/g/photo/2006/tatocellicau.JPG
http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Photos/PicturesSummary.cfm?StartRow=1&ID=15907&what=species
(what beats a fish that never takes a bad picture? )


You could also look into the wonderful world of bristlenose plecs. The longfin, albino longfin and calico longfins have become of particular interest to some hobbyists and can more than make up for their keeping costs with a good outlet for the offspring.
http://www.neptuneaquatics.com/images/Ancistrus sp Longfin Albino.jpg
http://www.akwafoto.pl/archiwum_x/zbrojniki/ancistrus_sp_longfin1.jpg
http://www.akwafoto.pl/fotoreport/ostrava2004/ryby/ancistrus_sp_longfin1.jpg
http://www.akwafoto.pl/fotoreport/ostrava2004/ryby/ancistrus_sp_longfin5.jpg
http://www.fishaholics.org/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-1175

There are plenty of other possibilities assuming not being a mouth brooder isn't a problem.
Some of the easier to find and hardier Apistogrammas like Apisto. cacatuoides, A. agassizii, A. borellii or A. trifasciata would make nice permanent additions to the tank.

Just some ideas.

 

[Elgo_Sweettooth]

some ideas*S* thats gonna give me things to read all day*S* thanks guys!!