What to put in 20 gallon long
- Thread starter 1000ninja
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Tiger barbs will be fine in a twenty gallon tank. You will need a pretty big group though so maybe look at another barbs that's not so nasty. Rosy barbs are a great fish but there are many to choose from. You get the added benefit of them doing well in high ph water too. Well most of them anyway.
Many danios do well in hard high ph water too.
Many danios do well in hard high ph water too.
I like the apistogramma suggestion for a 20 gallon long, but they're not for hard water. You can still have beautiful dwarf cichlids that can tolerate hard water.
Pelvicachromis pulcher aka 'Kribensis' or 'Kribs'. They are from West Africa and can withstand medium to hard ward. The max length for the male is 4" but not all get that large (females are smaller). They're typically peaceful but if you get a male and female that pairs up they'll kill everything else in the tank (including other kribs) before breeding. You'll need a cave, a terracota pot, or some rock formation and you should have some plants in the tank.
Plants: In hard, alkaline water Cryptocoryne species like C. Wendtii and C. Tropica grows very well and is perfect for a 20 gallon krib tank. It's grows 4-6" tall and is very bushy. I prefer Cryptocoryne wendtii to Amazon Swords because Cryptocoryne grows faster and is much bushier. Cryptocoryne also comes in different color varieties other than green (reds, bronze). Java fern and anubias are good, easy hard water plants when grown on rocks or driftwood ... just never in the substrate. Faster growing hardwater plants are: Elodea 'Anarchis', a stem plant, and Hornwort (ceratophyllum not myriophyllum) which should be floated in the water column or secured to driftwood or rocks .. not planted in the substrate.
Vallisneria 'Jungle Val' is another great plant for hard, alkaline water. Plant it on the side of the tank and it will hang over the surface and float like a grass when it's tall enough. There's a nana variety that has thin blades. I'd get that if you can find it.
Here's a picture of my 20 gallon long krib tank. I enjoy this little krib tank as much as any of my tanks. It's not the best shot but at least it (barely) shows the male (behind the cave), the female (just emerging from the cave), some juveniles, the cave structure, and some of the plants. I have an AC70 with a sponge pre-filter for mechanical and bio filtration. This was taken several months ago so the plants are much thicker now. The plant you see on the bottom left in cryptocoryne wendtii and it's now nearly twice as tall and wide. The tall leggy plants are Hygrophila corymbosa 'Temple compacta'. They grow leggy without the right lighting, nutrients and CO2 supplementation.
Pelvicachromis pulcher aka 'Kribensis' or 'Kribs'. They are from West Africa and can withstand medium to hard ward. The max length for the male is 4" but not all get that large (females are smaller). They're typically peaceful but if you get a male and female that pairs up they'll kill everything else in the tank (including other kribs) before breeding. You'll need a cave, a terracota pot, or some rock formation and you should have some plants in the tank.
Plants: In hard, alkaline water Cryptocoryne species like C. Wendtii and C. Tropica grows very well and is perfect for a 20 gallon krib tank. It's grows 4-6" tall and is very bushy. I prefer Cryptocoryne wendtii to Amazon Swords because Cryptocoryne grows faster and is much bushier. Cryptocoryne also comes in different color varieties other than green (reds, bronze). Java fern and anubias are good, easy hard water plants when grown on rocks or driftwood ... just never in the substrate. Faster growing hardwater plants are: Elodea 'Anarchis', a stem plant, and Hornwort (ceratophyllum not myriophyllum) which should be floated in the water column or secured to driftwood or rocks .. not planted in the substrate.
Vallisneria 'Jungle Val' is another great plant for hard, alkaline water. Plant it on the side of the tank and it will hang over the surface and float like a grass when it's tall enough. There's a nana variety that has thin blades. I'd get that if you can find it.
Here's a picture of my 20 gallon long krib tank. I enjoy this little krib tank as much as any of my tanks. It's not the best shot but at least it (barely) shows the male (behind the cave), the female (just emerging from the cave), some juveniles, the cave structure, and some of the plants. I have an AC70 with a sponge pre-filter for mechanical and bio filtration. This was taken several months ago so the plants are much thicker now. The plant you see on the bottom left in cryptocoryne wendtii and it's now nearly twice as tall and wide. The tall leggy plants are Hygrophila corymbosa 'Temple compacta'. They grow leggy without the right lighting, nutrients and CO2 supplementation.
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I have a 20L with 3 Bolivian rams, a group of pristella/black neon tetras and a few ghost shrimp. Everyone is doing well, and I have hard water from my well.
Check out Bolivians, they are cool and display interesting behavior. They can be nippy so they don't do well with corys.
Check out Bolivians, they are cool and display interesting behavior. They can be nippy so they don't do well with corys.
Shell dwellers are a great fit for a twenty. They stay close to the bottom so you could still have some danios to occupy the uppers levels of the tank.
Shell dwellers will only stay close to the bottom if that is the only place the shells are! My old shell dweller tank was 6 inches deep in escargot shells and a large peice of holey rock and they swam all over..... and bred like aquatic rabbits.
If you are looking at tangs, you have a lot of options. 20g is a perfect single species tang tank. Here are some species tanks that can work:
Any Brichardi complex fish: N. Brichardi, N. Pulcher, N. Helianthus, etc. Start with handful of juvies and keep the first pair - you will soon have a colony.
Any smaller Neolamprologus, like N. Leleupi, one pair. Be careful with leleupi, 20g doesn't leave much room for error, if your male is getting tough, put in a divider asap.
Just about any Juliochromis should work. A pair or a trio
Altolamprologus Calvus, a pair or a trio.
Shellies, either 2-3 pairs or a colony depending on what species.
Here is a link to another forum with a "20g cookie-cutter" page.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_20g.php
Livebearers, killifish, gouramis, paradise fish are all great things for a 20g. A pair of golden panchax or a group of Xiphophorus montezumae will make for an awesome tank.
There is a "mini monsterfish" forum on mfk, I think one of stickies goes through many cool fish that can live in small tanks, like leaf fish and mini payaras.
You can also try puffers. You could get a few pea puffers in that tank, or maybe even a pair of figure eights.
Unless you are an experienced aquariast, I would stay away from ram cichlids, though. They require pristine water quality and really need RO water, plants and huge WC and a big tank for stability. People recommend them for small tanks due to their size, but they are one of the hardest fish to keep.
Any Brichardi complex fish: N. Brichardi, N. Pulcher, N. Helianthus, etc. Start with handful of juvies and keep the first pair - you will soon have a colony.
Any smaller Neolamprologus, like N. Leleupi, one pair. Be careful with leleupi, 20g doesn't leave much room for error, if your male is getting tough, put in a divider asap.
Just about any Juliochromis should work. A pair or a trio
Altolamprologus Calvus, a pair or a trio.
Shellies, either 2-3 pairs or a colony depending on what species.
Here is a link to another forum with a "20g cookie-cutter" page.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_20g.php
Livebearers, killifish, gouramis, paradise fish are all great things for a 20g. A pair of golden panchax or a group of Xiphophorus montezumae will make for an awesome tank.
There is a "mini monsterfish" forum on mfk, I think one of stickies goes through many cool fish that can live in small tanks, like leaf fish and mini payaras.
You can also try puffers. You could get a few pea puffers in that tank, or maybe even a pair of figure eights.
Unless you are an experienced aquariast, I would stay away from ram cichlids, though. They require pristine water quality and really need RO water, plants and huge WC and a big tank for stability. People recommend them for small tanks due to their size, but they are one of the hardest fish to keep.
Thanks for the help guys i think I'm going to go with the shell dwellers and a pool filter sand bottom. How many can I stock the tank with? Was also thinking about some pothos on top of the tank to help with nitrates.
Can I put anything else in the tank?
Can I put anything else in the tank?
