# I'm a noob with a 20 gallon tank, stocking question



## RyanB (Oct 1, 2009)

Hello everyone. I'll admit right off the bat that I am fresh off the bus as far as aquarium stewardship is concerned. I purchased a 20 gallon tank primarily for the viewing pleasure of my daughter (3 and infatuated with fish). I have been trying to learn as much as possible over the past week, and after much of this reading I feel fortunate that I have not lost any fish.

I'll knock on wood on that one, but I do have a growing concern that I am in store for problems. I relied on the suggestions of a pet store employee in my initial tank stock, which is apparently a universal negative. I ended up with:

20 gallon tank
1 x striped raphael catfish
2 x red finned sharks
3 x tiger barbs

I've read enough to now know that 20 gallons is terribly insufficient for this community in the long run, and probably in the short run too. So really my question is not, "Is my tank too small?"

My question is really, given these fish, what can I realistically hope to keep from my community? I have no problems taking fish back, as I do not want to see them suffer and probably die as they outgrow their surroundings.

Thank you for any advice.


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## Fishhorder (Sep 21, 2009)

Problem here is that the pet store employee just agreed with what you picked to make a buck. If you really want to keep the fish you have you're looking at gettng a bigger tank. The red fin sharks are going to get bigger and have issues with territory in your tank which may lead to fighting with each other and possibly injury to the other fish in the tank. The raphael is going to get really big for that tank. Tiger barbs don't stay small and I've seen them the size of quarters and they to like to pick on other fish.

I would stick to small tetras and rasboras in this tank. You can build different little schools that are always moving and cories for the bottom dwellers to clean up the bottom and maybe a few otos or a snail for algae eaters. There are also plecos that stay small that could go into your tank also.


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## RyanB (Oct 1, 2009)

Thanks for the guidance, I appreciate it.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Tiger barbs can get really nippy if keep in small groups instead of big schools. I guess the question now is whether you want to restock this tank or start shopping for a big one. Chain stores idea of suitable is won't kill each other or die before the warranty period ends (usually 1 week).


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

emc7 said:


> Chain stores idea of suitable is won't kill each other or die before the warranty period ends (usually 1 week).


I think Petsmart and Petco both have a 15 day guarantee and Wal-Mart (eww) has a 90 day guarantee. The thing is, the way they treat the fish and how cheap they get the fish, they can afford to replace your fish for free. The salesperson knows this, and will tell you that your fish will work together, regardless of warranty/guarantee. 

When I go to these stores, I always listen for the incompetent employee. It makes correcting them so much fun. For instance, I was at Wal-Mart and heard the guy say that crabs and African Dwarf Frogs will go together. I told the lady buying the animals, that they will go together if you want to give the crabs a nice snack. The salesperson turned red.


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## Plecostomus (Jul 31, 2006)

The fish you have right now aren't too bad, but the red finned sharks will grow too big and 3 tiger barbs will definitely fight with each other. You could either get more tiger barbs, or you could take back the tiger barbs and make a peaceful community tank.


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