# fish for a new 20 gallon tank



## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

I am thinking about getting a twenty gallon tank. The problem is i don't know what to get. 
Would a clown loach or two work well in a twenty gallon tank with some kind of schooling fish. If not are there any other suggesions for it?


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

StripesAndFins said:


> I am thinking about getting a twenty gallon tank. The problem is i don't know what to get.
> Would a clown loach or two work well in a twenty gallon tank woth some kind of schooling fish. If not are there any other suggesions for it?


SAF:

Is this you first aquarium?

The Clown Loach will just not work* but you do have many options for a 20G tank.

What are you thinking that you would enjoy?

A community aquarium with a few bottom feeders, some tetras for additional color and some livebearers for enjoyment in breeding fish, etc?

Also are you contemplating a planted tank?

TR

*I know that these baby Clown Loaches look very pretty in the pet shops but one adult Clown Loach could barely turn around in a 20G tank and as Clown Loaches are social fishies you would need at least three to be happy.


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## elvis332 (Dec 29, 2007)

maybe some neon tetras and some zebra danios


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## Sea-Agg2009 (Aug 2, 2008)

Yeah, clown loaches like to be in big schools, like 8+, and they get big, like almost a foot long. This is my suggestion;
Bottom: Cory's (3 or 4), or a single loach (kuhli or dojo)

"Swimmers": Testras, Rasboras, Guppies, Danios or White Clouds. Any of them in a small school (5 - 8). Killifish would work, but that would be someone else's expertise, not mine. You could also put a betta in there, but I would limit the smaller fish if you went that route.

If you want to venture into planted tanks, now is the time. You would only need 30 watts or so for some really nice lighting. 

As for algea-eaters, I would suggest a mystery snail or 2. Oto's would work, but as repeated all over the place, they are very temperamental. Any variety of snail is fine, but I would never wish trumpet snails onto anyone, and mysteries are available almost everywhere.


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

I was looking into getting some gardener's killifish or lyretail killifish, but i have no info on what size they like for a community. Are these good choices.
Also, what kind of cichlids could i get?


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

Sea-Agg2009 said:


> Bottom: Cory's (3 or 4), or a single loach (kuhli or dojo)


Could i get a zebra loach or two instead of kuhli or dojo?


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

any specific type of schooling fish recommended for the fish i put in first? i would really like have my first school in this tank


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

Hey fellow MA fishkeeper? Whereabouts are you located? I'm either in Mansfield, Allston, or Wrentham depending on the day.

ANYWAYS.

I just set up my girlfriends first tank. It's a 10G with 30W of lighting, a very small HOB filter, and she decided on 3 male yellow guppies, and wanted 2 neon tetras. I bought her 6 neon tetras and 6 cardinal tetras and called the tank stocked. There is black and white gravel, driftwood, frogbit, amazon swords, and crypts. It is really gorgeous and I recommend something similar for a first tank.

Check out the boston aquarium society meetings also (bostonaquariumsociety.org)

We meet every third monday of each month. Lots of killi keepers in the area that would know a lot more and be able to help more than I.

Keep an eye out for redpaulhus on here. He's the one that got me interested in the BAS in the first place, and is a very helpful guy along with everyone else here!


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## Sea-Agg2009 (Aug 2, 2008)

Killi's, not my topic. I'll let someone knowledgeable field that one. I'm not too keen on cichlids, but I'm pretty sure they all get pretty big, at least for a 20 gallon. They also don't usually get along with small fish, which usually become fish-chow. I'm not really sure what a zebra loach is (lots of common names for fish). A scientific name or relative would help. Any of the rasbora's make great first-time schoolers, as well as the smaller tetras. Neon, cardinal, serpae, bloodfin, and rummy-nose come to mind. With any of these, start with 4, then move to 8, and stop there. If you want to add a killi or two for some livebearer fun, that should be able to work.


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

Sea-Agg2009 said:


> I'm not really sure what a zebra loach is (lots of common names for fish). A scientific name or relative would help.


_Botia striata_- scientific name


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

So heres what i have come up with for my new tank.

6 cardinal tetras
6 penguin tetras
and 6 panda corys 

will these fish go well together in a 20 gallon community tank


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

Sea-Agg2009 said:


> Killi's, not my topic. I'll let someone knowledgeable field that one. I'm not too keen on cichlids, but I'm pretty sure they all get pretty big, at least for a 20 gallon. They also don't usually get along with small fish, which usually become fish-chow. I'm not really sure what a zebra loach is (lots of common names for fish). A scientific name or relative would help. Any of the rasbora's make great first-time schoolers, as well as the smaller tetras. Neon, cardinal, serpae, bloodfin, and rummy-nose come to mind. With any of these, start with 4, then move to 8, and stop there. If you want to add a killi or two for some livebearer fun, that should be able to work.


killis stay relatively small, wont eat other fish, and are egglayers. they prefer soft water and will spawn in peat moss


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## Sea-Agg2009 (Aug 2, 2008)

Oh, so a botia loach. They like groups around 5, so I'm not sure if they would be good in a 20 gallon...


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

What about the fish i am planning on adding.


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

you cant mix cichlids, killies, etc. Pick one you would prefer and we can go from there


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

How about this

6 penguin tetras
6 cardinal tetras
6 panda corys
2-3 kribs

Or would that overstock the tank


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

i would say that would be fine, but I tend to overstock my tanks.


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

If i do decide to buy these fish what food can they all eat. I would rather not buy these different foods. If there are any suggestions , it would be greatly appreciated
And just for the record, Jones, This is my 2 tank, but 3rd time keeping fish


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

i lied. kribs may get too big. I was thinking apistos. dumb me.... those fish could all be fed on a good quality flake food or pellet food, but nothing too large. I use tetracolor sinking granules for all of my fish.


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

So are you saying i can't have any kribs. Any other cichlids i could have or are the other fish good together without any cichlids


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## Plecostomus (Jul 31, 2006)

The tank without the Kribensis would probably be the best Idea. As for feeding, you will have to buy flakes or dried worms or live worms(flakes are easiest) for your tetras and sinking pellets for the cories.


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

i have flakes that sink after a while and freeze dried bloodworms. would that be ok to give to the fish


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## frogman5 (Mar 13, 2007)

get the corys shrimp pellets they love them and as far as the tetras and such just feed flake and can supplement in the bloodworms


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

So i just finished discussing the tank idea with my dad so we go to wal-mart and find a 29 gallon tank that is cheaper than the 20 gallon we were looking at. Now that we are planning on gettin another tank, what other fish can i put in there with the 6 cardinals, 6penguins, and 6 corys (i don't know what kind) any suggestions (could i add a 3-5 clown loaches instead of the corys)


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## elvis332 (Dec 29, 2007)

i think the 6 penguin tetras
6 cardinal tetras are good


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

So nothing else. Not even corys


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

i need to hold my tongue before i say something to elvis i shouldnt...


with a 29 you have a lot of options. 6 cardinal, 6 penguin, i would do 6 corys or so, a gourami or two, and maybe some oto's! Theres plenty of other things that would work as well

You could also bump your cardinal and penguin schools up to 8 or even 10.

planted?


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## Plecostomus (Jul 31, 2006)

Yeah, for a 29g, I would recommend getting a few more tetras in the schools, and maybe add a few shrimp if you like shrimp? Ghost shrimp are cheap and are fun to watch.


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

so i got a 29 gallon tank. my plan is 8 cardinal tetras, 5 swordtails, 4 bronze corys, 3 albino corys, 3 black kuhli loaches, and 2 rubber lip plecos. will this work or will it be overstocking the new tank? and which fish should i put in first?


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

and i have heard about driftwood being a nessecity for plecos. is this true? and if it is how do i prepare it without boiling it?


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## problematic (Jan 31, 2009)

You seem a bit overstocked (maybe just take out a loach and a few cories), but make sure not to just get male swordtails. It's better to be overstocked than understocked.

After a fishless cycle with water parameters in check, get the swordtails first, then the tetras. They are cheap and swordtails are hardiest. Then get the cories, then the loaches. Get the pleco last; it makes a heavy bio-load.

Hope I helped!


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

i am not getting the swords anymore. The fish i am getting are in my sig.

Thanks in advance


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