A little help

[Coursair]

Do the zebras get aggressive too?

AFAIK, Yes. The only relatively "peaceful" Africans I been told are Electric Yellow Cichlid (Labidochromis caeruleus and Acei Cichlid (Pseudotropheus sp. ). There may be others. They still need a bigger tank.

But you are starting with VERY aggressive fish. As soon as they get some size on them they will fight. And they cannot grow well in such a small tank. They will still fight and be stunted before they pass away.

A. Return the fish. Ask here for suitable fish for a 20g or go to a non-chain fish store.
Or
B. Get a much larger tank. Add most peaceful first, add in yours last.

C. Africans need very hard water. Aragonite or crushed coral can help keep your water chem where it should be. Or there are substrates sold for Africans.

The only Africans that can live in your tank would be some of the dwarf Shell Dwellers Not as colorful, but still cool.

Right now you have a disaster waiting to happen IMHO

 

[Mogurako]

The only relatively "peaceful" Africans I been told are Electric Yellow Cichlid (Labidochromis caeruleus and Acei Cichlid

They may be "peaceful" in terms of some of the other Mbuna like Kenyis but Labs can still be down right mean to each other, overstocking to prevent aggression is about the only way to get around this.

A. Return the fish. Ask here for suitable fish for a 20g or go to a non-chain fish store.
B. Get a much larger tank. Add most peaceful first, add in yours last.
C. Africans need very hard water. Aragonite or crushed coral can help keep your water chem where it should be. Or there are substrates sold for Africans.

A. is you best bet, return or rehome the fish and get stocking ideas from members of this forum.
B. The only possibly way that would work is to ensure proper stocking levels and rearrange the territories each time you introduce new fish even then they will still fight to claim their new territories.
C. They do not need hard water they just need a stable PH, most of the fish you can get in this hobby have all been tank raised and you do not need to go through all the trouble of raising the PH, they will be just fine in any PH just make sure to acclimate them properly.

 

[Chenay83]

Well so much for that idea. I retuned them. Too bad I really wanted cichlids.

 

[Mogurako]

Well so much for that idea. I retuned them. Too bad I really wanted cichlids.

There are allot of dwarf cichlids that you could still have in a 20 gallon.

 

[Bl80]

I have 2 Bolivian rams in a 20 and they ate cute to watch. I don't know their sex yet as they don't have alot of finnage, they are rescues. But doing great!!!

 

[Chenay83]

How big do they get BI80?

 

[Bl80]

How big do they get BI80?

I dont know, sorry. I just got them as rescues last week. They don't have much finnage so I don't know sex yet either. Tho they are becoming quite friendly

 

[bruinsbro1997]

How big do they get BI80?

They get around two to three inches long. The GBRs I have are two and a half.