Stocking a new 20 gall tank.....general questions

[TXFish]

I'm new to this forum, though not entirely new to fishkeeping. A few years ago, I had an Eclipse 12 gall that worked out pretty well until it got overrun with brown algae and the fish eventually died. I'm looking to start fresh with a 20 gall.

I cycled my previous tank successfully with Platies so I'm fairly familiar with that, as well as testing for Ammonia & Nitrites. I'm undecided as to whether to try fishless cycling this time around (is it faster?).

That's a little background, now on to my question: I have a male betta that I'd like to house in this 20 gall, but would like some opinions on good tankmates. I've considered Danios and/or Tetras but am open to any other suggestions that might be better. The extent of my experience with fish is Platies, Swordtails, & Danios. I had considered a tank of just a school of Tetras with the Betta......any thoughts on this?

Don't have the specific pH on my water, but I do know it's high. The tank is up & running now with a Penguin 150 filter & Rena-Cal 100 watt heater. I'm just ready to add a few fish to start the cycling--how many would be appropriate to start?

Any advice on avoiding the algae problems I encountered before? I'd like to fix past mistakes so I can keep this one up & running--- and healthy!

Thanks in advance for any and all advice/suggestions !

[talloulou]

My first suggestion would be to post in the freshwater fish forum :P And welcome to AA :P :P :P

[quarryshark]

Moved to the [acronym:38a5330d3b="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:38a5330d3b] forum.

[talloulou]

As far as algae problems it helps if you set the tank up in a spot that doesn't receive direct sunlight. Also be careful not to overfeed your fish and be consistent with water changes. As far as your betta I keep a betta with an african dwarf frog, cories, and black skirt tetras with no problems. But I don't have an overly aggressive betta. Some bettas will go after anything and others are more tolerant, so it will depend on your betta's personality. If you get some tetras get a school so they keep each other busy and don't nip the betta. Danios are really fast and may or may not upset the betta with their zipping all over the tank. Where are you keeping your betta now? Does the current betta tank have a filter because you can use the old filter media to help jump start your new tank. If you are going to cycle with fish you should be prepared to do frequent water changes. As far as the pH don't worry about.

[TXFish]

Thank you for the input! Unfortunately I do not have any filter media to jump start the new tank as my Betta is kept in a 1 gall that I do weekly 100% water changes for. You've given me some food for thought regarding the Danios, so I will select some slower moving, peaceful fish that might not stress him out as bad. Thanks again!

[Tiffi]

How many watts per gallon light do you have over the aquarium? Are you planning on using any live plants?

[TXFish]

Actually, I'm embarrassed to admit that I do not know the wattage of the fluorescent lamp. I'll have to look & see; it came with the hood (hood & tank set). I don't have any plans right now to use live plants....I've set it up with silk plants for the time being.

I know too much light will contribute to algae growth, but the tank gets no direct sunlight. I guess the same would hold true for the tank lights........how much is too much?

[duugong]

im not too sure but what fish you can get depends on the temprement of your betta. i kept neons and a betta fine, but a more agressive one may be a problem with tetras, can anyone confirm this??? but what ever you do dont kepp dwarf gouramis there bright colours will make him a target