Empty 20 Gallon Tank

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BettaThanYou

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Sep 7, 2015
Messages
41
So, the ich explosion killed all my fish. I'm currently cleaning EVERYTHING. Gravel, tank, decor, heater, you name it. I'm currently cleaning the tank with vinegar and then will wash it out thoroughly with water.
I'm already planning for what fish I'll put in next, after I'm sure the ich is gone.
I really want to put in 1-3 fish, not a lot of different fish, like last time. What would you guys recommend? I've looked into fancy goldfish, and may want to get one or two. What else could I possibly put in the tank, tropical or cold water? Thanks.


~ BettaThanYou
 
I think a good question is what colors do you like and would you like to have live plants or not.

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I think a good question is what colors do you like and would you like to have live plants or not.

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I like bright colours such as orange, yellow, green, red, blue etc. Live plants could be an option, but I would need plants that have easy care and maintenance needs.


~ BettaThanYou
 
Ok, next question, do you want to have to use a heater or keep the tank at room temp. If room temp what is the average temperature in your house?

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Ok, next question, do you want to have to use a heater or keep the tank at room temp. If room temp what is the average temperature in your house?

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Honestly I could keep it at tropical temp or room temp, I'm flexible. Average temperature would be around 18 degrees Celsius I believe. I have a very nice brand new Marina heater that I could use to make sure I have a steady temp for cool or warm water tank.


~ BettaThanYou
 
What country are you in? Do you know if you have hard or soft water? The more we know about your water and temp etc the more we can match fish that require similar conditions

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What country are you in? Do you know if you have hard or soft water? The more we know about your water and temp etc the more we can match fish that require similar conditions

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I'm in Canada and the water here is great for fish. No chlorine etc. The PH is about 8, so I guess it's sort of on the high side.


~ BettaThanYou
 
Ok. I need to do a little research. Goldfish will eat plants and cichlids tear them up. Cichlids are quite colorful and depending on what continent they come from there may be some that like water in your Ph range.

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Thanks Brennae. I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with! :)


~ BettaThanYou
 
If you get bored in the meantime I suggest going to the liveaquaria website and just clicking pics of fish you find appealing and they usually list a Ph range. That's the one thing I'm concerned about. There are ways to lower the Ph both with and without chemicals but then you'd be testing it all the time and it just could go south really quickly

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I've found the less you mess with Ph the better off for you and the fish. Imo you need something decently easy to take care of. If you find fish you like then it's no problem to recommend plants. Oh and if you really want to see what's out there surf Aquabid. There are Canadian sellers in there. They usually will have a Canadian flag at the end of the post and Americans have our flag etc. The little world symbol is for international sellers which many times translates to asia.

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I've found the less you mess with Ph the better off for you and the fish. Imo you need something decently easy to take care of. If you find fish you like then it's no problem to recommend plants. Oh and if you really want to see what's out there surf Aquabid. There are Canadian sellers in there. They usually will have a Canadian flag at the end of the post and Americans have our flag etc. The little world symbol is for international sellers which many times translates to asia.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app


I think I've decided on fancy goldfish. If I get 2 for my 20 gallon, and upgrade them to a 30-40 gallon later this year, would that work?


~ BettaThanYou
 
Are there any plants you'd recommend for goldfish? I've heard they munch at plants, but not Java ferns? Is this true?


~ BettaThanYou
 
You may have to upgrade eventually to a 55g and then a 75 for goldfish. You would need a lot of filtration as goldfish are huge waste producers. I'm not sure about the Java ferns. I've never wanted to risk it. I do put my dwarf water lettuce in the tank and they take care of that in a short time.

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You may have to upgrade eventually to a 55g and then a 75 for goldfish. You would need a lot of filtration as goldfish are huge waste producers. I'm not sure about the Java ferns. I've never wanted to risk it. I do put my dwarf water lettuce in the tank and they take care of that in a short time.

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For 2 FANCY goldfish (twin tails), I've read on multiple sites that a 20 is good for 1 full grown, or 2-3 juveniles, and a 30 would be fine for 2 full grown... I have an Aqua Tech 20-40 gallon and also a Marina 20 Slim Filter. Together this would be about 500gph filtration I think...


~ BettaThanYou
 
I agree about the plants though, better to not risk wasting money on goldfish snacks. ???


~ BettaThanYou
 
Oh yeah, EVENTUALLY I will upgrade to an even larger tank if they get to be over 10 years old. :)


~ BettaThanYou
 
I've read some varied opinions on just how much space goldfish of any kind need. I've seen some people only keeping two fancy in a 75 gallon tank with no other fish and then others that keep several in a smaller tank. Since I've never really kept goldfish I'm not really sure myself. I might lean towards the first option of understocking just by virtue of how much waste they produce. And as a side note, apparently they grow really fast if you take good care of them so you might end up having to move them sooner than you anticipated. (I'm having to do this with my angels currently) If this doesn't scare you off though I say go for it. Goldfish can be really quite lovely.

As for plants though, I think I've heard something about them not eating plants as much if you feed them smaller meals several times a day but again I haven't kept them so I can't swear to it. At the very least you can throw lettuce in there and let them munch that Lol. Cheaper than aquarium plants.
 
I've read some varied opinions on just how much space goldfish of any kind need. I've seen some people only keeping two fancy in a 75 gallon tank with no other fish and then others that keep several in a smaller tank. Since I've never really kept goldfish I'm not really sure myself. I might lean towards the first option of understocking just by virtue of how much waste they produce. And as a side note, apparently they grow really fast if you take good care of them so you might end up having to move them sooner than you anticipated. (I'm having to do this with my angels currently) If this doesn't scare you off though I say go for it. Goldfish can be really quite lovely.

As for plants though, I think I've heard something about them not eating plants as much if you feed them smaller meals several times a day but again I haven't kept them so I can't swear to it. At the very least you can throw lettuce in there and let them munch that Lol. Cheaper than aquarium plants.


:) I can only have the 20 at the moment, but in a year or two I can move them into a 40-55 gallon. ?


~ BettaThanYou
 
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