Upgrade to 20 Gallon Tank

[ANorton]

I am a novice to aquariums and to this site. I currently have a 5 gallon tank with 2 small fish. I think they are black neon Tetra but I am not totally positive. They look similar. Anyways sorry.

A friend gave me a 20 gallon Glass tank which I wanted to upgrade with. It is just a tank and the last one I bought was a full kit. I am looking for suggestions on how to do the upgrade for my fish and what accessories I should purchase for the tank to get it ready.

Thanks for the help
Aaron

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Well there are many types of decor from natural to not so, it all depends on what you like. The substrate can be many things aswell like sand, pebbles,gravel, soil and so on and so on.

For cycling the new tank I would just do a fish in cycle and move the filter from the old tank over. You may want to look into a bigger filter.

 

[Scottyhorse]

I am sure that Andrew is much more knowledgeable about fish, but I have to disagree with him about the cycling. I personally would not do a fish in cycle with tetras. You can, but tetras seem to be more fragile, so they may not survive the cycle process. But, it is up to you. That would be the easiest way, for sure.

But back to your question. You are going to need a 75-100 watt heater, a filter rated for 25 gallons, 20 pounds of substrate, a good light, (t5 lighting is good if you want to have live plants) and of course decor and fish.

What kind of fish are you interested in? I am thinking you would want beginner fish, right? Some stocking options would be:

A female betta sorority with 6 or 7 bettas
A mix of 10 or 12 MALE guppies, platies, sword tails, etc
A school of 15 tetras
A male betta with 5-6 tetras
A school of 10 tetras with a 20-30 cherry shrimp
4-5 glass cat fish, with 3 african dwarf frogs

The possibilities go on and on, but it depends on what you like. What would you like to see in the aquarium?

 

[ANorton]

I never really thought about it. My kids love to watch fish si something that likes to swim a lot if that makes sense. I know salt water fish are the more colorful types but could be different. Any and all suggestions are welcome. I will take a picture of my fish tonight and post it here maybe they are not Tetra's. Like I said I am a novice. I do know one thing, they will generally only eat when I feed them. Guess it is because I am the one that always does that.

 

[ANorton]

ok I was wrong about the type of fish I have.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

To me they look to be female
Hyphessobrycon megalopterus
common name :Black Phantom Tetra

If you only have two you should up it to at least 6 but more would be better.

 

[ANorton]

Thanks for the help everyone. Now I am looking for some tank setup ideas. I have 2 Black Phantom Tetras and just added 3 Zebra Danios. Any thoughts on design or additional fish I should add? Discus, Betta or Cardinal Tetras?

Thanks