What's the biggest fish I can fit in a 20 gallon 30" wide

[deMelo]

Hey everyone

I would like to know what's the biggest fish I can fit on my tank!

Would like more then 1

Color full

I know that piranhas need at least 50 gallons, so that's out of my list!

What would you Guys recommend!!!

 

[tiger terror]

I'd say a safe bet would be nothing over 2" max...

Getcha feet wet fish tank people!

 

[msweitzer24]

One of the fish I would recomend is the domesticeted anglefish because they come in different colors. They are a bigger fish but still small enough to fit other fish in there. Here is a pic of one.

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[Ricky 1]

Problem is m24, Angels grow as big as a mans hand and would need a 50g or bigger........

 

[Ricky 1]

Gbr would be good with other fish, so long as your water parameters are good, and they are beauty's

 

[Brookster123]

What about some gourami

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[fishliker]

Honey gourami would be ok, they are peaceful.


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[PNWaquarist]

The problem with the angels in this case isn't the tank volume, but the tank height. You'd want at least 18" of height for an angel. A 29 gallon high would work for that, but not a 20 gallon long.

One could do a Clown Pleco in a 20 gallon long. Those get to about 4" or so, maybe 5" max.

 

[msweitzer24]

Oh I missed the part that said 20 long. And they also have dwarf angelfish which will not grow as big. I have 3 in a 15g

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[msweitzer24]

But they use salt water so if you dont got a saltwater tank dwarfs arent good

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[Tolak]

Old school guideline is take your shortest dimension, divide that by 2, and the longest dimension, divide it by 4, that will give you the size of the largest fish it's generally cool to keep. Generally means you have to take the fish's behavior, or as mentioned with angels, height into account.

Often a shoal of smaller fish ends up being more interesting than one large fish, while a 20 long is pretty shallow there is a good amount of footprint. Near everyone in this hobby goes through the "what's the biggest" phase, you're looking at a 5", maybe 6" fish for that tank.

 

[tiger terror]

Old school guideline is take your shortest dimension, divide that by 2, and the longest dimension, divide it by 4, that will give you the size of the largest fish it's generally cool to keep. Generally means you have to take the fish's behavior, or as mentioned with angels, height into account.

Often a shoal of smaller fish ends up being more interesting than one large fish, while a 20 long is pretty shallow there is a good amount of footprint. Near everyone in this hobby goes through the "what's the biggest" phase, you're looking at a 5", maybe 6" fish for that tank.

I have to disagree here,a 5"-6" fish imo in a 20g L could be comparable to a full grown person living in a small closet..although doable but quite cramped&uncomfortable..alot old school ways are being proven to be out of date&w/the given knowledge to date one could say ignorant...goes with saying"just because you can doesn't mean you should".

Getcha feet wet fish tank people!

 

[deMelo]

Thanks guys great advice!

I will stick with my little school of fish for now

Maybe add some dwarf gourami later

 

[tiger terror]

I have a friend who has a 75g setup with a shovelnose cat,royal clown knife,pike&and arawana in the tank..says he likes it because no matter where the fish are they're always in view..every time I visit these fish are basically in the same spot as they were last...thing is I had talked em into a bigger tank as before they were in a standard 55g&by increasing the volume by 20g's he thought he was doing something...I fully expected him to pick a min of a 100g tank, instead he barely listened to any advice...I have to claim ignorance on his part because he says he likes it&fish are ok...like I said"just because you can doesn't mean you should".

Getcha feet wet fish tank people!

 

[Tolak]

"just because you can doesn't mean you should".

Exactly. It depends upon the "you", as well as mentioned, the species. That is the reason for the "generally" in there. I as well as many others have bred bristlenose in a 20 long, no problem, 5 to 6 inch adults. A similar sized active NW cichlid would be way cramped in the same tank.

 

[PNWaquarist]

Yep, it's all about the fish's activity level and territory requirements.

 

[Fishanatic]

I have a friend who has a 75g setup with a shovelnose cat,royal clown knife,pike&and arawana in the tank..says he likes it because no matter where the fish are they're always in view..every time I visit these fish are basically in the same spot as they were last...thing is I had talked em into a bigger tank as before they were in a standard 55g&by increasing the volume by 20g's he thought he was doing something...I fully expected him to pick a min of a 100g tank, instead he barely listened to any advice...I have to claim ignorance on his part because he says he likes it&fish are ok...like I said"just because you can doesn't mean you should".

Getcha feet wet fish tank people!

Those fish in a 75 lolll thats kinda sad. He should get a 220gal minimum or rehome them before theyre stunted or intoxicated by their waste.

 

[ppo8820]

Why not get a Koi angel fish? get one that is very red and they are pretty amazing looking and can get large if you upgrade tanks later on.

 

[tiger terror]

Those fish in a 75 lolll thats kinda sad. He should get a 220gal minimum or rehome them before theyre stunted or intoxicated by their waste.

Thought I might stand a better chance of talking em into the 100g but failed. Whats even worse is he drops 50 feeders in every week,dumps bag full of water&feeders right into the tank...says bigger tanks&better filtration is a scam to get people to spend more money in the petshop's...after ignoring my advice about how to switch tanks he filled the tank about half&dumped his old rock sub along with argonite sand into the tank...later asks me why his tank is so cloudy...fcol!

Getcha feet wet fish tank people!

 

[Fishanatic]

Thought I might stand a better chance of talking em into the 100g but failed. Whats even worse is he drops 50 feeders in every week,dumps bag full of water&feeders right into the tank...says bigger tanks&better filtration is a scam to get people to spend more money in the petshop's...after ignoring my advice about how to switch tanks he filled the tank about half&dumped his old rock sub along with argonite sand into the tank...later asks me why his tank is so cloudy...fcol!

Getcha feet wet fish tank people!

Unfortunate and thats kinda extreme but eh sometimes the owned suffers because of the owner. :/