YAY! Another New (to me) Tank!

[Mlani]

Gramma has given up the hobby. All her fish died (or so she thought) so she was going to clean it and pack it up. Dumped the bleach in only to find an albino cory under her ship. :-( She feels absolutely terrible and has sworn off fish. She doesn't want to kill anymore. I know a good daughter in law would try to persuade her to try again but honestly I think it's probably safer for any future fish she doesn't. (Early Alzheimer's kicking in) So... I'm now the new owner of a 20 gal tank. I've never had a tank this small before. (Except as a qt) I've been reading posts upon posts for stocking tips and possibilities. The majority have recommended fish I'm not really fond of. Betas, single puffers, platys, mollys, guppys.. (No offence to the lovers of these species) They are very pretty fish and I have had some curiosities with puffers in the past but I've been looking at killifish, maybe a pair of apistos or a ram, even the possibility of a dwarf gourami? As I mentioned earlier this will be the smallest tank I've ever had so I'm not entirely sure of the possibilities with a tank of this size. I don't want to pick anything (getting my sons hopes up) and then end up changing it after. So I'd like to figure out all the options and then present him with those ideas and let him pick. He has decided that since this tank is small he will be the one responsible for its inhabitants. (Of course I will be helping to GUIDE him but he wants to DO it all.) Long story short, I need help figuring out stocking plans for a regular 20gal. Might even try our hands at plants? We haven't decided on substrate or anything yet. Waiting to figure out what fish first. Then we'll create the best environment we can for them. Hopefully with the help from everyone here
I forgot to ask..I've never used bleach to clean a tank is it safe? I've always used vinegar and hot water, or isopropyl alcohol when I've resealed. Will the bleach compromise the use of this tank? Or are there extras precautions/steps I should take in preparing the tank before use?

[Joeysdiscus]

I'd go with a pair of kribensis chichlids that would be a good and easy little breeding project

[Mlani]

I was thinking about kribs as well but I've heard that they're difficult fish to keep/breed? We've had rams in the past are they similar to those? (Requirements wise)

[Joeysdiscus]

Originally Posted by Mlani

I was thinking about kribs as well but I've heard that they're difficult fish to keep/breed? We've had rams in the past are they similar to those? (Requirements wise)

Well put it this way I've never kept them until a month ago always liked them but anyway I brought one male on female and chucked them in my discus tank just to add something different literally the next morning I woke up they had later eggs in a cave made by rocks in my tank the eggs didn't survive probably due to other tank mates and I've had two more lots of eggs since then that's three in one month with no experience and no intention at all. I'm sure with a pair water a cave and good food it will only be a matter of time. I'm going to let them try one more spawn on their own in the community if it doesn't work still I'm putting them in their own little tank and making some money back

[Mlani]

Nice! Congrats! I'm not 100% sure I want to get myself into breeding just yet. I wouldn't be able to give up the little guys/gals and my hubby sure won't approve of getting more tanks to house them. Lol! Plus I think it would be more interesting for my nine year old son if he could have a small mix of fish vs a breeding pair that has the potential of becoming aggressive? Thank you..It has given me something else to think of though.. This is what makes starting a new tank so difficult. All the choices you have with so many beautiful fish to choose from.

[Sillyfishies]

Originally Posted by Joeysdiscus

Well put it this way I've never kept them until a month ago always liked them but anyway I brought one male on female and chucked them in my discus tank just to add something different literally the next morning I woke up they had later eggs in a cave made by rocks in my tank the eggs didn't survive probably due to other tank mates and I've had two more lots of eggs since then that's three in one month with no experience and no intention at all. I'm sure with a pair water a cave and good food it will only be a matter of time. I'm going to let them try one more spawn on their own in the community if it doesn't work still I'm putting them in their own little tank and making some money back

You probably bought them after they've already paired... Now stocking... I'd go with

6 rummynoses
5 corys
1 dwarf gourami
1 blue ram.

[Mlani]

Originally Posted by Sillyfishies

You probably bought them after they've already paired... Now stocking... I'd go with

6 rummynoses
5 corys
1 dwarf gourami
1 blue ram.

I really like the rummynoses! We have corys in the 80. I always refer to them as my puppys lol! We were looking at the dwarf gouramis today, my son didn't look very impressed with them lol! The blue ram, are you thinking of the electric ones? We've had them in the past and found them to be of very poor stock because of the over breeding here. Do you think instead of the corys try shrimp?( We've never had those) Also do you think killifish would get along with rummynoses?

[Mrs.h2012]

I never had a cichlid in my life until last year about halfway into the hobby (second go around with fish in nearly 5 years, now I'm almost nearing the year mark for being back in the hobby!) I LOVE them. I think a pair of two cichlids in hopes of breeding would be what I would do.

[Mrs.h2012]

Originally Posted by Mlani

I really like the rummynoses! We have corys in the 80. I always refer to them as my puppys lol! We were looking at the dwarf gouramis today, my son didn't look very impressed with them lol! The blue ram, are you thinking of the electric ones? We've had them in the past and found them to be of very poor stock because of the over breeding here. Do you think instead of the corys try shrimp?( We've never had those) Also do you think killifish would get along with rummynoses?

Try Bolivian rams, they are a bit more hardier than most other rams. I have Bolivians and love them. Look them up, their beautiful fish!

[Scottyhorse]

If you want shrimp, go with Amano shrimp. They are usually too large for fish to eat.
Killifish would probably be okay, but it depends on they type you get. There are tons of varieties.

What about:

8 Rummy Nose
5 Hatchet Fish
5 Clown Killies
1 Honey Gourami, Betta, or German Blue Ram

That would look nice, IMO

[Sillyfishies]

Originally Posted by Scottyhorse

If you want shrimp, go with Amano shrimp. They are usually too large for fish to eat.
Killifish would probably be okay, but it depends on they type you get. There are tons of varieties.

What about:

8 Rummy Nose
5 Hatchet Fish
5 Clown Killies
1 Honey Gourami, Betta, or German Blue Ram

That would look nice, IMO

This is a 20 gallon. A betta or gourami wouldn't work well with 5 clown killies. Also the bottom would be COMPLETELY empty (unless clown killies are bottom dwellers... Sorry if they are). A german blue would work (I was referring to a German blue, not an electric).

[Scottyhorse]

Yes, I know this is a 20 gallon. I have also noticed that a lot of my fish that are mid-top level swimmers spend most of their time in the mid-bottom levels. I think it would look fine.

[Mlani]

Thank you for filling my mind with more possibilities. I'm going to check if killifish are bottom dwellers or not. I've only seen them in pictures. I'm thinking shrimp, rummynoses and that's where I get stumped lol! Killi's, rams, apistos, gouramis..all awesome fish. Tomorrow when my son gets home from school I'll show him and let him decide. I have to keep reminding myself this is HIS tank. Lol!
Just thought about kuhli loaches.. They get max 4" too big for a 20?

[Sillyfishies]

Originally Posted by Mlani

Thank you for filling my mind with more possibilities. I'm going to check if killifish are bottom dwellers or not. I've only seen them in pictures. I'm thinking shrimp, rummynoses and that's where I get stumped lol! Killi's, rams, apistos, gouramis..all awesome fish. Tomorrow when my son gets home from school I'll show him and let him decide. I have to keep reminding myself this is HIS tank. Lol!

Oh! If its for a boy, show him apistogramma agasizzi. Looks like its fins are flames. I think he'd like that.

[Mlani]

Originally Posted by Sillyfishies

Oh! If its for a boy, show him apistogramma agasizzi. Looks like its fins are flames. I think he'd like that.

Adding it to the list. Lol! He loves flames! He painted his bike with them.

[Mlani]

Just had a look for myself .. They are gorgeous!

[Sillyfishies]

Originally Posted by Mlani

Just had a look for myself .. They are gorgeous!

First time someone has liked my advice. That's why I prefer to stray away from the beginner threads. Not all are like this, but they don't want to hear that what they're doing is completely wrong. Anyway, if he likes those you could probably get a pair (m/f). A school(10) of tetras that he finds cool, a dwarf gourami (the red kind).

-Andrew

[Mlani]

Lol! I'm the first person to admit if I'm wrong and love when people point it out (as long as the delivery is kind) otherwise I'd never learn anything. I think if people think they know everything they really know nothing at all. Besides isn't "brainstorming" all about listening and taking into consideration every idea?? I appreciate any and all feedback I get in here. I know there are thousands of posts so it feels awesome when someone takes the time/care to share their ideas/experiences with me on one of my posts. There are so many elements involved in starting up a new tank. It is a tremendous help to have people to "throw" ideas off of.

[Mlani]

So Gramma finally let me bring the tank home. An boy oh boy do I have some scrubbing to do! It's SUPER stinky! And covered in what looks like little dried up bugs!? They're every where, even inside the light fixtures. How she managed to get a tank that was brand new four months ago looking like this I'll never know. Any tips besides vinegar/hot water and lots of elbow grease for this one?

[MMantelli]

You could do a blue Cray for the bottom dweller I'm sure your son would love it then some sort of a mid to high swimmer that has the same water paramaters as the Cray being a guy I would have loved to have a Cray as a pet when I was younger.