Ideas for stocking 20 gallon community tank?

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nycmomma

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Jul 26, 2015
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I am in the process of fishless cycling my 9 year old daughter's new 20 gallon tank (so, basically my tank that we're keeping in her room lol :whistle:). It's her first, and my first in a number of years. My father and I kept a stunning 150 gallon goldfish tank years ago (and a saltwater tank before that) and while an amazing experience, both, it's a bit more than I want as an introduction.

I'd love ideas on how to stock the tank so she gets "the bug" - looking for some personalities and of course, coexistence (which was never an issue with of fancies!) Ultimately it's mine to care for, and not worried about that piece but I just haven't ever populated a community freshwater tank before, especially of this size...

TIA!
 
I have a 20 long (over stocked but pretty balanced) here is what I keep:

6 albino Cory cats (plus x number of Cory fry)
4 Khuli loaches
1 neon (a sole survivor from a death tank)
1 Galaxy rasborra (we keep getting bad batches and they're hard to find)

This is one of my favorite tanks to watch because the Cory cats have awesome personalities and though Khuli loaches are generally not ideal in a 20g ours seem happy and social. They swim with the cat fish. The neon and rasborra are both better in groups so they often stay hidden. We don't want to get any more neons so he is going to live out his life in the peaceful tanks.

If you go a route similar to this I suggest sand substrate and lots of plants. Low light is perfectly fine. My Khuli loaches like to hang from them upside down like a monkey.

Good luck! Let us know what you guys get.


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First fish that comes to my mind are Zebra Danio. They're very active fish, constantly catch myself staring at my tank for a few minutes just to watch how the little guys interact.
 
I agree with the Cory catfish suggestion. They are constantly zooming around the tank, in search of their next meal. Maybe you could have some oddball fish. I know that when I was little, upside down catfish really grabbed my attention, especially when they swam upside down. They may get a bit large. Glass catfish(a little fragile), hatchetfish(jump out of tanks a lot), or pea puffers(need live food) are some options. An aquascaped, well planted tank can look stunning with some small schooling fish. A small tetra or rasbora species, a centerpiece fish, and a school of cories would look great.

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I am in the process of fishless cycling my 9 year old daughter's new 20 gallon tank (so, basically my tank that we're keeping in her room lol :whistle:). It's her first, and my first in a number of years. My father and I kept a stunning 150 gallon goldfish tank years ago (and a saltwater tank before that) and while an amazing experience, both, it's a bit more than I want as an introduction.



I'd love ideas on how to stock the tank so she gets "the bug" - looking for some personalities and of course, coexistence (which was never an issue with of fancies!) Ultimately it's mine to care for, and not worried about that piece but I just haven't ever populated a community freshwater tank before, especially of this size...



TIA!


If I was doing something like that for a younger girl I would go bright and colorful with the Mollies (balloon mollies would be fun), platies, guppies, and possibly a small group of neons.


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