hey loves, i just got me a new 20 gal!

[twilyte]

hey guys.. my parents saw how much i adored the family 55 gallon that for my birthday this year, (wooo 17), they got me a 20 gallon tank. its got nice fiji rock(prolly about 5-6 lbs i suspect), its all nice and cycled (i didnt use ne fish for this; the live rock did it all.) its got a nice amphipod population, and looks great (ill take pics some time.) it has a sandstorm sand filter and a skilter filter 250 (i know, not that good, but for such a small tank im sure it will suffice; we shall see). so far, i put in two green chromises to start. they like to hang around eachother-- so cute. the question is, what ELSE TO STOCK?!!?! woo hoo!OoO!!oo! i made a list of fishi like so far. i know all are not practical, all do not get good with one another (such as say a mandarin and a leopard wrasse competeing for food), ad i defintely do not intend to put ALL of these fish in the tank, but id like some feedback about my ideas:


six-lined wrasse, leopard wrasse (most commonly sold type-- guina fowl one), firefish, jaw fish, banggai cardinal, mandarin dragonet ( i only say this because a LFS i know actually cultivates and sells his copepods/amphipods by the filter pad, fairy cheaply too), clownfish of some type (not too sure yet), pseudochromis or anthias of some type (type suggestions are appreciated).
thanks bunches~!

 

[SeriousDude5]

Hate to say it but you may have 2 many fish going in there. Thats 10 fish for a 20 gal 8O. Everything else seems fine though. I forgot the rule of thumb of how many grown fish per how many gallons but perhaps someone else will know.

 

[dianeww]

Methinks the actual question was: Which from this list might go together in the said tank? Sorry I don't know, but I don't think all are intended to live together!

 

[SeriousDude5]

ad i defintely do not intend to put ALL of these fish in the tank, but id like some feedback about my ideas:

BAHH WOOPS! I agree everything looks like they would get along though some wrasses tend to be agressive.

 

[dianeww]

Whose tank is this anyway?

 

[twilyte]

my.. tank..? im the one posting the list..... sorry im not anyone special. my name is nikki. i dont think anyone here knows my name, but there it is. pleased ta meet you.

 

[twilyte]

one thing im worried about is.. leopard wrasse. i find it to be extremely beautiful, but ive heard you need a fairly deep sand bed, and lots of small crustaceans etc etc to keep them happy, and that they dont tend to do well in home aquaria. that worries me-- anyone have any exp with this? and if i were capable of getting a leopard wrasse, would it compete with the docile jawfish, who also makes a burrow? and would they compete with the firefish?! what a fiasco! i honestly dont want any more than perhaps 4 fish. i dont want them to be uncomfortable.

 

[Fluff]

Hmm, I think a clown would be ok, or maybe a dwarf angel. With a 20 gal that houses two chromis already, your only gonna be adding another fish, maybe two. I would skip the leopard wrasse. Everything I've heard about them says they are hard to keep. Also, anthias get far to big for that size tank. A sixline might do ok but they are jumpers so be sure to have a secure lid. Mandarin, well, even though you have a lfs propagating pods, I'd skip it as well. Give your tank some time to mature. Also, be careful of putting to many fish that feed on the same things in such a small tank. (wrasses, mandarins). HTH

 

[twilyte]

exactly fluff. as i said, it was a list of fish i like to be scrutinized. i had no intention at all of say putting a leop wrass and a mandarin in the same tank, as i dont think it'd be fair, etc etc etc. i hate dwarf angels. i think ill stick to something like a clown and a sixline. i like sixlines. maybe a psuedocromis of some kind instead of a sixline-- who knows! but thank you for slimming the list down considerably.

 

[Fluff]

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[twilyte]

it looks so good already, im so proud ill take pics in a bit. i just need to get me sme purple lights. i intend to put small, low light corals in the tank-- the lightning im looking forward to is:
2 cmpct flourescents around 6000k, and a purple light. a few halogens propped up aswell. but thats a whole 'nother ocean! my tank isnt established well enough yet, nor have i the money for such an endeavor! So cute little shrimpies and a couple o fish it shall be. oh and btw whats your idea of good sand? and how expensive is it? thats a doozy-- i havent added the sand yet. so what kinds are considered pretty good sand? i like that sugary smooth looking sand--what is it? lol. thanks kindly!

 

[Fluff]

I believe the majority (myself included) use tropical playsand. It's used for childrens sandboxes. It's cheap if you can find it. Just be sure it's agronite sand. Otherwise, you could talk to your local fish store to see what they have. You don't really need to bother buying the small bags of live sand since your live rock will seed the sand for you. I would suggest getting some playsand, enough for a 3-4 inch sandbed and get a bit of sand from your lfs to seed it. When adding it, use a length of pvc pipe and pour it down through to help eliminate some of the sand storm your going to get. HTH

 

[twilyte]

i had no intention of buying live sand. im totally into the idea that its not worth it. ill just pour a bit from my established 55 gal. is there any particular brand of playsand? anything i should look out for? or if it says aragonite, its fine, yes? and the PVC pipe idea is pure genious, thank you!

 

[Fluff]

Here is a thread going on right now on tropical playsand. Check it out. Complete with pictures.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=53288

 

[lando]

Royal Gramma!!! You could maybe add one or two fish at most to the tank. Royal gramms are great, purple firefish is nice as well. I love my sixline wrasse. Honestly, skip the manderin.