Stocking ideas for 20 gallon

[Mcass]

I am at the pet store with my daughter which opens here In about 30 minutes. She has a twenty gallon tank but no fish. Any ideas would be appreciated! I don't want to shun ANY stocking ideas but am curious specifically about any african, south American, or central cichlids or angels.

Help!

 

[paytertot]

Well it depends on if your tank is cycled or not, is it?

 

[Mcass]

Yes it is

 

[Luna09]

Cichlids are beautiful fish but they require very specific water parameters (high pH specifically) If your tank is buffered high then they would be nice. Do you have lots of hiding places?

How old is your daughter? When I was about 9 my dad took me to the store and bought me a fish tank we ended up putting guppies in. They come in a million colours, always greet you when you go up to the tank and they have babies, which for a young girl is always exciting.

 

[emerald76]

Cichlids are beautiful fish but they require very specific water parameters (high pH specifically) If your tank is buffered high then they would be nice. Do you have lots of hiding places?

How old is your daughter? When I was about 9 my dad took me to the store and bought me a fish tank we ended up putting guppies in. They come in a million colours, always greet you when you go up to the tank and they have babies, which for a young girl is always exciting.

Rams are also a good option that stay pretty small and love low pH
So you have many options- Africans like Luna suggested or south Americans depending on water hardness
Choose what's right for you!
Personally I love Africans

 

[paytertot]

I agree guppies might be exciting and sometimes your lfs will take the extra fry. I think you should do something peaceful and then put shrimp in there because they are so fun to watch imo you could have a pair of dwarf gouramis, I love those.

 

[Luna09]

A peaceful community is the way I would go. And yes, Emerald is correct there are types of cichlids that do not require a high pH but IMHO discus are definitely not a beginner fish and need much more room than a 20 gallon, so do Angels.

Rams are a possibility, you can still have a community tank with fish other than cichlids and the rams will be fine (though they get very territorial if they start to spawn. ) they are delicate though so I would keep a very close eye on all your parameters of you decide to get rams. They are beautiful.

An easy fish that likes to school is the harlequin rasbora. They are sort of peachy pink with black and I have some in one of my tanks. I love them they work well with most other fish and I have never seen mine get nippy.

 

[Freakgecko91]

Is it a 20 gallon tall or long? If its a tall, them I'd say no to basically any cichlids unfortunately, as most SA dwarves are bottom dwellers.

 

[Luna09]

How did it go?? Im super curious to see what you got any pictures???

 

[imtcurveball]

Dwarf cichlids are beautiful and peaceful fish... Hope you considered them.