20 gallon tall tank suggestions

[seangee]

Here are 2 of mine this evening

 

[Byron]

Thank you for all of your responses. I can't come here without learning something new. I have a lot to digest. Thank you for the great pics and info. It is much appreciated. Also, id I decide on some rasboras as well,how many should I get?

Got side-tracked and missed this question, sorry. Which rasbora species?

 

[Ch0le]

It's okay. I will get pencil fish too. I was thinking Harlequin. My kh is 40. I read they need 2-15.

 

[Byron]

It's okay. I will get pencil fish too. Can you recommend a species? The false neons arw also neat.

The earlier pencilfish suggestions will pretty much fill the tank, but some rasbora will work here. The common Harlequin Rasbora (Trigonostigma heteromorpha) gets a bit large to work in this situation but either of the two other species in this genus would be worth considering. Trigonstigma espei and T. hengeli, with the latter my personal favourite. The brilliant little copper blotch around the "axe" head is impressive, and they do not get as large as the Harlequin. A group of 7-8 would be minimum. Photo attached of the hengeli.

The "dwarf" species in the genus Boraras are much smaller still, true "nano" species, and all are fairly bright red with some sort of black markings. A group of 9-10 minimum. Photos of B. brigittae and B. maculatus attached, these are two of the most commonly seen of the six species now described in this genus.

There are some other nano type rasbora appearing in the hobby now that I have not personally seen/maintained.

 

[Ch0le]

I was thinking the Rocket Pencil Fish and then something for the middle. Maybe a rasbora, maybe another pencil fish if I can find it. I have to consier the middle first because my plant life is not mature enough at the top level yet. I do have a lot of mid level vegetation for now. I love the pics.

 

[Byron]

I was thinking the Rocket Pencil Fish and then something for the middle. Maybe a rasbora, maybe another pencil fish if I can find it. I have to consier the middle first because my plant life is not mature enough at the top level yet. I do have a lot of mid level vegetation for now. I love the pics.

Most of the fish I've mentioned may only be available once a year, during the allowed collection season, or sometimes more often depending where you live. But with small tanks where you cannot afford to get fish you don't really want ideally you sometimes have to wait/take a few months to achieve the final result. Once you have the species planned, then you can acquire them as they may turn up.

 

[Ch0le]

Okay, so I've talked to all of the good LFS around. (Not the chains) and they have not seen pencilfish in quite a while. I really have fallen in love with the idea of 2 schools of pencilfish after our earlier conversation and tons of research. What I want to ask is, would 2 or 3 Honey Gouramis work in this tank? It may be a longish time before I can make a proper pencilfish aquarium.

 

[Byron]

Okay, so I've talked to all of the good LFS around. (Not the chains) and they have not seen pencilfish in quite a while. I really have fallen in love with the idea of 2 schools of pencilfish after our earlier conversation and tons of research. What I want to ask is, would 2 or 3 Honey Gouramis work in this tank? It may be a longish time before I can make a proper pencilfish aquarium.

In answer to your question on Honey Gourami, yes but no.

Yes, a trio of HG would work in the tank from the perspective of the GH and the space, but I would not do this. I have fallen into the trap of acquiring fish just to have fish in the tank while waiting for what I really intended, and that is OK if one has tank space (= more operating tanks) to accommodate the "temporary" fish once they need to be moved. Also, I would not suggest HG in with what is planned, shoals of pencilfish. Characins all need groups, and the more the better. A 20g is limited in space, and while you can easily accommodate a couple species with adequate sized groups as I mentioned in a previous post, adding the HG is getting in the way of providing what is best for the pencilfish.

As for the pencilfish, with the exception of Nannostomus beckfordi (which I do not recommend as this is quite a feisty and nippy species and needs more space) the pencilfish will be wild caught. I'm not sure, but N. eques might be commercially bred now, but I am quite confident none of the others will be. So that means they are available at specific seasons according to the laws regulating collection in SA. And of course not every fish store will import directly, or may have suppliers that do.

So another option is to use a mail order supplier. You are in the USA so that makes it easy as there are American retailers. I don't know what is back east, I know several years ago on another forum one or two reliable fish retailers were recommended. Out west there is The Wet Spot in Portland, Oregon. This is their website:
https://www.wetspottropicalfish.com/

They have had good reviews, I have not been down there myself. Getting fish across the border is not always easy for individuals. According to their fish listing, they currently have five species of pencilfish available, three of which I recommended previously. You will note they are all wild caught.
https://www.wetspottropicalfish.com/current-stock/

Something to consider.

 

[Ch0le]

Awesome! Thank you! I will look into these retailers later on. Btw, the gouramis are also something I have been wanting, so I wouldn't feel the need to ditch them later. thank you.