I have an empty 20 gallon long

[HeatherSweetness]

Allright...I caved...Like I don't have enough tanks already...I'm ganna fire up the old 20 gallon long tank. I really want some different fish. I have 5 tanks already full of livebearers,so NO MORE LIVEBEARERS. lol I want something new...Something I don't have yet...Something that the 20 gallon will be proper for. I'd like to hear some suggestions from everyone who keeps different fish than myself. Please tell me some fish that will fit in the 20 gallon nicely.

 

[noelberg]

I like tetras because they're mostly hardy, colorful, do well in communities, and you can put a lot of them in a 20 gallon tank.

 

[rsz]

Why not have a tank FULL of cories??

Or how about a pair of dwarf gouramis - they're pretty. You could put them in with a school of tetras and a couple of cories That'd look good

 

[thecichlidaddict]

There is a very intriguing group of fish that is missing from that long list of yours... Cichlids!

 

[nightlife20]

barbs barbs barbs!!!!!

my 22long is a barb tank now all its got in there dif is an albino rainbow shark 2 hoplos (till they get a bit bigger) and an albino pleco all the others are barbs



barbs barbs barbs barbs barbs barbs


and again



BARBS

 

[CFC]

What about a nice planted tank stocked with south american leaf fish? You cant get much more "different" than that and you can feed them with excess and/or deformed live bearer fry. Add a couple of farowellas to eat the algea and a few banjo catfish to keep the bottom clean and you have a perfect amazon leaf litter zone biotope/oddball tank.

 

[ryan]

What about a nice planted tank stocked with south american leaf fish? You cant get much more "different" than that and you can feed them with excess and/or deformed live bearer fry. Add a couple of farowellas to eat the algea and a few banjo catfish to keep the bottom clean and you have a perfect amazon leaf litter zone biotope/oddball tank.

Just about to suggest it and you had beat me to it.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I have a thing for coldwater at the moment. You could get a nice fantail or 2 and then add some pepper cories for the bottom. Maybe a hilstream or 2 on the side/bottom.

Keeping Leaf fish would be cool, I'd love to do that.

 

[HeatherSweetness]

There is a very intriguing group of fish that is missing from that long list of yours... Cichlids!

I would love to get into cichlids,but I thought a 20 gal. was too small?

I've heard of 'shell dwellers' being able to be in a tank that small,but what about other kinds?

 

[Cheese Specialist]

There is a very intriguing group of fish that is missing from that long list of yours... Cichlids!

I would love to get into cichlids,but I thought a 20 gal. was too small?

I've heard of 'shell dwellers' being able to be in a tank that small,but what about other kinds?

What about a pair of kribensis with a few 'target' fish?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Kribs, Rams, and my favourate - Apistogramma can all be housed in a 20 gallon tank without a problem, and unlike African fish like shell dwellers you can mix other community fish in with them.

 

[sunbot]

m8 thats

from sunbot

 

[HeatherSweetness]

Ok,I did some research and I'm torn between kribs and rams.

Does anyone have some tips,maybe some pros and cons of each species? How many of each can I put in that tank safely?

 

[babyfish]

Rams are extremely delicate and die more often than not, so I wouldn't reccomend them.
Kribs on the other hand are a fantastic fish to breed, the parents are very attentive to the fry and try to protect them from all predators(including you).
It's not a good idea to keep cories or plecs in this setup if you want maximum fry survival, as they hunt by smell and can be nocturnal.
The kribs will want something to keep away from their fry though, otherwise the male and female end up fighting each other, some thing that's large enough to be noticable but small enough not to be a serious threat and it has to stay in the upper reaches of the tank as the kribs will stay mainly on the bottom.
You will need to provide your kribs with a home, don't make the entrance too large as the female feels safer with a small door, just large enough to let the male in is a good size. Half a coconut shell is good for this, once you have cleaned out the meat then boil in several changes of water before adding to the tank.
You can leave the fry with the parents until they are ready to breed again, they will start to ignore the fry and will also chase them off when they are ready.
Good luck and have fun

Edit;- you can only keep one pair of kribs or they will fight alot
My avatar is of my breeding pair of kribs

 

[modernhamlet]

Pelvicachromis taeniatus

Link #1

Link #2

There are multiple color morphs, including my favorite: Dehane

There are several cool species of African tetra that would go well with them too.