# Setting up a small tank. what can i do?



## tirzo13 (May 26, 2004)

I'm setting up a small 20 gallon tank at my girlfriends house.
I have not done a small tank like that for years, except for grow outs, so i have no real idea what will work as my smallest tank is 55 and my other 4 are 125's.

anyway, its a 20 gallon black back acrylic.
she'd like some color and activity.

current thoughts.
1. electric yellow trio, albino bushynose pair, yellow comps pair.
2. angel fish pair, julie catfish group, albino bushynose pair, planted tank.
4. similis or multi group, with yellow comps pair.
5. syno petricola 4-5, electric yellow trio.

6. endlers livebearers, or some kind of swordtails, julies, bushynose pair.
7. albino paracyprichromis quad, synodontis petricola group, bushynose pair.

any problems with the above, too many fish?
what would you do with a 20 black back acrylic, wanting some color and activity?


----------



## tirzo13 (May 26, 2004)

i did not mean julies, i meant cory cats in both cases.


----------



## maddyfish (Jul 23, 2004)

I like the endlers personally.


----------



## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

If you have lower pH (around 7) then
a planted tank with:

5 or 6 panda cories (corydoras panda) a smaller (2") corycat
and
8 or 10 harlequin rasbora (trigonostigma heteromorpha) 
or 
an interesting coppery color spin on the harlequin: 
8 or 10 rasbora espei (trigonostigma espei)

This little tank would have activity and color she's looking for.
hth


----------



## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

If you go with endlers, you will be able to put in some more really colorful fish and more of them since they are smaller than say electric yellows.


----------



## tirzo13 (May 26, 2004)

Our Ph out of the tap is 7.4, i don't like playing with the chemistry, so the fish would need to be somewhat adaptable to that range.

I love panda cory's, so if i went with cory's they would be panda, or maybe albino's.
maybe panda's, red albino swordtails and albino bushynose pair?
is there a dwarf new world cichlid that could go in with these guys?
would a angel fish pair kill the other fish in this size tank?

she likes angel fish, so i'm thinking a pair, say Koi type.
koi swordtails.
panda cory's.
albino bushynose pair.


----------



## tirzo13 (May 26, 2004)

OK, she likes Angel fish the most.
more than saltwater, god i love her more everyday!

anyway, a angel fish pair, i'm thinking koi angel fish pair.

so besides the angel fish pair, what else would go good?
panda cory's, bushynose pair, endlers/swordtails, some neon tetras?


----------



## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

This is a quote from a lady on another forum that truely knows her stuff, I would trust her opinion:


> Angels are not highly active fish. They hang out in the plants and wait for something to swim past that they want to eat.
> Neon Tetra sized fish and smaller are their prey.
> Angels are one of the few fish that are OK in the tall style of tanks:
> The height is better for tall fish like these, they are not very active, so they do not need the long tanks for swimming back and forth,
> and some Angels can get very territorial, so a single Angel, or a mated pair in a tall 30 is a full tank.


Idk, it's your aquarium, you be the judge on angels. Maybe try just _one_ for a "center piece" fish...

I would wait to add BNs until algae grows and they are needed, unless you plan on feeding them.
Probably one BN would be plenty. They'll add to the bioload...

I suggested panda cories because they are one of the smallest type and a school of them would give you bottom area movement (plus, they're cute :wink: )

I am unfamiliar with endlers, but if you want the swords I would try: 1 male/ 2 female. 
They like swimming room so... but they would add color and movement to the mid/top area.

It would probably work for a while. 
When she is used to caring for them and the water change routine, get her a bigger tank.  
hth


----------



## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

G'day *tirzo13*,

Are you thinking of doing this as a basic planted tank? If so, easy growing plants to use would be Java Moss, Java Fern, Anubis, Valisneria (go with the smaller twisted or corkscrew val) and 
Cryptocoryne. You shouldn't have to use CO2 as long as you have a good plant substrate and use a basic aquarium plant fertilizer like SeaChems Flourish.

Your PH should be fine for tetras, corydoras and pair of dwarf SA cichlids.

Corydoras catfish make a good clean up crew for any uneaten food particles, and can rather fun to watch. There are a few smaller regular species like C. adolfoi & C. panda, or there are some real dwarf corydoras like C. habrosus & C. pygmaeus.

I would also think about having a group of about six otocinclus catfish to help with algea and biofilm.

For tetras I would definately include Rummynose tetras. Otherwise, there are literally hundreds of small dither fish you could add to such a set up. The trick is finding ones you like.


----------



## tirzo13 (May 26, 2004)

OK, i'm going to try and set her up a koi angel fish pair.
3-4 pandas.

then i will have to think about oto's, bushnose pair, and some kind of smaller midwater active swimmer.
i was thinking neons or cardinals, but not if they are going to get eaten.


----------



## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

Two angels and some cories is a full load for a small tank. The angels will eventually outgrow the 20, so you need to consider that.

A better idea over angels would be a pair of blue rams or a pair or trio of apistos. They will do just fine in a small tank over the long term . . .


----------



## tirzo13 (May 26, 2004)

my friend breeds angels, he has 70 tanks and all his angel breeders are 20's or 60's with 3 sections.
and he only uses sponge filters.

so i think that this tank should be ok for a pair, plus my filtration will be much better than a sponge filter.
i'm more worried about the angels beating up the cories.
thats not the kind of activity i'm looking for.


----------



## xalow (May 10, 2007)

Is this a 20 long or a 20 high? Angels can grow to be *very tall* fish so the issue isn't so much of just filtration but a concern about raw physical space.


----------



## tirzo13 (May 26, 2004)

20 tall, my friend who has given talks to cichlid clubs in california uses 20 tall for his breeders.
so i'm thinking it should be fine.
i just wanted to add a couple other fish, that may prove to be a problem due to breeding aggression from a angel pair.


----------



## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

Hi *tirzo13*,

Sorry for this, but I hate, absolutely hate, the thought process behind the thinking that 20 gallon tall tanks are fine for Angels and Discus becuase breeders use them. This is not an attack on you, becuase I see this a lot on various forums.

These _breeders_ are running a commercial set up, they are trying to achieve a balance between available space and minimum requirements to keep thier fish healthy and producing fry. It's akin to me living in my town house with a 24 foot by 18 foot back yard and keeping a pair of Golden Retriviers in it.

If we were talking about a small species of Sea Horse, I would agree, but we are talking about a fish, while not as "active" like many other cichlids, will still swim from one end to another of what ever size tank it's in.

I'm going to borrow *Toby_H*'s signature here:


> The happier you make your fish the happier they will make you
> 
> Minimum requirements means minimum happiness for all


----------



## peterl (Nov 27, 2006)

Sorry for the late post, but...

I just added 9 Blue Emperor Tetras (Inpaichthys kerri) and 7 Corydoras davidsandsi to my 20 long along with the 5 Sterbai and 4 pygmaeus corys. I think it was a *great* addition to the tank.

Back to your question, IMO a 20 high is too small for Angels. I would go for a shoal of corys, and any number of tetras. I am a fan of cardinals, Green Fire tetras (Aphyocharax rathbuni), or the aforementioned Blue Emperors. If your pH was lower, I would suggest Poecilocharax weitzmani. If you can find tank-raised Celestial Pearl Danios (Celestichthys margaritatus), they would be a great addition.


----------

