# 20 gal setup.



## Thatfishkid7 (Mar 19, 2012)

I want to setup a 20 gallon with central americans. *** had cichlids before but idk much about these guys? I really like the convict and the firemouth and i have read that these can be kept in a 20 as long as efficient filtration and water changes are provided. I like the males because of the fin extentions they have. I also cant decide what substrate to get white sand or black, in a tank now i have black and i love it, but would white look better with darker cichlids? Could i do 1 male con and 1 male fm? I really dont want babies but upgrading is a possibility. I really dont want 1 fish either.


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

20 gallon is to small for a firemouth they get 5-6'' and cons will get about the same size you should look into dwarf species if you arnt going to upgrade to anything small than a 75 gallon. I say 75 cause im 100% sure your not going to want just 2 fish and when you decide you want more you will have the tank for it.


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## Thatfishkid7 (Mar 19, 2012)

I actually would be ok with two fish, and I don't have anywhere to get dwarfs. Maybe females?


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

Well still with those fish a 20 gallon wont work you would need 35+ gallons for them


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## Thatfishkid7 (Mar 19, 2012)

I have a 36 bow I can grow them into, but I want to get two good looking males, so should I get a few of each in the twenty and pick?


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## Thatfishkid7 (Mar 19, 2012)

And also, I've seen female cons kept on a twenty but I like the fm more, and would a jewel work? I do have a 65 gallon roseline shark& rainbow tank but I doubt a fm would work in there. But bottom line is I have a canister to put on a twenty gallon for supreme filtration and would water change every week could it possibly work, maybe females or 1 fish?


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

The problem is aggression not filtration. I had two 2.5" firemouths on a 20 gallon for under a week and aggression was bad. I used it as a holding tank while my tank finished the cycle. 
Even with plenty of hiding places. I can't imagine doing this unless absolutely necessary.

I'm sure you could do 1 fish for a while but defiantly not long term.

Maybe check out this page and look in the CA section if this is what you have your heart set on. Maybe a new species will stick out!
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/c ... er_20g.php


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## Thatfishkid7 (Mar 19, 2012)

I saw the convict on there, pretty much the only species relatively available to me besides fm. Could I do a pair of males because I don't want babies?


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## mattmean (Feb 9, 2012)

no, you cannot do that. 2 males = 1 dead male.

1 male 1 female con is pretty much it. that still is tiny for 2 cichilds. can you not get an apisto? krenbensis, or maybe try africans. But i think you're done for with that little of a tank.

not trying to be a jerk but they will either look stunted and awkward, or be short lived. unless you get like a Single fish (convict) female cuz the orange belly. And just keep a school of smaller fish maybe that works. But a 4" fish can cover the distance of a 20g or 36bow in like .5 seconds.


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## Polarbear69 (Mar 2, 2012)

Your size tank is more for a breeding couple isolated. Try to upgrade to a longer length tank, I just recently getting a 75 gallon setup, use to have a 90 gallon but my current apt. a tad small but a 75 has same length being 48 inches as a 90. There are nice 55 gallons with 48 inches but not wide or high.


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## Pizzle (May 24, 2011)

Are we talking about a 20 gallon high (24inches long) or a 20 gallon long (30 inches long)? What about Herotilapia multispinosa? Could a pair of those work out in a 20 gallon high? How about a 20 gallon long?


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## Thatfishkid7 (Mar 19, 2012)

I'm not sure which twenty to get? Could I do a single female con or fm with some tetras?


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## Thatfishkid7 (Mar 19, 2012)

But what about the jewels?, and dont female cons stay smaller? Could I do two females?


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## Pizzle (May 24, 2011)

Definately get the 20 gallon long. I think that you could do a single convict with some tetras but there is a risk of the tetras getting eaten. If you start with a juvenile convict and grow it out with the tetras then they will probably not get eaten.


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## Thatfishkid7 (Mar 19, 2012)

I'll probably do that.


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

You know you could do a pair of cons and just leave the babies in the tank most likely they will just eat them when they spawn agian and if any survive just freeze them or give away on CL, its not like you would need to set up breeding tanks just watch them raise there own fry "really cool to watch" and let nature take its course.


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## Thatfishkid7 (Mar 19, 2012)

Could I do a pair of fm?


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## mattmean (Feb 9, 2012)

no, way to small. you can't humanely do a pair of cons or FM's in a 20g

Of course for a year or maybe two, a single con is fine. But fish can live 5,7,10 years or more. Once a convict is full grown after 2 years, it will need space, and stress the **** without a good setup. Jewels too, and they breed just as crazy as cons, might be smaller overal, but are just as nasty or worse, and are boring fish personally.

I have breed both, neither are that exciting to me.

If you want something awesome for a 20g, get a pair of apisitos. agazzi if you can find them. buy them online if you wanna try. people have great success online shops.

I own a single male macmasteri, and pair of blue agazzi's. AWESOME FISH with a personality.
In a 20g I think you could keep 2 pairs easily. They have virtually zero aggression unless they are breeding. Which is not easy to do. My Agazzi's live with 4 panda corys, an L52 pleco, 1 female krebensis and about 15 rumeynose.

You can have awesome setup in a 20g with smaller dwarf cichilds. If you want a bigger CA fish. Buy a bigger tank. Or you'll be posting in a couple of weeks, my water wont stay clean, or my fish doesn't look healthy. Cichilds are messy,very. You need 5x filtration easy so expect you drop like 100 bucks on a fluval 206 or something because you'll be cleaning any hang on the tank style almost weekly. If you don't believe me ask the people here. And convicts ( a pair ) will be too aggressive for you to keep bottom cleaners. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but really please check out these apistos. Personally the macmasteri I find to be like a mini ocasr in how they follow you around.

Agazzi









MacMasteri









Cacatudies (double oragne)


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## Polarbear69 (Mar 2, 2012)

Convicts breed alot. I would go for at least a 30 gallon long tank if convicts and other central americans of 4 inches. They are probablu the toughest 4 inch central american around. Don't expect weaker breeds to survive and don't over populate the tank.


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## ahud (Aug 22, 2009)

A ton of people breed convicts and con types (cutteri, sajica, ect) in 20 longs. If you want a pair it will work for awhile. I have kept con pairs in 20 longs myself, as long as the pair get along you are fine.

Jewels will work too and I don't see how anybody can say they are boring. But that will vary by opinion. Same suggestion for cons, as long as the pair bonds are strong you are fine.

If you do apistogrammas, very few form pairs, most form harems. So you could do 1m2f, but not two pairs, as one male would just kill the other in such a small tank. Also, some apistogramma are a lot easier to spawn than others, I would suggest sticking with cacatuoides since they are the easiest to breed and tend to be less picky about water parameters.

Finally, unless you severally overfeed you should not have any trouble keeping the above fish in a 20long as far as bioload goes.


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## Pizzle (May 24, 2011)

Hi mattmean, 
Do these apistos require special water conditions? I know that many hobbyist stress out more than necessary over trying to create the perfect water conditions but then again the profile says they need PH under 7 and soft water. How important is it to provide those kinds of conditions? What is the best way to get a pair? Thanks!


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## Polarbear69 (Mar 2, 2012)

Most Cichlids prefer length over height in a tank. They are terratorial fish also. Smaller the tank the harder to maintain proper water purity in your tank. Keep the 20 gal for breeding purposes and get a 55 gallon for your convicts.


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## Thatfishkid7 (Mar 19, 2012)

Ok thanks for all the help, I'll probably go with a con pair.


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## Thatfishkid7 (Mar 19, 2012)

If i went with the 36 bow what could i do? Specieswise could i do jds cons fms?


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## Polarbear69 (Mar 2, 2012)

Jack dempseys will mature at around 8 inches after a year or so. They will need much more space than a 36 bow tank after a few months. I am getting a 75 gallon soon and hope to keep a pair of them. I would not utilize a smaller tank than that.


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## Pizzle (May 24, 2011)

A 36 gallon bowfront is 30 inches long so it is not much better than a 20 gallon long tank. It is a wee bit wider and much taller though. The extra width helps but the extra height does not help much with most cichlids which prefer to claim territory on the bottom.


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## Polarbear69 (Mar 2, 2012)

When i first started as a fish hobbyist was satisfied with a 30 gallon long but realized that is really for non cichlids except perhaps the dwarf and smaller types. I just received my new 75 gallon Aqueon tank today and cannot wait to rinse the gravel, place the rocks and add the water with proper conditioners and eventually the fish. BIGGER IS BETTER.


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