Need some fish help.

[Aric]

Yesterday we took a trip to a local fish shop which we have heard was really good but never actually been to before. Let me just say, that place is way better then the aquariums we have around here. We picked up a few fish (Zebras ???(dont know the rest) and some purple tettras and a cleaning snail for my sisters dwarf frog tank and some big goldfish for our pond) and when we got home I just wanted to set up as many tanks as I can for fish.

Today I got one of my old 20 gallon tanks and filled it with water to see if it would hold and it does, so now im looking for any suggestions for fish to think about (reasearch first). Ive got a huge 75 gallong tank with a cracked side and im wanting to get that fixed and make a salt water reef and coral tank later down the road but im looking for any info for the 20 now. Im open for any suggestions at this point.

[recycling goddess]

i'm guessing zebra danios.

a 20 gallon tank is a nice little tank. you can house 20 inches of full grown fish in it... so not many at all.

it's nice to do a little school of fish in a smaller tank... like 15 cardinal tetras (look like neon tetras but the red stripe goes all the way) - a couple of dwarf rainbow fish, perhaps a couple of yoyo loaches for some fun, 3 cories to clean up the bottom of the tank (of course the yoyos will help with that as well) and that would be a full tank for ya. you'd have the red and blue of the cardinal tetras... the pale blue of the dward rainbows... the yoyos are black and white so you'd have some nice colour.

you could of course change that around have add some orange to the tank as well with some rosy barbs (the ones with the long fancy fins are gorgeous) - you could get them instead of the dwarf rainbow fish

[Ginevive]

Ahh, you have gotten bitten by the bug! I am just nuts about having tanks set up; it is really fun though, to set up new ones every once in awhile. Right now, I have set up our 4 tanks (125g, two 55gs, one 10g) and also have set up two for my sister, and another one for my dad soon.. so I don't just stop at tanks for myself. I even help my friend out at her pet store, cleaning and maintaining filters, stocking new fish, catching for customers sometimes (when I "owe her one" since she gives me rides to/from work..)
Hm.. for a 20-g, is it a long tank or high? If long, it would make an awesome "community" tank; swords, maybe some tetras, algae eaters once it is established and has algae. Personally, I love goldfish too; fancy ones, you could keep two in a tank that size. Comets though, they will definately outgrow anything smaller than a 55, and even that is pushing it..
I really like these freshwater puffers; I got one recently and he is very entertaining; his eyes move independently, he putters around the tank, really cute. But they are not a community fish..
If it is a high-styled tank.. maybe a few angelfish and bottom feeders (cory cats.)
Whatever you get, I highly recommend buying a Python brand siphon/hose. You can attach it right onto a faucet and fill the tank from it.. it makes life a LOT easier especially if you get larger tanks later.. I would never have these large tanks if it were not invented. The only time I lug buckets, is topping tanks off when a little water evaporates. Just don't forget and leave the water running and go outside or something; I almost flooded our house; we had water running out of the tank, into the dirt basement through a heating grate!!

[Laooda]

Aric, Given your obvious passion for the outdoors/nature you might really enjoy a planted tank. Like the Goddess mentioned... it's hard to beat a school of Cardinals darting around in unison. If you really got the bug, you could go with a larger planted tank... and work in some Angels, or Discus! SO HOTTTT! Planted tanks are concidered an art form to some, (As are all tanks IMO)....
Anyhoo.... You'll love whatever you go with...

OOOOH! I like African Cichlids tooo.... They are hardy! And rival salt water in color!

*I need to set my tanks up again*

[Amy05]

yup. i was bitten by the bug today too. just set up my tank. i just have gold fish in it untill i make sure the water is all good though. actually.


i need to make a trip to an aquarium store though.

[recycling goddess]

OOOOH! I like African Cichlids tooo.... They are hardy! And rival salt water in color!

unfortunately there aren't a lot of cichlids you can house in a 20 gallon tank... as they need more space than that. there's a few... but you couldn't have many cichlids together in a tank that small.

I really like these freshwater puffers; I got one recently and he is very entertaining; his eyes move independently, he putters around the tank, really cute. But they are not a community fish..

and i noticed jen mentioned her "freshwater puffer"... it's actually a brackish fish... so please don't add it to a freshwater tank

[piranhaking]

The 1 inch of fish per 1 gallon isnt really much of a rule to go by. Some fish (like gold fish) need more along the lines of 5 gallons. Also, in the case of predatory fish that are "messy eaters" you would want more than the gallon per inch, because food scraps decaying would cause an ammonia spike if there's not enough water to dilute it. Another thing you have to consider is the front to back depth of the tank. You want the tank to be atleast one and a half times the length of the fish between the front and back of the tank, and preferably twice the length of the fish. IMO, the best way to figure out how many fish you can house in a tank is to add them slowly over time, and keep a close eye on your water parameters. I also wanted to add that there ARE some species of puffer that are fresh water (one in particular lives in lake turkana in kenya), so dont assume that just because its a puffer its either salt water or brackish.

[Aric]

i'm guessing zebra danios.

a 20 gallon tank is a nice little tank. you can house 20 inches of full grown fish in it... so not many at all.

it's nice to do a little school of fish in a smaller tank... like 15 cardinal tetras (look like neon tetras but the red stripe goes all the way) - a couple of dwarf rainbow fish, perhaps a couple of yoyo loaches for some fun, 3 cories to clean up the bottom of the tank (of course the yoyos will help with that as well) and that would be a full tank for ya. you'd have the red and blue of the cardinal tetras... the pale blue of the dward rainbows... the yoyos are black and white so you'd have some nice colour.

you could of course change that around have add some orange to the tank as well with some rosy barbs (the ones with the long fancy fins are gorgeous) - you could get them instead of the dwarf rainbow fish

I love that idea, I looked up all the fish you mentioned and I think im going this route (I LOVE the yoyos). I think the tank is a 20 tall. Another thing, how should I set the tank up? What kind of substrate? As you can probably tell im new to this although I kept some feeder goldfish for my ribbon snake years ago.

[Ginevive]

If you are going witha community tank, platys (or is that platies? The singular form is "platy." are awesome. They now come in many colors; I just picked up a nice blue guy and he really adds a lot to the tank.
I would go with whatever color gravel you fancy; I myslf prefer more naturalistic colors such as browns and tans tat would be found in a stream. Plants, again are your preference. I use artificial, realistic greens and reds personally.
To start, I would only put one or two smaller fish in, have your filter running and your heater and temps good before doing so, and let the tank cycle; trowing a bunch in will lead to an ammonia/waste spike. You need to give the beneficial bacteria time to set itself up and grow in your filtr's cartridge as well as in your gravel. One helpful tip is to try and get a handful of gravel from someone else's healthy, established tank; it will speed this up.
Anymore questions, please ask. I can talk tanks all day.

[Aric]

If you are going witha community tank, platys (or is that platies? The singular form is "platy." are awesome. They now come in many colors; I just picked up a nice blue guy and he really adds a lot to the tank.
I would go with whatever color gravel you fancy; I myslf prefer more naturalistic colors such as browns and tans tat would be found in a stream. Plants, again are your preference. I use artificial, realistic greens and reds personally.
To start, I would only put one or two smaller fish in, have your filter running and your heater and temps good before doing so, and let the tank cycle; trowing a bunch in will lead to an ammonia/waste spike. You need to give the beneficial bacteria time to set itself up and grow in your filtr's cartridge as well as in your gravel. One helpful tip is to try and get a handful of gravel from someone else's healthy, established tank; it will speed this up.
Anymore questions, please ask. I can talk tanks all day.

Thanks, I love the natural look and I think thats what im going to go for. I plan on getting everything up and running for a couple weeks before I add any fish and I think the first fish I will add will probably be a couple loaches (I love the clown loach) and then slowly add the other fish, I would love to get at some point to get a couple Boesemani Rainbows.

The worst thing is that there are SO MANY different freshwater fish to choose from and its really hard. Im sure when I get a saltwater tank going it will be even harder.