NEW (free) 20 Gal!!

[soldier-sailer]

I am so lucky!! I have been getting aquariums from out of nowhere! My neighbor just gave me a 20 Gal long that he found in his barn! I am cleaning and testing it, but now I have to deside what to put in it! any ideas?

[angelcakes]

nice................you could do a betta and a few shrimps:19:

[soldier-sailer]

Sounds cool. Ghost shrimp? Any type of small Chiclid that could hang in a tank that size? (lol, i have a "thing" for chiclids!)

[Lady Hobbs]

Fill it up and let it sit for several days. Silicone may have dried out by now.

Good find for you.

[soldier-sailer]

Thanks Lady Hobbs!!! I plan on setting it for 3-5 days, then empty and start a week long (at least) cycling using some water from my other tanks. It will probably be mid to late Sept before I put fish in, just want an idea of the type of fish that will thrive in that size tank so I can start planning how to set it up.

[Mustang Boy]

you could do some african cichlids mainly shelldwellers a large colony of shellies would look cool and they have large personalities

[soldier-sailer]

Thats what I had in mind from the start but I havent much experience with shelldwellers and dont know anyone around where I live that does. Any particular species I should look at? And what kind of numbers do you think would be reasonable?

[angelcakes]

how about a couple of small rams heres a link with some info.......

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[soldier-sailer]

I love Rams! Looks like its between Rams or shelldwellers now.... hmmmmm

[Lady Hobbs]

You will not be able to get a cycle by just transferring the water. There is very little bacteria in the water and mostly on the filter media and in the gravel. Using a used filter pad and some seasoned gravel from another tank will help you a lot. If those aren't available to you, using pure ammonia can give you a real good cycled tank and you'll be able to add more fish right from the get-go.

You have already gotten some good idea's for stocking. Yahooooooooooo!

[OscarFan]

Shell dwellers would be awesome I found this article interesting.

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[Mustang Boy]

there are many shelldwellers that are popular the most popular one i have seen recommended for beginners are L. Multifasciatus which are what im planning to put in my 29gal in a few months

and here is a site that sells them and also many other shelldwellers and alot of african cichlids

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and for a tank that size i would start with like 6-8 to make sure you get a good number of females and just let them colonize the tank and the will for colonies(like little gangs) and they will defend their area(not aggressively just chasing others away) and from what i hear they have HUGE personalities and make sure you have alot of shells for them escargot shells are popular but there are many different ones that can be used

[kaianuanu]

i personally like mbunas but they may not fit in their forever

[Dixie]

I like mbuna too but not for a tank that size. I don't have any experience with shellies but would like to some day.

I think the easiest way to cycle a tank is if you have a tank already cycled, put the new filter on the cycled tank and run it there for 2 weeks. Then fill up the new tank and put on the new filter that's been getting ready on the cycled tank. It takes 2 weeks but it's the easiest way I know of. When you put the "seasoned or seeded" (not really sure which you'd call it) filter on the new tank, it's practically automatically cycled. May show a mini cycle but nothing major. Good luck and happy fish picking.

[Zebradanio12]

Lamprologus multifasciatus are really cool and easy.

[Abodement]

I really enjoyed keeping rams you could have like 5 in a tank that size with some dithers of your choice. Kribs are cool and they breed pretty easily. If you want the most Cichlid for the pound, a convict pair could be successfully kept in a 20 Long if you keep up on water changes. With the Cons once a pair is established EVERYTHING must be removed or it will die a quick death. Another way to help cycle is do a water change from another tank and put some of that water into your new tank just makes sure you have all the dirt and gunk from the gravel mixed in.

[troy]

You can't have 5 rams in a 20 gallon.