How To Stock My 20 Gal.

[Activuar]

How should I stock my 20 gal.? I've decided on freshwater. I went to Super Pet and saw a tiny red tailed shark. It looks like a good pick. And I can not forget the Neon Tetras. They are really flashy and decorative. Other than that I don't know what else to put in. Give me some idea.

[Zerileous]

The tiny red tail shark is a Rainbow Shark. It is a fast swimmer and wont be tiny if it lives long. Therefore, it is not a good option for your 20 gallon tank. Can you tell us if it is a 20 long or a 20 high or a 20 extra high (if you dont know, can you tell us the dimensions of your tank?). This is important because lateral swimming room is just as important, if not more important than volume of a tank.

You could probably fit around 10 or 15 neons in the tank if you have little else for stocking. If you have a long tank, you could go with a smaller number of faster swimmers. If you were to have a high tank, you would want to layer your stocking options. IE a bottom population, an upper population, and a middle population (though they will overlap, they will not impose so much on eachothers territories).

[Drumachine09]

The tiny red tail shark is a Rainbow Shark.



Actually, depending on the color of either fin, it could be a redtailed sharks.


Redtailed sharks just have their caudal fin red.

Rainbow sharks have their Pelvic, Pectoral, Anal, Caudal, and Dorsal fins red.

[Zerileous]

interesting Drum, I have never seen that kind of shark. Would they be small enough for a 20 gallon though?

[Drumachine09]

interesting Drum, I have never seen that kind of shark. Would they be small enough for a 20 gallon though?

I suppose you could keep one, but they are very agressive towards just about everything. If you were heartset on keeping one, you would need several REALLY good hiding spots for him to, hide in, seek refuge from the bright lights (the dont like alot of lights), and for him to stake out his territory in. Its also best to use alot of plants (be they fake or real) to break up the tank, so he is not always seeing another fish.

[gm72]

I don't know, I think both specimens are too aggressive/will get too large for a 20.

Activuar, what is needed here is research. Go to the fish stores, write down a list of what you like, and then research the fish. You might be surprised at what you find, positive and negative, about each fish.

[zackish]

I liked Zerileous's post. I would go with one main school and maybe some corys and maybe a gourami or 2. I am simply recommending this because this is similar to the setup I have in my 29.
A 20 gallon tank is a decent sized tank for a beginner and you have the capability of putting a good variety of fish in it.

Like Druma and the rest said, if you were thinking of a shark I would definitely only keep that one shark in there and nothing else. Because of the aggressivness and because of the size it will reach.
I don't know if you would like that idea rather than having some more variety and much more peaceful fish that would live happier in a smaller tank such as a 20.
I have 8 cardinal tetras currently in my 29 (planning to get more) but they are really fun to watch school around, especially when you feed them they all go crazy together.

Just a little of my 2 cents.