Stocking a new 20-gallon tank - Page 2

C. King · 02-13-2013, 04:56 PM

I have had angels with neons for years, no problems. My angels are as big as my hand. I do have cardinal tetras which are a bit bigger than neons as adults--they are as colorful, maybe even more so full grown! I also highly recommend cherry barbs. Other barbs are a no no with angels, but cherries are great, and you can't beat their vivid red color, which gets even brighter with age. Just be sure to get equal numbers of male (bright red) and female (more dull) cherries. I have two each, and they are happy. In fact, my tank is a 20 gal. too! I would never, ever have zebras with angels, however, due to zebras penchant for fin nipping. Guppies have different water parameters from neons or zebras, but I reluctantly added one to my tank as a present to a little girl who " really really wanted" one, and he has adapted, but mixing fish with different needs is not recommended. (unless you are trying to avoid an in store small child meltdown, that is!). Other fish that go well with neons, cardinals, danios, angels, and cherry barbs : hatchet fish, who are top level dwellers. They are fresh water flying fish, so must have a good tank cover, which you have. Also, rasboras-sweet natured schooling fish with a smart looking black triangle. Bushy nose plecos are good bottom dwellers that wont out grow your tank like the other plecos will. Whatever you choose, do not buy more than a few at a time, and give the tank at least a week to adapt before buying more.

ashleymd · 02-13-2013, 05:46 PM

We are looking at a Zebra Pleco- anybody have experience with them? From what I've read they stay small around 3"-4".

ZebraDanio12 · 02-13-2013, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by ashleymd

We are looking at a Zebra Pleco- anybody have experience with them? From what I've read they stay small around 3"-4".

Zebra Pleco!? My gosh are those ever expensive!

ashleymd · 02-13-2013, 09:08 PM

Okay. Wasn't sure. Never mid that idea. Lol. I knew what they looked like and their size and care/maintenance but didn't see any prices anywhere. I'll take your word. I'm not looking to spend an absolute fortune.

ZebraDanio12 · 02-14-2013, 04:52 AM

Originally Posted by ashleymd

Okay. Wasn't sure. Never mid that idea. Lol. I knew what they looked like and their size and care/maintenance but didn't see any prices anywhere. I'll take your word. I'm not looking to spend an absolute fortune.

If I had the money, I'd get one. Those suckers are priced around 300-500$! But they are so beautiful. Too bad...

C. King · 02-14-2013, 03:17 PM

Since you cleaned the old tank and added new everything, be sure to let it cycle before spending $$ on fish...

ashleymd · 02-14-2013, 04:10 PM

It's been up and running for almost three weeks. Still not planning on fish for a couple more.

C. King · 02-15-2013, 09:19 AM

let us know what you end up getting! maybe some pics...

Dilligaf_1 · 02-15-2013, 05:54 PM

yes pics please, and i really like all of Kings suggestions, cherries would add some great color! And thanks for sharing the guppy story, I have a similar story....only the little girl ain't so little, its usually my wife who's pleading with me to buy the prettiest (most expensive) fish in the store!

ashleymd · 02-16-2013, 03:56 PM

So we were at the Fish Shop today and we looking at their display tanks. We fell in love with a set up they had. It was a 29 gallon with a ton of plants and rock hide aways. The fish included:
Neon Tetras
RummyNose Tetras
Cardinal Tetras
Glowlight Tetras
Orange Galaxy Rasbora
Yellow Furcata Rainbows
Ghost Shrimp
Cherry Shrimp
and a mix of itty bitty snails

We are thinking about all of the above with the exception of the Cherry Shrimp and Neons. We were considering 6-8 of each fish, and 3-4 shrimp.

Opinions?

We were unsure of what we would stock so there are no plants in the tank yet. Are there any VERY idiot-proof live plants? I'm not good with plants but live looked so much nicer than plastic.

**Obsidian** · 02-17-2013, 11:18 AM

"running" does not equate with "cycling"

Are you adding an ammonia source? If you are not adding an ammonia source (fish food, a shrimp prawn, pure ammonia itself...) then you are not cycling, you are just running water around a tank. You can use a biological additive that will help do this pretty quickly. I prefer Stability but there are several others that would work.

ashleymd · 02-17-2013, 12:30 PM

I've always cycled with adding fish food daily and once a week adding ammonia.

**lohachata** · 02-17-2013, 01:41 PM

have you tested for ammonia and nitrites ?? you will want to test so you don't add fish when readings are high..
the price of zebra plecos has come down a bit..you can now find them in the $150-$200 price range..they also prefer temps in the upper 80s...lots of current and high levels of oxygen...plenty of places to hide and lots of meaty foods...
they can be extremely aggressive and have been known to kill and eat mates..

**Obsidian** · 02-17-2013, 02:34 PM

Adding fish food works really well

I just don't ever assume when someone says they have their tank "running" for 3 weeks they are cycling it because then they get shocked later when they do go through the cycle LOL. Then they are all- man I let it run for weeks.....