What fish to get?

[NateThompson]

I wanted to get a fish tank. Now where I live I can't get a tank over 20 gallons because of my apartments rules. I wanted to get a freshwater predatory fish that can stay in a 20 gallon tank does anyone have any suggestions?

Also maybe some live plants and filtration?(I just don't want to make 10 threads asking a lot of questions)

umm more questions to come when I think of them.

Thanks in advance Nate.

[redpaulhus]

There are lots of predatory fish that will do ok in that size tank.
However - do you mean predatory or do you mean piscivorous ?

Predators - fish that eat animals not plants - are easy in that size range - most dwarf cichlids, many gouramis or bettas, gobies or gudgeons, and killifish would fit the bill.

Piscivores - that's a bit tougher in that size range, in that most of the fish that would do well in such a small tank shouldn't be getting a diet of feeder fish (and most people who want piscivores seem to want to watch them kill feeders).

[Scuba Kid]

Before you decide on stocking your tank, you need to read up on setting up a tank. Look around the forums here and read some of the threads. Before you think about fish, you need to know the basics, like types of filtration and the nitrogen cycle, most importantly.

[NateThompson]

Fish that eat other fish.

I have been reading the forum the last hour or so, not enough to know all that I need to know of course but I will try to get there fast as I can.

[emc7]

You could keep one dwarf pike cichlid in a 20. But you'd need another tank with guppies or a pair of convicts to get him something to eat. They eat baby fish.

[Scuba Kid]

If you made the tank brackish, a figure eight puffer would also be an interesting inhabitant.

[redpaulhus]

Originally Posted by emc7

You could keep one dwarf pike cichlid in a 20. But you'd need another tank with guppies or a pair of convicts to get him something to eat. They eat baby fish.

I agree.
My Crenicichla regani were very funny about eating fish - they would eat very very very small fry (ie smaller than feeder guppies - baby convicts were perfect size) but larger fishes would be ignored (of course, they were also eating blackworms, white worms, mosquito larvae, cut earthworms, frozen foods (bloodworms, mysids, krill, etc) and the occasional flake).
The breeder I got them from (as wee little babys) said his breeding pairs wouldn't even eat fry...

The only (somewhat) common Piscivore I can think of for that sized tank would be Belonesox belizanus - the pike livebearer - and to be honest that's a really small tank for one (females get 8" long) -- I certainly wouldn't try keeping more than one in that size tank. And I haven't seen one of these in a store in over 15 years.
Another option (but even harder to find) would be Luciocephalus pulcher - sometimes called the pike-head gourami.

But neither of these (or any other fish that is eating live feeders) would be easy to keep in a 20g tank - your going to need to do lots of water changes (I'd aim for at least 25% a week) to deal with the heavy disolved organics load. And if you're using store-bought feeder fish, you WILL end up with disease problems sooner or later.

A good article to read on small predators:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/pikefishes.htm

[NateThompson]

After reading what you all had to say, and browsing the forum, I have come to the conclusion that a predatory fish just wont do for a tank small as the one I have to get. Sigh..

Thankyou all for the help and advice that has been given.

[Apotheosis]

Dwarf cichlids are interesting and would be perfect for a 20 gal.

[kribsandcons]

Has anyone suggested keeping African Butterflyfish? I have mine in a 30 but i think a 20 Long would be fine for it. They only grow to about 4 inches and they eat anything that can fit in their mouths, including crickets.

Or you could go with a Leopard Bushfish (Ctenopoma Acutirostre). They are peaceful but will hunt smaller fishes. (same thing. anything that can fit in their mouth.)

I keep both these fishes along with an array of cichlids, but with a 20 gallon i'd avoid cichlids unless you wanted non-aggressive dwarf cichs like apistogramma, bolivian rams, etc.

[TigerBarb12]

with a 20 gallon, i would go with some bloodfin tetra, they are just so cool, i have one, i need to get him some friends. you cant really get predatory fish for a 20 gallon, unless u get a smaller cichlid.

[Scuba Kid]

This thread is over a month old. The poster has already said that he is passing on a predatory fish.