johnloveday

Hi, i am new to the whole fish thing, i want to set up a 20 gallon tank and want to start with 2 angelfish. Then i want to add a red tail shark and a pleco and maybe some guppies. What do you think about this setup? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

jarrod

im no expert, but i dont think your tank isnt big enought angel fish or a red tail.. nevermind together..id stay with smaller tropical fish, guppies, tetras, DG's etc..


red tails need a long tank as i think think they get liek 6 inches long and angles need a tall tank because of their body shape..

ABCDemily

Hi! Welcome to FishLore!

Firstly, the tank needs to be cycled, and you need to know about the nitrogen cycle (click on the blue lines lol)

A good rule of thumb is one inch of fish per one gallon of water.

RTS can grow up to eight inches, as can the angels, plecos can get up to 2' big!

If the tank is a twenty gallon TALL then two angels could possibly live together. However, your best option is going for four MALE guppies and three corydoras, they are awsome little bottom feeders and are a brilliant community fish.

Good luck!

aquarist48

Hello John and Welcome to Fish Lore. Some great advice above. Please pay special attention to the nitrogen cycle link provided above as it's crucial to fish keeping. Posted again here:
The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle
I think 2 Angels would do well in a 20g Tall. However, they should be male and female or you're looking at aggression and territorial issues. Some Cory Cats would do nicely with them as well.

Red Tail Sharks IMO should be kept in 55g or larger and only 1 per tank. The Pleco should also be housed in at least 55g. Depending on which breed you choose they can grow to 24 inches. The Bristle Nose Pleco stays around 6 inches max. Too, the Plecos are large waste producers.

You could have several guppies in there that I'm sure would look great. You have a lot of fish out there to choose from. Don't hesitate to run more stocking ideas by us if you like. Lots of great information here and friendly people.
Best of luck and I hope you enjoy the site. We're here to help if you have any questions.
Ken

johnloveday

Thanks for the suggestions, i will start off with the angels and probably wont get the shark. Also i wanted to know, how long should i leave the tank before adding the angels? Should i leave it for the two weeks? I asked at my local fish stores and they say the water here is pretty similar to the angels habitat so i dont know if i can put them in before the two weeks for the nitrogen cycle...

mommybaby295

You should read the page on fishless cycling as well as the one about the nitrogen cycle. I think adding the fish is much more about your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate readings than about the length of time you wait. It can take two weeks, but it can also take a month or more, and I doubt you'd want to put your angels in before the cycle is completed, and risk them dying.

Diggly

I suggest looking at bristlenose plecos, the albino ones are cute and only get to 4 inches. As for the nitrogen cycle its not about the water being the same its about balancing the chemicals to make sure your fish lead a happy and healthy life.

In basics fish produce waste which gets turned into ammonia very quickly, this can poison your fish. When the ammonia is broken down it gets turned into nitrites which is also very poisonous to fish but then the good news, is that in a cycled tank it will turn into nitrates fairly quickly which is harmless in small quantities, so regular water changes will keep your fish and you happy!

I suggest buying an ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kit and some pure ammonia (or even fish food can do it I think). Add the ammonia/fish food daily and test the water daily. You should see ammonia readings, then nitrite readings. When you have readings of 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and about 5 nitrates you are ready to add and enjoy the fish!!.

hope this makes sense!