20 gallon long stocking ideas

[StaceyMae]

I set up a 20 gallon long with black eco complete substrate for an elderly betta back in January. He passed away in March, and I've been caring for an empty tank ever since. I wasn't really sure what I want to do with it. Before anything, I decided on getting a new filter because mine was getting old (I moved all my used medias into my new fluval c3) and my aquarium is cleaner than ever, but with a bit of a current thanks to the filter and a bubbler.

After a while, I decided that I wanted to make a nano tank, since it would be better than trying to fit a pair of dwarf cichlids in there; just wouldn't be ideal as a permanent home. I feel similar about gourami but I dont think 1 would hurt. I only wanna stick to 2-3 species of fish though to avoid overcrowding and keep it low maintenance. If I stuck to 2 small schooling/shoaling fish in groups of 6, I could get just 1 center piece that's not a nano fish, like a gourami. I still don't mind the thought of having 3 schooling nano fish species though if it would fit/stay low maintenance that way.

I also want to get fish that like a good current, however, (so my filter doesnt stress any fish out) and like my water parameters, which are: ph 7.0-7.2, 77 degrees Fahrenheit (can go a little higher or lower), 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrite, 7 ppm nitrate. These were my parameters 1 day ago and are the usual. I already ordered red cherry shrimp as well, which is another reason I was leaning toward nano fish. These are my contenders so far:

Ember tetra
green neon tetra
black emperor tetra
chili rasbora
Celestial pearl danio
Gold ring danio
Clown killifish

Tell me which ones of those you like best. I'm a big fan of the danios and the chili rasboras myself, but I'm having a difficult time choosing since I haven't had any of those before, except for the neons. As I said, my tank has a moderate current (much too fast for a betta now) and I've heard the gold ring danios seem to prefer that, so I really liked the thought of those.

Any other ideas are welcomed as well. Oh, and the following are the types of plants I have that I am trying to blend the fish with:

Ludwigia Repens Rubin
Anacharis
Lobelia Cardinalis
Cryptocoryne Lucens
Java Fern
Windelov
Staurogyne Repens
Dwarf Saggitaria Subulata
Anubias attached to driftwood

 

[jinjerJOSH22]

Hi, so my suggestion would be 3 Nano schools that includes a Gourami

7-10 Sparkling Gourami
7-12 CPDs
7-10 Rosy Loaches

Maintenance should be roughly the same whatever you stock, 50% changes a week isn't too bad in a smaller tank.
The thing with most Gourami is they are more social than people give them credit for so I always recommend keeping them in a group. Sparklers can be little terrors in low numbers so keeping closer to 10 is a good Idea.

One thing to keep in mind is these fish may give the Shrimp issues, at least the Shrimp won't likely do as well as if they where on their own, same with the other Danios.

As for plants, I love Crypts and Hygrophilia, both have a diverse array of species and are often easy to grow. You can even float some Hygrophilia, which you'll want for some surface cover.

 

[BottomDweller]

When I was trying to decide on stock for my 15 gallon Fluval flex I couldn't decide between gold ring danios or mosquito rasboras. I'm planning to get scarlet badis and asian stone cats though.

Sparkling gouramis (and probably most other gouramis) would eat your cherry shrimp.

 

[StaceyMae]

Thank you for your replies guys! I love to hear your thoughts. I like the idea of using sparkling gourami, as it is one I hadnt even considered. I'll have to look up what a scarlet badis is tho, but it sounds interesting.

 

[Rev]

I have Gold Ring Danios they're awesome! CPDs in my area tend to be quite expensive so I got some of the Gold Rings instead. Great alternative. I have shrimp in the tank they don't bother them at all. If you like the danios and rasboras have at it. That's my current setup of my 10g, I have 8 Gold Ring Danios and some chili rasboras (currently 1, had 6 lost 5 pretty quickly and haven't been able to get more in lockdown). There's so many possibilities for a 20 long though it can be a bit overwhelming

 

[Sorg67]

I have 20 Harlequin Rasboras in a 20 long at the moment. Probably bigger than you want. But I like the large school of one kind of fish. Really cool to watch. They are going to be upgraded to a 29. Planning to add a school of Corydoras and possibly increase the Rasboras to 30.

Any of those smaller tetras or rasboras would be cool. I would go for fewer species and greater numbers.

 

[StaceyMae]

I have Gold Ring Danios they're awesome! CPDs in my area tend to be quite expensive so I got some of the Gold Rings instead. Great alternative. I have shrimp in the tank they don't bother them at all. If you like the danios and rasboras have at it. That's my current setup of my 10g, I have 8 Gold Ring Danios and some chili rasboras (currently 1, had 6 lost 5 pretty quickly and haven't been able to get more in lockdown). There's so many possibilities for a 20 long though it can be a bit overwhelming

I think I have pretty much made up my mind on adding the gold ring danios. They are just so beautiful. I really love the look of them. The number of possible fish combinations really did leave me thinking for a long time lol I also like the thought of the rosy loaches because I have a trapdoor baby snail problem, but I dont really want to overdo it with red species either, you know? I will have 15 red cherries already for sure lol

 

[Hugooo]

Sparkling gouramis (and probably most other gouramis) would eat your cherry shrimp.

Not necessarily, Foo the Flowerhorn on YouTube keeps sparkling gouramis with shrimp! (btw I don't mean to offend you in any way )

 

[jinjerJOSH22]

I think I have pretty much made up my mind on adding the gold ring danios. They are just so beautiful. I really love the look of them. The number of possible fish combinations really did leave me thinking for a long time lol I also like the thought of the rosy loaches because I have a trapdoor baby snail problem, but I dont really want to overdo it with red species either, you know? I will have 15 red cherries already for sure lol

Rosy's aren't super red, only nuptial males really get that, if that helps

 

[ProudPapa]

Since you're going to have red cherry shrimp I'd add a school of celestial pearl danios and stop there.

 

[Hugooo]

Since you're going to have red cherry shrimp I'd add a school of celestial pearl danios and stop there.

But that's so understocked? Not even a school of like... ember tetras or chili rasboras? I feel like both would be almost harmless to the RCS.

 

[Dewclaw83]

Thank you for your replies guys! I love to hear your thoughts. I like the idea of using sparkling gourami, as it is one I hadnt even considered. I'll have to look up what a scarlet badis is tho, but it sounds interesting.

Just an FYI, if you go with Scarlet Badis, they can be little stressheads if the other fish in the tank are too active. Mine only tolerated chili rasboras for a few weeks before they got to be too much, and the chilis really didn't do hardly anything other than exist in the same tank lol
They are excellent little fish though. Very cute and fun to watch, but soooo tiny - It takes like 5+ minutes to find mine every day, even in a 5.5g XD (They also like caves and appreciate heavy planting. They may also try to live in your filter if it looks cave-like enough)

 

[ProudPapa]

But that's so understocked? Not even a school of like... ember tetras or chili rasboras? I feel like both would be almost harmless to the RCS.

It's not understocked if you get enough of them. But if you want another school of very small fish it should be okay. Just keep in mind that the shrimp may hide more so you'll see them less with fish in the tank.

I had a few guppies in a shrimp tank for a while, and within hours of moving the guppies out I was seeing twice as many shrimp. However, my daughter-in-law has a tank with shrimp and celestial pearl danios, and the shrimp don't seem to hide much in her tank. I suspect it's just because the cpd's are so small the shrimp don't see them as a threat.

 

[StaceyMae]

It's not understocked if you get enough of them. But if you want another school of very small fish it should be okay. Just keep in mind that the shrimp may hide more so you'll see them less with fish in the tank.

I had a few guppies in a shrimp tank for a while, and within hours of moving the guppies out I was seeing twice as many shrimp. However, my daughter-in-law has a tank with shrimp and celestial pearl danios, and the shrimp don't seem to hide much in her tank. I suspect it's just because the cpd's are so small the shrimp don't see them as a threat.

I had maybe 7 red cherry shrimp in my old 20 tall set up before I gave them to my sister, and they roamed the tank all day/night with 1 full grown betta and 2 Cory's, so I'm hoping to have a similar experiencece with the nano tank. I hadnt considered the shrimp could get spooked. I do have a moderately planted tank tho with more plants on the way, one of which I hope will help them feel more comfortable.

Rosy's aren't super red, only nuptial males really get that, if that helps

Thanks, that is definitely more what I'm looking for. I just ordered some red plants to match the cherries, and I just didnt want to overload the red hues. I'm thinking I may use the rosy loaches with the gold ring danios and maybe later add the sparkling gourami to help population control. I will have to look into their behavior a little more though. Are they good community fish? I hear mixed reviews about them regarding RCS, or any shrimp. Some say they are much too small to pick at larger shrimp, but others suggest the opposite.

Thanks, that is definitely more what I'm looking for. I just ordered some red plants to match the cherries, and I just didnt want to overload the red hues. I'm thinking I may use the rosy loaches with the gold ring danios and maybe later add the sparkling gourami to help population control. I will have to look into their behavior a little more though. Are they good community fish? I hear mixed reviews about them regarding RCS, or any shrimp. Some say they are much too small to pick at larger shrimp, but others suggest the opposite.

If I dont get the sparkling gourami, I will likely opt for a tetra in its place because you really cant go wrong with those either. Although I have heard that the cardinal/neons may harass shrimps.