What should I do with my new (used) 20 gallon tall?

I just recently acquired a used 20 gallon tall with hood, light, heater, and filter! This will be my third tank. I have a 5.5 gallon betta tank, and a 10 gallon planted with platies, snails, guppies, shrimp, and a pleco. The pleco will be moving to the 20, since she is getting a bit big. So, now I have this bigger tank, and no idea what to do with it. I know I want it planted...but that's about it.

If you had a 20 gallon tall, what would you put in it? Would you do sand or gravel? What kinds of plants? One or two larger fish, or a ton of tiny ones? Give me some ideas!

 

A shoal of WCMMs of course!

Do it.

You know you want to.

 

A shoal of WCMMs of course!

Do it.

You know you want to.

what are the wcmms?

 

Only the best fish ever.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Cloud_Mountain_minnow

SHAZAM!

They're incredibly easy to care, incredibly easy to breed, and incredibly pretty. They're sold in the plain variety and in 2 popular color morphs, the meteor minnow variety and the golden variety.

*Edit* Yes, the venerable White Cloud Mountain Minnow!

 

what are the wcmms?

White Cloud Mountain minnow?

 

Well here is what I would do!

MGPM + clay + Black Diamond Blasting sand substrate
Lace Rock
or
Slope the sand at a fairly steep angle and probably would wood screw the branches so they can bend and stretch out of the tank.

I would have submerged and emersed growth including:
Anubias (variety) or Downoi
Tiger Lotus rubra
Dwarf Sag
Corckscrew val
Possibly Red Frogbit

Emersed:
Aroids
Maiden hair fern



Fish:
4 peacock gudgeons
5 white cloud mountain minnows or celestial pearl danios
1 scarlet badis or sparkling gourami
1 otto
3 amano shrimp
**I overstock a little. I know how to handle that though **

Filter would be a ZooMed 501
Lights would be two of suspended or clamped on with daylight 26W (100W replacement) 6500K spiral CFL bulbs

Ferts would be root tabs

Thanks for the fun brainstorm

 

I would do...

Sand as the substrate. I use play sand, because it is so cheap - got 50 lbs. of it for $2 at Lowes, pre-washed and screened. For decorations:
Plan 1: Light-colored driftwood and maybe a few rocks; natural looking caves. Tope or white-ish sand. Black background. (This plan is a lot like my tank in my signature, only mine doesn't have driftwood, at least not real driftwood, and no moss.)
Plan 2: Lots of heavy rock work; black sand. Green or blue background. You could sprinkle some seashells on the ground if you want.

Then I would maybe plant it with:
Plan 1: Java Fern (a 'jungle' of Java Fern looks lovely)
Amazon Swords (interspersed with the Java Fern)
Anchor Moss
Plan 2: A couple anubias barterI
A small 'jungle' of cryptocoryne wendtii
And maybe a few micro swords
(If these names are making no sense, look 'em up on google for pictures )

For fish, I'd do:
Plan 1: 10-12 Neon Tetras
6 or so Cory cats (whichever variety you like)
(This again is a lot like my tank, only since mine is a 37-gallon I have more fish in it.)
Plan 2: A shoal of WCMM's, perhaps 8 or so
A loach or two
Some shrimp

Let me know what you think!

 

I would do whatever you like for plants. But definitely a heavily planted tank. Then, I would do a nice big school of something very small. Celestial pearl danios. WCCMs (or golden WCCMs), or ChilI rasboras, or espeI rasboras. And a centerpiece fish, like a honey gourami. And a school of pygmy or panda or hasbrousus (I konw that's not spelled right) cories on the bottom. (just six of them, anyway, the ones that stay small).

Emily