Wrs' 20 Long South American Build

I have a 20 Gallon Tall tank which I despise. Nothing I do looks right.
I am going to swap it out for a 20 Long now that there is a Dollar Per Gallon sale on at PetCo!

Goal....

Black Sand
Black & White rocks, Zebra Stone at PetCo, but LFS has some too.
Large piece of drift wood that looks like a branch
Some plants, not heavily planted though
Bright blue background - I bought some card stock paper at Michaels that I think will look cool

Stocking Options

5x Albino Corycats
Cardinal or Rummy Nose tetras. Maybe 6x of each?
I have 1 sword tail, so he will be here as well
1x GBR

I am off today to find some supplies.
I tried yesterday, but failed miserably at finding anything. Maybe today will be better!

 

Good luck with your search. I'm seeing more & more Spiderwood aka Water Azalea Roots, available at my area fish stores. Its a compact but intertwined branchy wood. I can't help but think something like that would really make a smaller aquascape pop.

 

I like your ideas .
If you haven't got the cories yet most say that SterbaI are best in high heat rummies , cards and GBR all want ..
If you had angels fish babies you would not hate your 20 tall so much ! Shape of tank is often best related to fish in it .
Torpedo shaped fish like long and round fish like tall...
The stocking you want is best in a 20 long IMO also ..

 

So today there was no tank and the wood I wanted was gone lol. Yesterday I went for the sand because it said it was in stock and then when I got to the store they were out!

I forgot that I liked emperor Tetras as well, so maybe I may switch some things up a bit... But that would just be a 3rd option. Nothing else really impresses me in terms of Tetras that I don’t already have!

 

This is the color of the card stock I got for the background. I need to get one more though. Usually I just do black but figured I’d try this.





I ordered this sand:
BDBS in Medium. I have it in fine, but I somehow mixed it with white sand and this gravel which looks a bit orange (it's called pink flamingo, but looks like eco complete vs pink) and I hated it, so I chucked it.

I called PetCo said they don't know if they are getting in any more 20 longs... ****?? I bought a koi betta from them on the 26th, and wouldn't you know, by the end of the day she was pineconeing. Today she was just massive and died, so I have to go back to return her. When I am there I will see if they can order me one. I really need the 20 L and don't feel like driving almost an hour to the next nearest PetCo. It's the DPG sale, they should be stocked up!!

I also just realized the light I have for the 20 Tall won't work on the 20 long, it's too short. Ugh lol.

 

3rd Random post...

I am thinking, what if I decided to go to a 29 gallon vs a 20 long. What benefits would that give me? I wonder if I could put in one angel fish....
Likely may not do a 29, but I am weighing out the benefits.

 

Why not go for larger? What's stopping you?

 

Why not go for larger? What's stopping you?

My landlord / father haha. It really doesn't have anything to do with him, but when he comes over and sees them it angers him. He covers the electricity, but my filter is for a 45 gallon aquarium, so it would all be the same, but he is German and unreasonable, so yeah. I don't want him to raise rent or evict me over a fish tank lol.

 

You have a lot more options with a 29 gal. Over a 20 long. Here's a pic of my Daughter's 29 gal. tank.

 

My landlord / father haha. It really doesn't have anything to do with him, but when he comes over and sees them it angers him. He covers the electricity, but my filter is for a 45 gallon aquarium, so it would all be the same, but he is German and unreasonable, so yeah. I don't want him to raise rent or evict me over a fish tank lol.

Yeah then that's a reasonable reason to not be able to go bigger. But a 29 isn't much more than a 20, especially already with a 45gal filter.

 

If I could, I would do a 40 breeder, but 20 long is my next favorite size. Plus I don’t really want an Angel Fish so I don’t really need a 29. Sticking with my 20 Long.... if they get them in stock.

Well the sand order was canceled. The store said they don't even carry that size grit...
I guess I will have to get the fine sand, which is okay, it is what I have now in other tanks, I just thought the medium grit would look better.

As for wood, I was wondering if I should get this: Melastoma Root - Hand Selected Specimens
It isn't exactly what I wanted, but it may be okay. I wanted to hang it over the side so it looked like a root and then attach a bella palm to the top of the wood that is outside of the water.

PetCo supposedly has a 20 Long, and they set it aside for me!! I will get it tomorrow! Most exciting thing that has happened this whole summer lol.

PetCo had the tank. I got it, the rest of the card stock for the background (still not 100% sure on the color), the sand, foam for the bottom of the tank. Now I just need a new light and a top! Plan is to set it up tonight, but I have zero desire to do anything at all today. If I do it, I will post pics!


It’s set up!! Still a lot of work to do though.

I ordered this light:


I know says Marine, but I didn't see that when I ordered it. I just was looking at price and delivery date, which is tomorrow. Gah. IDK how it will do for the plants. It will probably grow algae all over the place! I know Oto cats would fix that issue, but the temp of the water may be too high for them. I do keep some with a betta in a different tank that is near 82, and they are doing fine though, so who knows. I actually had them at 86 F one time because they had ich when I first got them in QT, and they did great with that temp too.

Anyways... Goal is to get light on tomorrow, post picture. The plants are basically the way I want them, very simple and in groups based on type. I may add one more type of plant. On Monday I am going to get a small piece of spider wood, as I decided I want some wood, but not as much as I originally planned. I may also get one type of tetra. I know one LFS sells both Rummy & Cardinals @ 4 for $13.99, but I want to check the other one to see how much they cost there.






THE LIGHT DOESN'T WORK!
Ugh.

I am second guessing the Rummynose tetra.
Cardinal are 100%. Unless they are frail, and Rummy are less frail.

I need some suggestions on a different tetra I can keep.
Currently I have Pristella in the tank, but they will be going to a black water aquarium shortly. They're cool, in black water, but they lack color.

I thought of Emperor or Glolight Tetra, but IDK. I can never decide! I already have Ember Tetra btw, and I don't know if I would want them in here... Though they are colorful!

Got my 6 Cardinal tetras!
They're so tiny!! Everything is chasing them around. I already moved a guppy out so it would back off them.
Sorry, the photo is so blurry!




I still need to remove the Pristella Tetras. I moved 6 of the 11 so far, so only 5 are in the tank.
Still not 100% sure about the Rummy Nose tetras. I was thinking about Emperor Tetra as well, as they are a bit cheaper, but their fins were all nipped. I am assuming that that comes from the skunk botia that they are kept with, so maybe in my tank they would be able to recover.

So I just need to remove the other Pristella Tetras, get one more set of small schooling fish, and then they main attraction... a GBR! In addition to a bit more hardscape + plants.

 

Here is the current state of the tank!
It needs some more plants and the rest of the stocking still. Not 100% sold on the layout yet.
I was thinking maybe to do Ember Tetras and the KubotaI Rasbora instead of Rummy Nose Tetra, but that would mean it’s not all SA themed fish and it may be too many schoolers for a 20 long.

 

I finally got my Ram! Woot! I am kind of hoping it’s a girl so I can get another one... Not sure if I want another GBR or a golden Ram though.




I also found a manzanita branch today!! I think this tank is actually shaping up to be everything I had envisioned it to me!





My Ram, who is officially a girl, was laying eggs last night!
I have decided to name her Primrose, because I saw someone else with that name and thought it was unique!
Now I just need to decide... another regular GBR, a Gold Ram or an Electric Blue Ram??? Decisions, decisions!

Anyone have experience with glass bloodfin tetra? I saw those today at my LFS. They were simple, yet pretty. Maybe I can do them instead of Rumnynose tetra....

Also I think I want my 2nd Ram to be a good ram.

I got Primrose a friend! I believe she’s a girl as well...
If I found a male, I wonder if 3 rams would be too much in a 20 Long.




I never did get the Rummy Nose Tetras. It still has 5 pristella Tetras that I can’t seem to catch. I want them in a different tank and now I think I want lemon Tetras in here. So much indecision!

I never did end up getting Rummy Nose tetras.
I thought maybe lemon tetras would look nice, but I've been to all 4 fish stores in my area and no one has them / plans on getting them in.
That leaves me with Ember Tetras. I have 9, and 8 of them are in a 10 gallon now, so I can easily move them into the 20 SA no problem. The other one is in a different 20, and have not been able to catch him and move him from the jungle.

So, I need to think... Ember Tetra, or something else? If the embers go here, then I have a 10 that is free of fish and will need stocking.
Decisions, decisions!

One month plus 11 days later from the last post, this tank has become a death trap! I haven't added any new fish in months, yet it seems like some disease has hit the tank! I will admit that I slacked on maintenance for a while after getting a new kitten, though the water parameters are fine. The fish start acting weird, getting skinny and breathing very fast. I lost... 3 Corydoras, 1 Cardinal Tetra, 1 Betta, 1 Swordtail, and possibly 2 Ember Tetra. All the other tanks that I semI neglected are doing fine, so I doubt that was my issue. This tank is just a mess. At least my rams seem to be okay...

 

My advice is to remove all obviously infected fish asap. Make a 50% WC, w/ thorough gravel vac. Bump the temp up to 86 degrees and keep it there for ten days. This might help eliminate possible parasites.
No sense to blindly nuke the tank with meds. Try to save the Rams.

 

My landlord / father haha. It really doesn't have anything to do with him, but when he comes over and sees them it angers him. He covers the electricity, but my filter is for a 45 gallon aquarium, so it would all be the same, but he is German and unreasonable, so yeah. I don't want him to raise rent or evict me over a fish tank lol.

Offer him a few more bucks for the electric used. It’s really not that much. Is it? I’m in the same situation. I’m ready to add a second tank, but I don’t want to **** off my landlord who isn’t family! Lol

 

Offer him a few more bucks for the electric used. It’s really not that much. Is it? I’m in the same situation. I’m ready to add a second tank, but I don’t want to **** off my landlord who isn’t family! Lol

My dad is from Germany so he is super stubborn and once he sets his mind to something there is no changing it! Lol

 

So far no one else has died. One of the cory cats was looking a bit weird, but I think he is doing better now. I hope that whatever it was causing this issue is gone! The tank feels so empty now I was going to be getting a Electric Blue Ram and my order came in this week, but I am afraid to get one now with the issues that the tank was having. I know I should QT a new fish, but I don't have any tanks available to QT...

 

Everything seemed to be better then two more corycats died and now my Gold Ram is looking off! Breathing heavy at the surface. I still want to have rams, but at this point I am feeling so over the fish and this tank! Once again I feel like I can't get that Electric Blue Ram that I wanted! Unless I did get it then QT the whole tank with General Cure, though I know that's not at all what anyone should do.

 

The Gold Ram died too! I just want to get rid of all of my fish and tanks at this point. This hobby is not fun anymore.

 

Anyone have experience with glass bloodfin tetra? I saw those today at my LFS. They were simple, yet pretty. Maybe I can do them instead of Rumnynose tetra....

Also I think I want my 2nd Ram to be a good ram.

I had them and on Aqavisor they took up 65% percent of stock. Very cool fish though