Whoops I think I'm getting another tank - 20 gallon long stocking ideas

[dangerflower]

After saying for months now that I absolutely definitely wasn't going to get more fish tanks, I saw a really good deal on a 20 gallon long tank and stand that someone was selling and I'm probably going to go for it 😅 I'm sure this is a relatable feeling for lots of y'all.

I'm not planning to actually start setting it up until fall probably. Spring and summer are super busy for me with my garden, and I'm already planning a big project to redo my mini pond. But I want to start daydreaming about stocking this tank!

I'm thinking a want to do a botanical style tank, lots of leaf litter and some tannins in the water, and definitely lots of plants. The substrate is going to be sand (which I'm going to need to do some research on because I haven't used sand before). I want to keep it relatively lightly stocked for ease of maintenance. I like th idea of having a few groups of nano fish in there.

Some fish options I'm interested in for this are corydoras (I was thinking pygmy corys but it looks like a 20 long could safely house a group of regular sized corys?); Sparkling gouramis; honey gouramis; teeny rasboras like chili or green neon; CPDs; neon or black neon tetras.

Obviously I'm not talking about putting all those fish in there! Those are just different options I'm considering. The one I know for sure I want is a group of corydoras. I just think they're so adorable.

Would love some help brainstorming different species combinations and stocking amounts for a set up like this. For example, if I wanted to do sparkling gouramis, how many could comfortably be kept in there? Also open to suggestions for other stocking ideas, since this is all very much in the theoretical stage at this point 🙂 I am still a novice fish keeper, so hardy species are preferred.

Thanks folks!

[Fish Folk]

(“Whoops!” Oh Brittany…)

For tannins, I learn a lot here.

Study designs built by others…

[Henry the fish keeper]

I have an idea right off the bat! You should go with some cherry barbs and a blue centerpiece fish and get a black background so the fishes colors will really stand out. 

[lefty o]

whoops... yeah sure. we've all had that moment of denial.😎

[dangerflower]

@Fish Folk thanks for that link and the inspiration! Those set ups are so gorgeous. I'm so torn between wanting to do full botanical with dark water but also wanting plants... obviously if the water is too tinted plants aren't going to be able to survive, but I'm sure there's a way to find a balance.

@Henry the fish keeper I like that idea! Cherry barbs are so cute. Do you have any suggestions for blue centerpiec fish that are appropriate for this size tank?

I'm starting to think the idea that I'm going to be able to wait until fall to set this up is pretty silly. I don't even have the tank yet and I already spent all day excitedly researching fish 😅

[Fish Folk]

Here is what inspires me right now. I’d love to see something resembling this done on a smaller, 20gal long scale…

 

[Henry the fish keeper]

On 4/23/2022 at 5:10 PM, dangerflower said:

@Henry the fish keeper I like that idea! Cherry barbs are so cute. Do you have any suggestions for blue centerpiec fish that are appropriate for this size tank?

Idk maybe a powered blue dwarf gourami.

[Fish Folk]

On 4/23/2022 at 8:47 PM, Henry the fish keeper said:

Idk maybe a powered blue dwarf gourami.

I'd suggest looking into a _female_ powder blue dwarf gourami. Much less boisterous than the males. But they retain the lovely colors.

[dangerflower]

On 4/23/2022 at 5:14 PM, Fish Folk said:

Here is what inspires me right now. I’d love to see something resembling this done on a smaller, 20gal long scale…

 

Ooof that is SO gorgeous!

[Fish Folk]

On 4/23/2022 at 9:00 PM, dangerflower said:

Ooof that is SO gorgeous!

The cap, with excellent, varied LED lighting is a huge game-changer.

You can get reddish-plants, pop on a pink LED over them, and end up with something that looks like this. Lots of plants -- you'd need to carefully plan through the soil, so that those plants can explode like this.

Basically: Build the FLORA. Then add the FAUNA.

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/23/2022 at 11:46 AM, dangerflower said:

Some fish options I'm interested in for this are corydoras (I was thinking pygmy corys but it looks like a 20 long could safely house a group of regular sized corys?); Sparkling gouramis; honey gouramis; teeny rasboras like chili or green neon; CPDs; neon or black neon tetras.

Obviously I'm not talking about putting all those fish in there! Those are just different options I'm considering. The one I know for sure I want is a group of corydoras. I just think they're so adorable.

I'll give you some photos and let you see what I'm thinking...

An old classic Co-op tour fish that Cory used to highlight!


Another Nano species, same "color" in name only:


For high contrast, I really like the chili rasbora in there as well. Given the scape they might get lost depending on what plants you wish and how often water is changed.


Based on my own preference, I would love to see a herd of these in this 20L:
They have this almost luminescent green that comes off of them in the light, very subtle, very awesome.


The tank itself would have the decor you mentioned, perhaps something like... with some manzanita as the main focal point.


Add your leaf litter, other botanicals, and sub in whatever style of rock you prefer... It's an amazing tank I think!

I'd keep it at about 76 degrees if you have the tetra in there, 74 if you don't.

[DaveO]

Don't sit around thinking about this tank, hurry up and buy it before it's gone!

[Widgets]

Buy it now and figure out the stocking later. If you delay and miss out, you will feel so bad that you will have to buy two tanks to recover.

On second thought, wait and buy two tanks. 🤣

[dangerflower]

@nabokovfan87 yesss! I love all of this. Those are definitely some good fish options and I had forgotten about green neon tetras, they're really cool. What kind of cory is that? It's gorgeous. Do you think there would be enough space in this set up for groups of all of those fish pictured?

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/24/2022 at 10:11 AM, dangerflower said:

What kind of cory is that? It's gorgeous. Do you think there would be enough space in this set up for groups of all of those fish pictured?

Peppered Cory. Sometimes called salt and pepper Cory.

Yes I think all of those fish mentioned would work well in that size of a tank without issue.

Green Rasbora

Green neon Tetra

Chili Rasbora

Peppered Cory

Edited April 24, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

20 g long gives you loads of options as you know.

I am a fan of 20 g longs for shell dwelling cichlids. A group of multies, brevis, or ocellatus. 

You could do CPDs, Neocaridina of your choice, and a group of dwarf corys. 

Apistogramma of your choosing, green neons, and dwarf corys. 

Have fun, the joy for me is this stage, the planning and dreaming. 

[plantedtanks1052]

 

Just added this bolivian ram to my 20 high. It's a underestimated centerpiece fish. Hardy and tough.

[dangerflower]

I picked up the tank yesterday! So excited about it. It's just going into a closet for storage for now but I'll probably start casually shopping for hardscape soon. Maybe once I actually begin working on it, I can turn this thread into a journal for the project (is it possible to move threads to other sections?)

Also I just want to say that I love how supportive and encouraging this forum is 🥰 thanks for all the cool ideas!

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/24/2022 at 8:41 PM, plantedtanks1052 said:

Just added this bolivian ram to my 20 high. It's a underestimated centerpiece fish. Hardy and tough.

absolutely agree.

[plantedtanks1052]

On 4/25/2022 at 4:56 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

absolutely agree.

I've never seen a fully grown one until I got mine.

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/25/2022 at 8:50 PM, plantedtanks1052 said:

I've never seen a fully grown one until I got mine.

One of my favorite colorations and it's such an enjoyable fish to keep. I wish rams were more popular than bettas.

This is a very unique looking one, but shows you how amazing they can be.

and another 😍

[dangerflower]

Hi fish friends! I'm reviving this old topic because now that summer is winding down and I can take a breather from my garden and outdoor tubs, I get to finally start setting up this 20 gallon long I've had sitting in my closet since last spring 😅

I feel like I've dialed in what I want out of this tank and I would love some help with my stocking ideas as I'm not completely sure how many fish I can reasonably keep in this set up.

I am going to be going with the botanical style, with a sand substrate capping some bagged aquasoil for plant nutrients. I have a couple of nice pieces of manzanita branches. For plants, I'm thinking amazon swords, dwarf sag, and lots of floating plants. For botanicals so far I have magnolia leaves, catappa leaves, oak twigs, and a few cool big seed pods.

I know I would really like a group of corys, either peppered corys or pygmy corys, and if possible I would also really love a few sparkling gouramis. And I definitely want a group or two of tiny, shiny nano fish. The species I'm gravitating towards are green neon rasboras, green neon tetras, and chili rasboras. 

So my questions are: what combinations of the above mentioned fish seem good for this set up, and how many of each? I know these are pretty much all fish that like to be in groups of at least six. 

I also have a question about filtration for a 20 long. I love sponge filters so I'd like to use those, but I know they don't always work great in a low tank like this. I also want to be careful about too much movement because most of these fish don't like flow. I'm thinking maybe two smaller sponges on either side of the tank. Would the small size be best? Or the nano? 

Also, to everyone suggesting rams before, I see you 😆 I don't think they'd work for what I want with this set up but I definitely want to do a tank with them one day because they are really beautiful fish!

[Anjum]

Oooh I want to see how this tank turns out! Love the concept.

I recently got a group of peppered corys (paleatus) in my 29. Love them! And they're already trying to spawn. Which might actually be a vote for pygmys in a 20L..

My personal preference on nano fish is bigger schools, so personally I'd do 10+ of a single species. But that's just for looks; 2 smaller schools would be fine too.

I recently got a 20L going. I've got a nano sponge filter (right hand side) & a HOB. It's a lot of flow, but that mostly comes from the HOB. There's only a .25" difference in height of the small vs. nano, so either would probably be fine. 

[_Eric_]

My thoughts:

Two nano sponges should be fine if you have enough airflow- I like the smaller diameter.

I have green neon tetras as well as neon green rasboras.  I am setting up a 10 gallon for chilis but haven’t kept them yet. The neons green rasboras are a bit more subtle but still a pretty fish.  The neon green tetras are one of my favorites.  Love those guys.  I think you could have 12 of any 2 of those three in there.

I wouldn’t do the Pygmys as those guys swim around a little more in mid water column and might get crowded if you go with 20+ schooling fish.  Peppered would be nice though.

I haven’t kept sparkling gouramis before but seem like a neat fish.

 

 

[dangerflower]

@Anjum @_Eric_ thanks for the input both of you!

Good point about the pygmy corys making things crowded! Definitely leaning towards the peppered. There are some really cool high-fin ones available on Aqua Huna right now that I sure hope will still be in stock when I'm ready to add fish.

I set up the tank yesterday so here's a picture! I'll probably fiddle with the scape a lot more but I think it's a good start. Might add another Amazon sword or two even though eventually they'll get too big. The tint in the water isn't very strong yet - I'll need to get some different botanicals to make it darker I think.

I'm seeding my sponge filters in one of my other tanks (that's why there's only one in there right now) and I chucked in a few ramshorn snails to get the cycle going. I hate this part 😬

One question I have is which fish to add first once the tank is ready? All the species I'm looking at seem to be on the sensitive side in terms of needing the tank to be very mature.