20 Gallon Long Redo?

[AllFishNoBrakes]

What up, Nerms? Hope you all are well. 
 

I’ve had my 20 gallon long for about 4 years now, and it’s been through a couple iterations. It started as a shrimp only tank where I bred and sold hundreds and hundreds of Cherry Shrimp. About a year and a half ago, I decided I wanted to try a Blackwater tank, so most of the shrimp came out, and a ton of botanicals and tannins went in. I loved it so much I decided the 29 next to it should also be a blackwater tank!

I’ve really enjoyed this blackwater tank, but I’ve started to think it might be time for something new. Here’s a picture of the tank right this second:

Currently the tank has a group of Chili Rasboras, Green Neon Tetras, a bunch of CPO’s, Cherry Shrimp, and Ramshorn Snails. Spiderwood, Cholla wood, a few different varieties of Anubias, and a giant 20’ long Pothos vine growing out of it hence the roots in the back. 
 

I’ve been thinking about what I want to do, and I’m curious what you would do if you had a 20 long that you were setting up? I’m 99.999% sure I want to change substrate. This tank started with black sand for the shrimp, and I learned very quickly that I simply don’t like sand, lol. That being said, I don’t hate it enough to have ever put in the work to remove it. But, if I’m going to “tear this down” I’m definitely changing the substrate.
 

The Chili’s can go to a tank in my bedroom with Pygmy Cory’s. I would probably turn that tank into a blackwater tank with the Chili’s and the Pygmy’s to scratch the blackwater itch. The Green Neons can go to the 29 blackwater tank next door. They would look incredible in that tank. The CPO’s would be split between my Pea Puffer tank, and probably into my 55 gallon Angelfish tank. Shrimp and snails can stay or really be moved to almost any other tank.
 

 Here’s what I’ve thought about doing so far:

-Replace sand with gravel, root tabs under the substrate, and throw down some Crypts and other plants. Crypts never really have done well for me, but I got one from ACO about 2 weeks ago and seems to be converting and hanging tough. I would love to see this tank full of Crypts, and I’m even considering adding co2 to this tank. I already run co2 on a couple other tanks, so adding it here isn’t new territory.

          -If I were to completely redo the tank, I’m not sure what I’d stock it with. Rams have eluded me a couple of times now, and I’d really love to be successful with them. I also can’t help but think that the Pothos vine could help scrub the water and potentially I could be more successful with the Rams than I have been in the past. I’m aware Rams need a hot tank, and that would mean plants are limited, so co2 doesn’t really make sense in that situation. I’d also love to have tank mates with the Rams, but there’s not a ton of fish (at least to my knowledge) that can handle the temps, and still do well in a 20 long with the Rams. Sterbai Cory’s come to mind, but they get bigger than I would personally feel comfortable putting into a 20 long. Maybe some Tetras, but I’ve had a lot of Tetra species at this point.

          -Keep it as a blackwater tank, and maybe run some Apistos. Again, I know they like it hotter, so I feel plants and tank mates are somewhat limited.

          -Something entirely different that I haven’t even thought of yet. The idea of moving some of these fish around to rejuvenate some other tanks and having a blank slate to play with is very intriguing. I also don’t know what I would do with all these Anubias (I mean, I’ll throw them in other tanks, but I’m not like “oh, this one would be perfect here and that one would be perfect over there!).

So ya, that’s where I’m at. Rams are super intriguing, but I’m not sure I can run plants, co2, and tank mates with them like I would want to. Apistos would be fun, but it’s kind of the same boat as the Rams. A garden of Crypts sounds awesome, but I don’t know what fish I would put with them.

If you had a 20 long, what would you do with it? Maybe you had a 20 long in your past, or one currently, that you just can’t get enough of? I’m curious to hear what you guys think.

Cheers!

 

[Lennie]

Hello,

I shared it another topic but just in case I wanna share it here too.

An aquaculture engineer friend of mine who is a hobbyist for ages told me that I should keep soft water acidic blackwater fish in a blackwater setup and not keep fish that are used to live others naturrally.

He said even if the ph doesn’t decrease and stays around 7.5 due to kh buffer, in accordance with his experience, fish like livebearers always had issues whenever he tried setups like blackwater due to skin related issues like irritations and gradually turning into columnaris and such in the long term.

So if you want another blackwater setup, you will be ideally limited with blackwater fish again, so you may consider this as it would be limiting to avoid all those clearwater mid to hard water fish in a fresh new setup, as 20g is already limiting itself

Edited August 6 by Lennie

[AdamS]

You could put rummy nose tetras with either rams or apistos.  

Edited August 6 by AdamS
Autocorrect

[AllFishNoBrakes]

@Lennie For sure. Hence the reason why the Chili’s would go with the Pygmy’s, and that tank could become a blackwater tank, and the Green Neons would go next door into my other current Blackwater setup. 
 

I made the decision early on in my hobby to not try to force things or that I don’t want to “make” water. My water is naturally softer, little lower ph, and with just a little buffer, so no African Cichlids and very little livebearer experience for me. 
 

@AdamS For sure. Definitely thought about that option. I’ll keep thinking on it!

[EricksonAquatics]

I love seeing pictures of this tank - the chilis and green neons look stunning against the black water. You’ve done an amazing job with it! But it makes sense that you’d want a change.

I love the idea of a strait crypt garden - or even crypts and an absolute GALLON of Anubias just to make it a low light, super easy tank. But I do have to say, seeing the crypts go gangbusters with co2 would be insane!

Youve probably kept pretty much everything under the sun😂but maybe there’s a species of fish you haven’t kept yet that would be fun, just for something new? Barbs? Different gouramis?

I think cherry barbs are epic and can’t wait to add a handful to my 29g. But they also prefer a little cooler water from what I’ve read (now is it super duper important? Couldn’t tell ya) so likely wouldn’t work out with the Rams or Apistos. What about Bolivian Rams? They’re cool when they’re all colored up and might be a fun breeding project?

Idk, not that I’ve kept much - just my two cents 🙂

Edited August 7 by EricksonAquatics

[Woowala]

Not 100% on this but I believe apisto borellii can tolerate or even prefer cooler water. Might increase your options if you planned around them.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

@EricksonAquatics I appreciate the kind words! This tank has been a lot of fun, and I’ve definitely learned a lot with it. I’m not dead set on tearing it apart, but I’m leaning that way. The idea didn’t even strike me until a couple of days ago. We’ll see what ends up happening. 
 

Agreed that a Crypt and Anubias garden and co2 could be a lot of fun! Just gotta find what would go well with it. 
 

Despite my name, I haven’t kept THAT many species. I have had my 14 tanks for about 4 years now, so I’ve definitely dabbled, but nowhere near anywhere close to playing with all the fish. 
 

I actually have Bolivian Rams in the 20 high above this tank, lol. They’re the one type of Rams that I’ve been successful with. I’ve tried Black Rams twice, and failed pretty miserably both times. Then I got the Bolivians and they’ve been easy the whole time. 
 

Rams would be awesome, but if I’m gonna redo this plant I really wanna do co2 and just crank some “easy” plants so they look amazing. Rams and the temps they need just don’t play nicely with that plan. Cherry Barbs on the other hand… That could be fun. 
 

@Woowala I appreciate the suggestion! I’ll have to look into them more. Cacatuoides are readily available in my area, so I’ll have to do some research on the Borellii and see if I can find them. Could be fun and check all the boxes!

[Woowala]

They're one of the more commonly available apistos so you should be able to find some if you go that route.