20h...

[fishyyy]

Would this be a poossible for a 20H?

1 Bolivian Ram
4 Otos
3 Upside-down Catfish
3-4 Cherry Barb
4-5 Neons or Rasaboras

I have two filters and plenty of plants, driftwood, and caves for hiding and such. Think I could pull it off? The tank does not have the fish in it yet. If this set-up is not good, do you all have any suggestions. Thanks. *BOUNCINGS

 

[LadyLail]

Oh my, honey. NO. First off, the tank really needs to be cycled, next, a 20h doesn't give as much room as a 20L. The Ram needs a mature tank, the Cats need more room, because if memory serves me right, they get purty big, the Barbs are nippy and will be more so with the cramped quarters, and 2 small schools in such a small tank wont have room to really do their thing.

I would recomend a school of Neons, Rasaboras, OR Barbs and x the Cats and Ram. The Ottos should be okay, but I've heard they perfer schools of 6 or more (not sure on that one though). Hope this helps.

 

[LadyLail]

**And by school, I mean a small one because of the lack of horizontal space- in fact, thinking more into it, I'd probably stick with some 1" Neons- maybe 10 or so?? Any bigger fish (2" or so) would probably only need to have 6 or so in the school.

 

[TMony]

I agree with LadyLail. That is way too many fish for a 20h You have to consider the adult size of each fish. Neons and Rasboras get 2" long, so I wouldn't exceed 10. (10 is even pushing the limits, but if you have adequate filtration, you should be fine)

 

[jo3olous]

I'm going to have to say no to the upside down catfish, unless you are referring to the dwarfs, which still get around 3-4 inches adult size. you could probably keep 2-3 of the dwarfs; but make sure it's the dwarfs because the other will outgrow your tank badly.

20H is not long enough a tank for a ram?

and I would not do 2 small schools but rather 1 large school.

The otos are rather small reaching only about 2 inches max, however they prefer a small school 3-6, and they are peaceful. They should have many many hidnig places and this might not be applicable in a 20G high with schools of other fish.

for your 20G tank, I would recommend:

A) 7 cherry barbs or 7 tetras
2 dwarf upside-down catfish
1 centerpiece fish (dwarf gourami) or something
B) 7 cherry barbs or 7 tetras
4 otos
1 centerpiece fish

these options would push your stocking limits but the fish will be spread out well enough, your school fish take the top/mid tank, your bottomfeeders take the bottom, and your center piece to be your center piece

 

[LadyLail]

B) 7 cherry barbs or 7 tetras
4 otos
1 centerpiece fish

these options would push your stocking limits but the fish will be spread out well enough, your school fish take the top/mid tank, your bottomfeeders take the bottom, and your center piece to be your center piece

I think that's the better of the two options. I'd be worried that the cats would be too feisty in that tank.

 

[fishyyy]

Thank you guys SO much. Sorry for my naiveness, and sorry to bug you so much, but do you have any ideas except dwarf gouramis for the center-piece fish? Again sorry for my naiveness and to have been such a bother. Thanks

 

[DesignsOnYou]

You're not a bother, that's the point of the forum. An angelfish might work in a 20 H. Umm, a betta maybe? I can't think of anything else offhand, but other people might have more ideas.

 

[Ich_liebe_fish]

Really? An angelfish? I think that might be a bit big no?
As for the center-piece fish... A nice halfmoon betta would be stunning.

 

[emmanuelchavez]

He might be able to do two angelfish in the 20H... just so long as there is no other fish... and no decorations or gravel. People use 15H and 20H for breeding Angels.

A betta would be great as a centerpiece fish I think.

 

[LadyLail]

I was thinking an Angel, but didn't suggest because I was worried about the size... I'm still 50-50 on that.

I don't think a Betta would do well with Barbs. Every Betta I've seen in a comm tank with Barbs is timid, hides all the time, and has a shredded tail. It's too much of a target IMO.

Dwarf Gourami would do really well with Barbs I think. Google tropical fish and do a bit o' research- but I can't think of anything else that would work for a 20h.

 

[Ich_liebe_fish]

Wow. You think it is possible to have an ANGEL?! Wow, I might need to reconsider my 20H plans. Cool. I've never found cherry barbs that nippy, but you know more than I do,so fishyyy ~ Scatch the betta

 

[DesignsOnYou]

I vaguely remember whether an angel will fit in a 20H coming up on here before, and it seems like people were about half and half as to which side they fell on. Since it's a taller tank, that gives them more room vertically, which is how they grow, so some were saying it would be fine. Some were saying absolutely not. It's up to you. I haven't had barbs, or a betta even, but was assured last week by missfishy (I think) that bettas are fine in community tanks, HOWEVER, I don't think we were talking about bettas and barbs. I'm inclined to agree with LadyLail on that one. So, sorry if I steered you wrong, I was just throwing stuff out there. Looks like maybe you should just get a dwarf gourami. I'm especially fond of the turquoise ones.

 

[Ich_liebe_fish]

mm. I agree. Sorry for misstaking what you said, I should have looked into it further =).

 

[Redwood_Rider]

When I had my 20H set up I got super frustrated because I could not find a fish that would utilize that vertical space besides angelfish. However, I don't see anything wrong with going back to your original idea (in part at least) and using a pair of small Rams as a centerpiece. My LFS sells Balloon Rams which stay pretty tiny.

 

[misterking]

I've kept 2 angels in a 20 long very successfully.. they even bred. It just limits your stocking, because one angel = 6 inches, taking up 6 gallons of stocking space.

I've personally never found cherry barbs to be nippy, no more so than your average tetra. It really depends which type you buy, I reckon you'd be fine with cherry barbs and a betta, I have been in the past.