Comments on: Would This Be Overcrowding My 20 Gallon Tank?

By: catx

catx — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:19:43 +0000

WHOA O_O
Lose the discus FORSURE.
you can keep the neons/cardinals [get 6]
keep the cories
I supose you could keep the apple snail, just know they get huge..
and just get 6 zebras.
and you can get the gouramis I guess,
but honestly NO DISCUS, they get very big and they’re a little hard to take care of, I’m asuming you’re a beginner.
they’ll get WAY to big for your set up
did you cycle your tank?? you need to do that. hahah
my suggestion for temp is 78*F
Brackish means its a mixture between freshwater and saltwater, you don’t want brackish water fish if you’re a beginner.
make your your tank is cycled, filtered and heated before getting your fish, thanks!

By: Mickey.S

Mickey.S — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:13:56 +0000

Discus need over 55 gallons, they’re big fish and very fragile, not for beginners!
For your 20g you are pushing it there and I would skip those Glassy Fish, many need larger tanks and brackish set ups, not freshwater. Brackish means it needs salt.
Instead I would recommend you go with the following after you have put the tank through the nitrogen cycle:
2 Honey Gourami (Dwarf Gouramis carry a virus and are sickly these days)
6 Neon Tetra – be careful, if you see any sickly looking, pale, thin or dead fish in the tank, avoid. Neons are factory farmed and some batches can be sickly.
3 Corydoras – “leopards” are often trilineatus, sterbai or aeneus would also be suitable, they also need a soft substrate.
I would skip Danios as they are very active and could bother the Gouramis.
That should be plenty for your first tank. You do not want to push your stocking levels nor overcomplicate things. Stay simple, stay understocked. Add some tall plants – use silk for now as live plants are a whole different ball game!
Over time you can upgrade, change, restock your tank. Fishkeeping teaches patience!

By: Lepke

Lepke — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:24:44 +0000

its typically 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. so you’re pushing it.

By: Andersen

Andersen — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:46:59 +0000

Yes, that’s way too many fish for that size tank.

By: earstrav

earstrav — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:18:23 +0000

Yes you are pushing it but they wont die if you stop now.

By: hey! das geht ab

hey! das geht ab — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:48:29 +0000

Those are a lot of fish for that size tank and the general rule is an inch of fish per gallon of water…you also need to take into consideration some cleaner fish such as algae eaters to help maintain your tanks cleanliness (good choice on the corydoras! they are great bottom cleaners!). I would start out with some fish that are good community fish if this is your fist tank. I know the danios are good community fish. So are fish like swordtails and platies. Brackish means that the fish enjoys a little bit of salt in their water. Adding a little salt will not hurt tropical fish. If anything, it will help keep disease out of your tank and it even helps enhance your fishs’ color! 77 degrees is the perfect temperature for tropical fish also. When you buy your tank make sure that you have it set up and running for at least 24-48 hrs before you add fish to it!