# Big fish for 20g long.



## IonBaller07 (Mar 29, 2009)

Alright so due to some unfortunate circumstances, I have an open 20g long aquarium. I already have two tanks set up with smaller fish such as bettas, neons, and cories. Now I want two try one or two bigger fish instead of a shoal of little ones. Is there any fish that are relatively large but obviously not to large for a 20g. I was thinking something like blue rams but nobody around here has any.

Thanks,
Justin


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## IonBaller07 (Mar 29, 2009)

Is there any truth to being able to house a pair of convicts in a 20g long?


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

I don't know, but convicts are little monster.
Any Keyhole cichlids or bolivian rams in your area?


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## Fusion MK (May 25, 2009)

i would say that convicts are good if kept in ONLY ONE PAIR NO MATTER HOW LARGE THE TANK IS!!! Give them enough room, and if there are no other fish, then they should be good.


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## IonBaller07 (Mar 29, 2009)

I dont know if tey have keyholes or bolivian rams, when I go looking tomorrow Im going to look for them and maybe they got blue rams by now, Im also going to look for jewel cichlids.


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## FishFreak95 (Sep 29, 2008)

maybe a ghost knife?


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## IonBaller07 (Mar 29, 2009)

I dont know about those, I had too google what they are and they are kinda ugly, the website also said they require 100g tanks.


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## Sageo3000 (Apr 23, 2009)

how dare you say BGKs are ugly.


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## IonBaller07 (Mar 29, 2009)

Haha, allow me to rephrase that, they arent ugly they are creepy. Like a snake-eel swimming through the tank.


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## Fusion MK (May 25, 2009)

How are they creepy?!!

I would say get yourself a common pleco and stick it in the tank by itself...


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## IonBaller07 (Mar 29, 2009)

Uhh, I was told common plecos need at least 55g's.


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## Fusion MK (May 25, 2009)

They get up to 12-18 inches (there are reported 24 inches... dismiss that). You have a 20g LONG, so he should be fine. They don't usually move (that much at least), and if you have enough turbulence, he should be happy just being able to stick on the glass... or gravel... or plants...


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

IonBaller07 said:


> Uhh, I was told common plecos need at least 55g's.


If the pleco species is one that gets more than 3-4 inches full grown, it will not be suitable for a 20g long. An earlier post mentioned plecos at 12-18 inches--that's half the length of your 20g long (which I assume is 30 inches). Such a large fish in a comparatively small tank is not good. It is not a question of a large fish swimming around in sufficient space, it has to do with the health of the fish in too small a water volume. A fish that can attain a size of 12 inches needs a lot of water volume in order to develop healthy internal organs and a good immune system. In another thread I've posted info on what can happen.

A 30 inch 20g tank is not a large tank and no fish that attain more than 5-6 inches (at that is certainly pushing it very far) should even be considered for this tank.


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## Bottomfeeder (May 9, 2009)

Common Pleco is a wide 18" fish...waaaay too big...75g minimum for a Common or Sailfin Pleco...
id say get a Platinum Two-Spot Blue Gourami


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## Arkamaic (May 28, 2009)

I say check for some bolivian rams. Thats my future plan at some point.

Maybe Try a pair of 


 *Apistogramma agassizii

*Not sure of the common name however :-(


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## Fusion MK (May 25, 2009)

Really? I know a guy with two plecos in a 20 gallon tall... he has had them for 8 years now, and they look fine.


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

A twenty gal long tank in my view, would not be suitable for a pair of convicts UNLESS you have plans for the many babies they are capable of producing. The tank would soon be overstocked and no doubt underfiltered.
There are many pleco species. Some grow no longer than five or six inches while others can and DO reach eighteen inches or larger.
"I know a guy,, blahh,blahh, blahh. Most responsible fish keepers have only the best interest of their fish in mind when selecting which fish they will place in their community or species only tank And would not be interested in those whose irresponsibility and usually ignorance, posesses them to keep fish in unsuitable enviornments.
A twenty gal long would be suitable for german rams assuming the water conditions are in their favor. they are not the easiest fish to care for in my opinion.
The bolivian ram is a bit hardier and would be suitable for twenty gal long.I just gave a twenty gal long to neighbor and never liked the lack of depth of that particular tank. I kept Kuhlii loaches in it ,and when I moved the kuhlii's to larger quarters ,I placed corys in the tank along with some fancy guppies.
Larger fish will ALWAYS do better in larger tanks.That's my story and I'm stickin to it.


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## Fishin Pole (Feb 17, 2009)

Common Plecos wont work long term in a 20 gal long.....They just get too large and their bio-load will really hamper anything else you decide to put in the tank..............You might want to consider a pair of some type of Apisto....They generally stay under 4 inches and a pair in a 20 long would work nicely and more than likely breed for you if you give them the correct parameters...........The jewel cichlid you mentioned is a very aggressive fish for its size, i dont recommend a pair of those, just because of their disposition towards each other...........Convicts could work out in a 20 gall long, but as stated before, you will need another tank to raise the fry in, and getting rid of convict fry isnt easy....No pet store usually wants them.........Unless you have a big predator fish to feed them to, i wouldnt go the convict route either.........Wanting big fish for a 20 long is a dilemma, your choices are rather very limited........Either go to a bigger tank, or smaller fish........


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## Bottomfeeder (May 9, 2009)

Fusion MK said:


> Really? I know a guy with two plecos in a 20 gallon tall... he has had them for 8 years now, and they look fine.


 probably a smaller species...


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## IonBaller07 (Mar 29, 2009)

Yah I was thinking about the babies, instead of a pair does two males or two females work. If I did have babies I could probably take them to the same store and give it to them, for free of course. Or theres another local store here that takes great care of their fish but have no cichlids, Im sure they would enjoy them but Im sure you know. 

Iwould love a pair of blue rams (german rams) but they dont have any around here and I dont know if I can keep the perfect conditions for them. Im kinda new to fish keeping and Im more than willing to put in the effort but there is still a chance I could mess it up.


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## IonBaller07 (Mar 29, 2009)

Ok forget the convicts, I now REALLY want some blue rams again. They were the first fish I wanted but then I got into bettas, now I wanted convicts but they breed to much, now Im back to rams. Not only are they small enough to live happily in my 20g but my water is also pretty close to the ideal. It says their ideal condition is ph close to 6 and soft water. My tap water runs at 6.4 ph and is very soft (maybe too soft :shock. Now I just have to get my tank cycled :BIGhmm: and I can goo looking for them, hopefully I will find some in town but if not I guess I could go to aquabid. Any suggestions on filters for my tank, and would they like a powerhead?


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## SamG (Apr 3, 2009)

German blue rams are, in my opinion, the neatest looking aquarium fish.  You're so lucky to have soft water! If only our water wasn't so hard and I had more fish experience, you can only guess what I'd be planning to do with my empty 20 gallon long...:lol:


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Yes, you are lucky (as I am too) with the tap water. That would be perfect for the common ram, bolivian ram or any other South American dwarf cichlid, and the small shoaling fish (like tetras, pencilfish, corys) that are excellent tankmates. But as 1077 said, the german/blue rams are sensitive to water and shuld only be acquired once the tank is well established (fully cycled, then a few weeks longer to "mature"). Same goes for most of the other dwarf cichlids; they do not like "new" water and are very sensitive to fluctuating water parameters which is more common in newer setups. They also react negatively to any chemicals (as do many of the characins and corys).


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## IonBaller07 (Mar 29, 2009)

Yah I think I will put my shoal of neons or maybe my cories in the 10g while Im waiting for it to cycle,I know its mean but really if I dont have a fish in there my parents will be *angry* that Im spending all my money on a bowl of water. Then I will move them back into their previous tank or leave them in as tankmates. Out of those two which would be the best tank mate for rams, or even a different hardy fish if you have ideas.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

IonBaller07 said:


> Yah I think I will put my shoal of neons or maybe my cories in the 10g while Im waiting for it to cycle,I know its mean but really if I dont have a fish in there my parents will be *angry* that Im spending all my money on a bowl of water. Then I will move them back into their previous tank or leave them in as tankmates. Out of those two which would be the best tank mate for rams, or even a different hardy fish if you have ideas.


Of the neons and corys, I would use the neons to cycle; corys are very sensitive to water fluctuations which as I mentioned before are more frequent in new tanks. Once cycled, the neons and the corys will make good companions for a pair of rams as far as getting along. Rams do prefer warm water, 79F minimum, and neons prefer it a bit cooler, 75-77F, but at 79F I think they should be OK. If the tank is nicely planted, as it should be for the rams, the neons and corys will be happy. As for other suggestions, almost any of the small SA tetras would be fine with rams, and leave the corys as bottomdwellers. Rams can be very shy and having other fish swimming around tends to bring them out more.


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

Have you purchased the fish, yet? If you haven't, consider that Bolivian rams are hardier than the German blue rams, grow a bit larger and it will be easier to find a pair of them (GBR's are mostly male due to hormone injections at the fish farms when they're young, similar to dwarf gouramis). However, I don't think they look quite as nice as the rams, so it's up to you. If you get two rams and you don't have a pair, be sure to divide the tank into two distinct territories with plenty of cover so that they don't do too much bickering.

Also, if you're still interested in jewel cichlids a single jewel in a 20g tank would be a very nice tank. They're mean fish, though, so I can't exactly recommend putting much of anything else with one.

Other cool ideas for 20g long tanks that I've thrown around:

-River biotope tank with hillstream loaches and white clouds and a lot of water movement
-Small species tank of dwarf shelldwellers like lamprologus ocellatus or lamprologus multifasciatus (hard to come by and need the right tank setup but are hardy fish and not difficult to breed)
-A sandy-bottomed tank that slopes down into shallow brackish water on one side and up to a beach surface on the other. Inhabitants would include fiddler crabs, mudskippers and possibly bumblebee gobies.


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