Pic of my new tank

[sarahbella]

This is my new 20gal.  Water has been in it for about a week with plants and i was running a used filter.  To my chagrin the children each brought a fish home after a weekend with their grandfather so fish were added a lot sooner than planned.   I picked up some gravel last night (and i happened to see the MOST beautiful betta i have ever seen, he puts ALL of mine to shame)

Added some stuff from my small tank and its almost good to go...   i definitely want to add a background and some slate at some point.   I have a 2+year old pleco that has been hanging out in my 10gal for far to long and im sure he's been killing some of my betta fry so i moved him into the 20 to preserve the rest of the babies.

and for spits and giggles i threw in Earl, hes a double double ray crowntail, papa to the 3 week old fry.

[Mettle]

How about some pics of that new betta?

Looking good so far. But. You definitely need some plants to liven things up a little.

[sarahbella]

Unfortunately this Betta already had a really great home,  he was stunning tho, show quality for sure.  You could just tell he wasnt a pet store fish.

There wont be anymore new bettas for me for a while, i should have enuff genetics here to keep me busy for quite some time lol  

For the new tank im starting small with the plants, ive got some duckweed and water lettuce in there for now but they will get taken out at some point.  

Stephan are there any plants that you recommend?  something easy to maintain for a newbie??  preferably something that isn't (or doesnt become) free floating?? i dont think the lighting is very conducive to plant growing but its an area id like to explore...

For fish im thinking of adding a shark, 3 angels, a couple of blind cave fish and maybe something small...

[Mettle]

One plant that I have had nothing but success with is java fern. Another good one is anubias. Both require low light and are slow growing... Also, java moss is great. All three plants can be attached to driftwood and rocks, which makes for an interesting look.

[damarech]

So what kind of back ground are going to get . Brick wall maybe?
lol

[sarahbella]

damarech, yes, do you know where i can find one?? all i can find are the silly vegetation ones..   hehehe

[Shouganai]

Please don't put angels in a 20g, unless you are only growing them out in there, and then moving them to a larger tank. Same with most sharks.

[Jim]

I agree... the smallest tank i would but angles in is a 33gal for 2 small ones.

[Shouganai]

Yeah.. the smallest tank I ever kept angels in was a 33g.. I had a pair in that tank.

I grew out 6 young angels in a 20g until they were about twonie-sized, then moved them to my 65g to let them pair off.. 6 seemed too many even in my 65g, so I cut it down to 4. They are sizable fish, even in a tall 65g.. I can't imagine keeping large or full-grown angels in a 20g.

[Jim]

I plan on having 4 angles in my 48gal, with a few smaller fish.

[Julie]

This is what I did with my twenty gallon:

Julie

I must get the vinegar out and clean the hood.

[Jim]

this is  my moms.......

[sarahbella]

Sweet!!  awesome pics guys, tanx for sharing  

If not angels are there any other suggestions??  i had my heart set on angels, i really didnt realize they got so big tho, ive never seen any bigger than a loonie.

Beauty call on the java moss, i did some reading and i believe im gonna grow it on my holey stone structure.  As for the Java fern i *think* i have a tiny tiny piece thats been floating around since septembers auction, it must have come in one of the plants i bought.. it started out as a thin long pointy leaf on what appears to be some sort of gnarly rhizome and now it has 6 leaves or so..

Well, back to the books to see if i can find something equally as appealing as the angels or the shark that would be better suited to my puny 20gal tank lol ....

[Julie]

Check out dwarf cichlids.  Also what about a school of something?

[Jim]

Maby a school of some sort of tetra? maby neons, lemon, black neon...

How about german rams?

[Julie]

rams

[Jim]

thanks Julie,

bolivian rams are nice also...

i hope were helping!

[sarahbella]

You guys are helping so much.  some might even call you enablers lol.  Im thinking i need a dwarf cichlid tank now.  Just so happens i have an empty 20 on the living room floor I may not get to it right away, but theres no harm in filling it with water right??  

Jim your guy is adorable, i just want to hug it, i think its the eyes  he kinda reminds me of Nemo..

[Jim]

thanks sarahbellah.

[3Kitty3]

Jim, awesome fish! I would call him Emo.  :wink:  (Lol, mom)