Aquarium Help

MOG2012

MOG2012

Well-Known Member
I have a 20 gallon horizontal, rectangular tank. What species should I keep? I'm in Massachusetts, and they should be freshwater. It's ideal that they don't need that frequent maintenance, they don't have to be fed frequently and they are okay to leave them for a week without human help for vacations. They also should be visually appealing with multiple species.
 
Given your criteria, you should aim for a mix of smaller (but not nano) community fish that don’t require live or frozen food. That way you can set up an auto-feeder to dispense flakes and/or pellets while you’re away. You can put together a community by mixing/matching one species of mid/top water shoaler, one species of benthic fish, one species of “centerpiece” fish, and perhaps one species of oddball. Pick from the following lists for readily available generally undemanding and peaceful species:

Shoalers: Cherry, Checkerboard and Cuming’s Barb; Zebra and Pearl Danio; Harlequin and Blackline Rasbora; Glowlight, Neon, Black Neon, Diamond, Flame, and Head and Tail Light Tetra; Dwarf Rainbowfish; Guppy; Platy.

Benthic: Bronze, Elegant, Peppered, Leopard, and Panda Corydoras; Bulldog and Clown Pleco; Dwarf Chain Loach; Slender Buffalohead Cichlid.

Centerpiece: Kribensis, Bolivian Ram, Dwarf Flag, or Agassiz Dwarf Cichlid; Dwarf or Pearl Gourami; Betta (if chosen keep singly, pick a short-finned form, and watch to ensure other fish aren't nipping it); Angelfish (if chosen keep singly, get a domestic strain [they don’t grow as big], and don’t keep with fish the size of neon or glowlight tetras).

Oddball: Oneline Pencilfish; Glassfish; Wrestling Halfbeak; Banjo Catfish; Bristlenose Catfish; Upside-down Catfish; Kuhli Loach; African Dwarf Clawed Frog; Bamboo Shrimp. Carinotetraodon puffers and the smallest spiny eel species would work in a 20g setup also but need live or frozen food.
 
Gondwana said:
Given your criteria, you should aim for a mix of smaller (but not nano) community fish that don’t require live or frozen food. That way you can set up an auto-feeder to dispense flakes and/or pellets while you’re away. You can put together a community by mixing/matching one species of mid/top water shoaler, one species of benthic fish, one species of “centerpiece” fish, and perhaps one species of oddball. Pick from the following lists for readily available generally undemanding and peaceful species:

Shoalers: Cherry, Checkerboard and Cuming’s Barb; Zebra and Pearl Danio; Harlequin and Blackline Rasbora; Glowlight, Neon, Black Neon, Diamond, Flame, and Head and Tail Light Tetra; Dwarf Rainbowfish; Guppy; Platy.

Benthic: Bronze, Elegant, Peppered, Leopard, and Panda Corydoras; Bulldog and Clown Pleco; Dwarf Chain Loach; Slender Buffalohead Cichlid.

Centerpiece: Kribensis, Bolivian Ram, Dwarf Flag, or Agassiz Dwarf Cichlid; Dwarf or Pearl Gourami; Betta (if chosen keep singly, pick a short-finned form, and watch to ensure other fish aren't nipping it); Angelfish (if chosen keep singly, get a domestic strain [they don’t grow as big], and don’t keep with fish the size of neon or glowlight tetras).

Oddball: Oneline Pencilfish; Glassfish; Wrestling Halfbeak; Banjo Catfish; Bristlenose Catfish; Upside-down Catfish; Kuhli Loach; African Dwarf Clawed Frog; Bamboo Shrimp. Carinotetraodon puffers and the smallest spiny eel species would work in a 20g setup also but need live or frozen food.
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If I had African dwarf frogs, what species in each category would work while being biogeographically accurate and how many of each (individuals)? Also, where can I find an automatic reader and what type of food!
 
None of the shoalers in the list are from tropical Africa, where dwarf clawed frogs come from, but you could use Gardneri killifish, which are. This species is not sold at the big chain warehouse stores but they are common enough in specialty fish stores. Kribensis and Upside-down Catfish are also from tropical Africa. It's possible that Kribensis would pester the frogs, especially if breeding, so you'd want to keep only one of them and monitor it to ensure it behaves. With these species the staple diet can be a mix of micro pellets and flake supplemented with frozen food as a treat. There are brands of micro pellet food designed specifically for frogs. Automatic feeders are sold at the big chain stores, just check the fish food aisle.
 
Gondwana said:
None of the shoalers in the list are from tropical Africa, where dwarf clawed frogs come from, but you could use Gardneri killifish, which are. This species is not sold at the big chain warehouse stores but they are common enough in specialty fish stores. Kribensis and Upside-down Catfish are also from tropical Africa. It's possible that Kribensis would pester the frogs, especially if breeding, so you'd want to keep only one of them and monitor it to ensure it behaves. With these species the staple diet can be a mix of micro pellets and flake supplemented with frozen food as a treat. There are brands of micro pellet food designed specifically for frogs. Automatic feeders are sold at the big chain stores, just check the fish food aisle.
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So I think I'll get 1.2 African Dwarf Frogs with Upside-Down Catfish if I can find them. Would cichlids be okay? The only nearest shop is PetSmart
 
MOG2012 said:
So I think I'll get 1.2 African Dwarf Frogs with Upside-Down Catfish if I can find them. Would cichlids be okay? The only nearest shop is PetSmart
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The African cichlids sold at a place like PetSmart are typically Lake Malawi species that like different water parameters compared to dwarf frogs, and will almost certainly harass/kill the frogs as they grow. I'd avoid any of those. I mentioned Kribensis above because they are a West/Central African cichlid species that is more likely to work, though even there I'd only get one to avoid breeding territoriality. I'm not sure if a place like PetSmart carries Kribensis but they are very commonly sold at fish stores.

If you can only use PetSmart to stock your tank, you might consider complementing your frogs with guppies (which are introduced in Africa), or else use a smaller South American tetra or Asian barb species as stand ins for the African species of tetras and barbs.
 
Gondwana said:
The African cichlids sold at a place like PetSmart are typically Lake Malawi species that like different water parameters compared to dwarf frogs, and will almost certainly harass/kill the frogs as they grow. I'd avoid any of those. I mentioned Kribensis above because they are a West/Central African cichlid species that is more likely to work, though even there I'd only get one to avoid breeding territoriality. I'm not sure if a place like PetSmart carries Kribensis but they are very commonly sold at fish stores.

If you can only use PetSmart to stock your tank, you might consider complementing your frogs with guppies (which are introduced in Africa), or else use a smaller South American tetra or Asian barb species as stand ins for the African species of tetras and barbs.
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Should I have guppies and tetra/barbs or are they territorial/aggresive?
 
MOG2012 said:
Should I have guppies and tetra/barbs or are they territorial/aggresive?
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Guppies are non-aggressive. Tetras and barbs very depending on species, but the ones I listed in the first reply are well-behaved. You can easily keep small groups of a couple of these species together with the frogs patrolling the bottom.
 
Just saying, a cichlid tank could be pretty fun, you could also get parrot fish (freshwater) and some sort of bottom dweller. I would avoid plecos. Also, the frogs are pretty hard to care for by beginners. I think they require niche food too.
 
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