I Just started a new tank?

Question

i just started a new tank it is 20 gallons
what fish should i get besides goldfish

Answer 1

Do NOT get goldfish. In a 20 gallon tank, the only goldfish you could have would be a fancy goldfish, and even then, you could only have ONE. Goldfish are very very messy fish, and each fancy goldfish needs 20 gallons. Other types of goldfish need to live in 100gal+ tanks or in ponds. Also, they are coldwater fish, meaning that you cannot mix tropical fish with them.

Someone else suggested angelfish. Please do NOT get angelfish. An angelfish needs at least a 30 gallon tank.

First of all, have you cycled your tank? In the wild, and in established tanks, there are nitrifying bacteria that break down toxic ammonia from fish waste and excess food into less toxic nitrates. In a brand new tank, these bacteria don't exist, so any fish in the tank will produce ammonia, which, not being broken down by bacteria, will kill or weaken the fish. So, it is vital to cycle your tank.
There are a few methods. Do you have access to an established tank? These bacteria live in the gravel and in the filter cartridge, so if you can get some from another tank, you can put the bacteria right into your tank (don't let the gravel or filter cartridge dry out). If you do this, in a day or two, your tank will beready for fish.
Another way is to get Bio-Spira. It is the actual live bacteria in a little pouch, and your tank will instantly be ready for fish.http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html

Other methods, which include putting a source of ammonia in the tank and letting the bacteria build up on its own, or putting a fish in and letting the fish produce ammonia (which borders on animal cruelty, because the fish will suffer from the ammonia in the tank), take 2 to 6 weeks before your tank is ready. If you rush that, any fish you buy may die, so try one of the instant methods I mentioned above (bio-spira or gravel from another tank)

When stocking a tank, you have to look at the levels of your tank. You have the bottom, the middle and the top. Let's start at the bottom, shall we? :)
Bottom is usually where your cleanup crew is. That's algae eaters, plecos, cories, etc.
A school of at least 6 corydoras julii or sterbai is great:
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/People/h-Cory-julii.jpg - you should have at least a 20 gallon tank to get a school of these.
or you can get a school of oto cats: http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/oto_cat.jpg
Get a school of at least 5 of these (tank minimum: 15 gallons). They eat algae.
I would suggest that you DON'T get a plecostomous. Most of them grow to 18-24" and are poop machines. They will dirty your water very quickly. If you MUST get a pleco, get a bristle-nose, they only get 4-5".
If you get any of these fish, be sure to supplement their diet with zucchini slices, spirulina pellets, and shrimp pellets, as they will not get enough food otherwise.

Next, you want your mid-to-upper range. A school of tetras is great for this level. You could go with two schools of 6 fish, or one school of 12 fish. I suggest you get one school of 10-12 fish.
Some nice fish are:
neon tetras http://www.aquariumfish.net/images_01/neon_tetras_001_w320.jpg
cardinal tetra http://filer.case.edu/~jjw2/cardinal.jpg
lemon tetra http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/characins/images/LemonTetraWFCh_C1124.jpg
harlequin rasbora http://tropicalresources.net/phpBB2/templates/BMan1Blue/images/profile_pics/fish_profiles_heteromorpha1.jpg
glowlight tetra http://www.solodvds.com/images/fish/Hemigrammus_erythrozonus_s.jpg
zebra danio http://www.winternet.com/~mchristi/fish/zebradanio.jpg
... the list goes on and on and on.

You'll want a centrepiece fish, I suggest either a pair of kribensis cichlids:
http://www.cichlids.dk/thumb/28887.jpg

Or a pair of bolivian rams:
http://www.azgardens.com/images/Ram-Bolivian.gif

Or a pair of apistogramma:
http://www.c-u-w.net/jpg/ad_konigs/apistogramma_agassizii_(ad_konigs).jpg

Or ONE dwarf gourami:
http://www.biol.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/users/naibunpi/Image/Gourami-photo-old.jpg

Be sure to keep up with weekly water changes of about 20-40% of the water.

And above all, before you buy anything, go to your local fish store, take a look around and write down the various fish you like. Then come home, research them, ask questions about them, before buying them.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Okay...DO NOT get tropical fish to mix with goldfish, except for maybe a plecostomus. The goldfish tend to like colder water and have different food needs, and may need different PH levels as well. Also there may be issues of socialization, depending on the other fish.

Another thing to consider is how many fish you get. The basic rule is one inch of fish per gallon of water. Even then, you may find that fewer is better. You should also get a cory catfish to clean up excess food and wastes, and perhaps a plecostomus or some other algae eater later on. But don't overcrowd. Also try to get compatable fish. Some fish nip fins - tiger barbs, for example, and they would not be good in a tank with angelfish. Other fish will eat smaller fish. Talk to the pet store or specialty fish store workers and ask them. They should be able to give you a good sense of what works. Good luck.

Answer 3

try getting some cichlids either south american or african dont put both together tho they may or will fight... or even get a "pacu" they are nice fish and very hardy as well search it up on google.
but they will need a larger tank when they get bigger since they do grow huge, but i have 1 and it is very interest to watch when feeding it and they will eat anything that fits in there mouth and the fish is pretty big right now.

Answer 4

I've got a freshwater tank and It is really nice. Get about 4 neons (they are little with a blue stripe). They stick together and look cool. Angelfish are neat, swordtails have had babies for me a few times, Black molies have had babies too but they tend to give my other fish ich (fish disease).

Answer 5

just about any fish you want depending on if your tank is salt water or fresh water. salt water tanks are more beautiful to me but require much more up keep so go to a pet store and look to see if there are fishes that you like remember to do your research though over crowding can kill your new fishes

Answer 6

goldfish are really messy. they poop a lot. and they can get really BIG. I only have two goldfish in my twenty gallon tank and that's enough.

Answer 7

ther lots of fish that are compatable with goldfish...go to the petshop...and choose simple as that!