could anyone give me advise on picking good fish that will get about 4 inches in a 20gl tank?

Question

i have 4 tiger barbs ( soon to more ) a cichlid and a red tailed shark

Answer 1

That's a respectable amount of fish in the tank already. Glad to see you're getting a few more barbs, since these will be less of a problem for the other fish if they're in a larger school - otherwise they tend to be nippy with their tankmates.

Do you know what species your cichlid is? You may be at the max for your tank already. Even if your fish are small at the moment, you need to consider what their adult size is going to be, unless you're planning to upgrade their tank.

Many of the species that would be compatible are also schooling fish (tetras, barbs, loaches, giant danio), so you wouldn't be able to get away with adding one, you'd need to add 5-6 at a minimum. And depending on the species of cichlid, you may need something on the semi-aggressive side once it matures. Some that you might consider if you've got a smaller cichlid with a more "peaceful" personality are a one of the smaller pleco varieties or another bottom feeder that will stay about 3-5". You might also consider an upside down catfish. If you want some color and add a little salt to the tank, an orange molly would work - I'd go with a male for potential aggression level.

Answer 2

Tiger barbs are about 2.5 inches long, with 6 of them, that = 15 inches of fish. Red tailed shark, don't they get about 4 inches? Now you have 19 inches of fish. Plus however long the cichlid will be when it is adult. Unless you have really really good filtration, you already have enough fish in your tank to max out your filter capacity as soon as they all grow up. Before you add any more fish, imagine how your tank will look with them all grown out, and consider what you would do with the fish that you would need to get rid of because your tank is overfull and needs too many water changes and filter changes. It might be better to be patient and wait till your fish grow out. A good recipe for fish care is 1 inch of fish per gallon of tank. this makes tank maintenance reasonable.

Answer 3

Just to start out fish do NOT grow to the size of a tank. The fish will grow in accordance with its species. This would be saying that if you put a neon in a 50 gallon it would get much bigger than in a 10 gallon ( dont think so). Your best bet is to get some tetra's. They come in a large selection and are some what colorful. Also cory cat fish when bought in groups of 4 to 6 can get to 3 to 4 inches long and are a very good community tank fish. Good Luck!

Answer 4

You should be careful of what you put in the tank since cichlids are extremely aggressive as well as the tiger barbs. Its good that you ahve a school of barbs since they will bother themselves rather than pick on other fish. A parrot fish is my favorite since they are colorful and can live with cichlids and should grow to be a decent size.

Answer 5

None your tank is allready full its only 23inch by 12 inch, so its small and ur chichld will get half the size of it,

Answer 6

A fish will grow to the size of the tank. Put a goldfish in a big tank, you'll have a big goldfish. Put a goldfish in a small tank, you'll have a small goldfish.