20 gallon inhabitants

I have a twenty gallon tank currently with no inhabitants as they moved to a bigger tank. Any suggestions what kind of fish I could put in the now empty 20 gallon? Preferably no communities as my 55 gallon is already a community.

Also freshwater inhabitants.

koi tank, n ow w8 u have in ur pond...... hm ..................catfish tank?

dude I thought u were doing ur homework.........

i am but this popped up because i got a message, so i saw ur name and replieded, u want to come by me when i'm done?

i'm not to sure if i can still come over, my dad doesnt like to drive in this bad of weather

for 20 gallon tank the best option is tetra sp neon or cardinal tetras...

Two of my favorites for a single species 20 gallon aquarium are White Cloud Mountain Minnows or Red Wag Platies. If you chose the white clouds, get about eight of them. They'll put on a good display and may even spawn. If you select Platies or other live bearing fish, start with two females and one male plus some
live floating plants. The fish will fill the aquarium in a few months, provided you give them a good environment. Of course, there are lots of other selections, and it's all up to you. Good luck, and please let us know what you chose.

I want to do the platies but i researched they dont cope well with the nitrogen cycle. Does anybody know how long the "good" bacteria last without ammonia and nitrites? also can platies cope with strong currents?

Don't add fish until the nitrogen cycle is complete. Add some fish food and some live plants but no fish. A 20 gallon tank will take about a month to cycle. Once that happens, weekly partial water changes will keep the ammonia and nitrites at zero, provided you avoid over crowding and over feeding. You will need a fully cycled and well maintained aquarium for any species. Platies do not need strong water turbulence, and I prefer to avoid it in all of my aquariums. If you're using an air pump that can't be adjusted, you can always add a bleed valve between the pump and check valve. For years, I have kept an aquarium with Red Wag Platies, because they are peaceful, and I like their colors. Although Platies are easy to keep, so are many other fish.

Its totaly up to you but I like all types of mollies and tetras

i was researchign the platies they do noy like alot of current so if u do get the live plants to even out the current.

Again its up to you also get some live plants

what I meant to say is that my 20 gallon was previously inhabited by Gouramis and Danios. I now moved them to my 55 and left my 20 gallon alone for sometime now. I thought about if the bacteria that converted the ammonia into nitrites and nitrites into nitrates would still last even though they don't have any ammonia and nitrites to convert to. My 20 gallon has been empty for about a month and a half.
Also to reduce the flow rate of a HOB filter, could you add cotton balls to the filter with the filter media?

O.K.

hm u have to add it..

If the aquarium has been full but without fish, it could still have a colony of beneficial bacteria. To find out, you could put in as much food as the fish would normally eat in a day, then check for ammonia a couple days later. If there is no ammonia, then the good cooties are probably alive and well.

The last hang-on-the-back filter i had was powered by an air pump, and flow rate could be reduced by installing a bleed valve between the air pump and check valve. Of course, that was about 50 years ago, and I'm sure the HOBs have benefited from a few improvements since then. Maybe they even have flow rate adjusters. If your filter does not and if it was made for a 20 gallon aquarium,the flow rate is probably fine. You may need to put a hunk of clean nylon over the intake to avoid sucking up baby fish. I hope this answers your questions, but if it doesn't, please ask more.

i researched more and dont use cotton balls, the little peices can get off the balls, lol, and the fish can get sick from them, so i recomend dont use the cotton balls. y not try a less powerfull filter?

I dont want to waste my money on another filter. The filter is rated for 200 gph for a 50 so I would think it's pretty powerful. The tank was originally for goldfish but did not do goldfish since there temperatures were for cooler climates. Seeing as I live in Florida, I won't do goldfish.

You can always buy an under gravel filter for six or eight bucks, but you'll need to take out the gravel. If you do that, keep the gravel wet, and don't rinse out the good cooties. If you keep the old filter with the high flow rate, you should probably keep fast swimming fish like neons, white clouds, zebras, etc.