I have what I think is a 20 gallon hex. I know these are horrible fishtanks due to their lack of surface area. I'm guessing I'm pretty much going to be limited to Gambusia, Least Killifish or do you think I could get a bunch of L. goodei. Any plant (vals, etc.) ideas would be great. Thanks...
20 gallon hex - what types of fish?
Started by
Guest_HeadshotZod_*
, Sep 02 2010 04:50 PM
8 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_donkeyman876_*
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Posted 02 September 2010 - 05:34 PM
I have what I think is a 20 gallon hex. I know these are horrible fishtanks due to their lack of surface area. I'm guessing I'm pretty much going to be limited to Gambusia, Least Killifish or do you think I could get a bunch of L. goodei. Any plant (vals, etc.) ideas would be great. Thanks...
How tall is it?
#3
Guest_Jan_*
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Posted 02 September 2010 - 06:31 PM
An interesting question - I've been thinking about setting up a similar tank with sunfish, and or red fin pickerel. The pickerel, especially, tend to be rather static. Except when they eat!
Like wise, sunfish seem to spend much time hovering, so they might not need as much horizontal space. Well, I'm no expert, and look forward to some other opinions on such a set up.
Like wise, sunfish seem to spend much time hovering, so they might not need as much horizontal space. Well, I'm no expert, and look forward to some other opinions on such a set up.
#5
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Posted 02 September 2010 - 09:37 PM
I am going to say that sunfish (Lepomis at least) and pickeral are not good choices for a tank like this. You may be able to get away with the smaller Enneacanthus, but like you mentioned - the footprint is just so small. You could certainly go with a group of any Lucania sp, Flagish, or similar. I do think Vals would be an ideal plant for that setup. If it was me... I'd go with a bunch of shrimp, some rainwater killies and sheepshead minnows (but that's just me 
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#6
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 03 September 2010 - 06:46 AM
Here are a couple of suggestions that I would try if I has such a tank...
Option 1) A single Enneacanthus sunfish (I like banded and think they are underappreciated... and they love swimming between the vertical plants). They also have the advantage that they will go rather low in the water column but also eat from the surface so you are covering that aspect of this crazy shaped tank.
Option 2) Three to five Pteronotropis stonei (or similar). I have a few of these right now and they move rather more slowly than other shiners and seem to enjoy the 'no current' habitat I have them in. If you went with only three, you might be able to put one swamp darter in there as well. You dont have much room to work with and this is about as close to a 'community style tank' as I would try.
Option 3) Two swamp darters and a pair of Fundulus chrysotus. Although sometimes topminnow males can be hard on females, F. chrysotus seem to be less so than some others I have kept. This is also almost a community tank and has the interesting characteristic that you would have two fish high and two fish low.
Option 4) Do like Uncle Willie says and put in a pair of American Flagfish and see if you could get them to breed. That would be interesting to watch.
Option 5) Water lettuce with the roots going all the way from top to bottom and half a dozen Elassoma. I love Okefenokees but thats just cause I am in Georgia... they would do well in this kind of setup... they might be hard to see, but once they acclimate, you would almost certainly see mating displays and be able to raise young (heck I do it in a ten gallon... and you wouldn't even need a filter!)
Just a few simple ideas focused on staying away from big fish or anything that would like current since you cant really get any going in this tank shape.
Option 1) A single Enneacanthus sunfish (I like banded and think they are underappreciated... and they love swimming between the vertical plants). They also have the advantage that they will go rather low in the water column but also eat from the surface so you are covering that aspect of this crazy shaped tank.
Option 2) Three to five Pteronotropis stonei (or similar). I have a few of these right now and they move rather more slowly than other shiners and seem to enjoy the 'no current' habitat I have them in. If you went with only three, you might be able to put one swamp darter in there as well. You dont have much room to work with and this is about as close to a 'community style tank' as I would try.
Option 3) Two swamp darters and a pair of Fundulus chrysotus. Although sometimes topminnow males can be hard on females, F. chrysotus seem to be less so than some others I have kept. This is also almost a community tank and has the interesting characteristic that you would have two fish high and two fish low.
Option 4) Do like Uncle Willie says and put in a pair of American Flagfish and see if you could get them to breed. That would be interesting to watch.
Option 5) Water lettuce with the roots going all the way from top to bottom and half a dozen Elassoma. I love Okefenokees but thats just cause I am in Georgia... they would do well in this kind of setup... they might be hard to see, but once they acclimate, you would almost certainly see mating displays and be able to raise young (heck I do it in a ten gallon... and you wouldn't even need a filter!)
Just a few simple ideas focused on staying away from big fish or anything that would like current since you cant really get any going in this tank shape.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#7
Guest_Okiimiru_*
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Posted 03 September 2010 - 07:56 AM
I would give Michael Wolfe a thumbs up but we seem to have lost that ability on the forums. He's right. I have an Elassoma pygmy sunfish tank myself, and they are described here http://forum.nanfa.o...1259#entry81259 There are fish that could live happily in even so few as 20 gallons. Elassoma and other pygmies that max out at a few centimeters in length are good examples.
Anyway, the reason why I'm posting is to say that you can overcome the tall tank disadvantage (The disadvantage is the low surface area to volume ratio. A low influx of gases from the air creates a deep water area that doesn't get surface exchange) by having live plants. The live plants breathe out oxygen as they grow, and they infuse the deep water oxygen-low area with oxygen to replace what it's missing from a lack of surface exchange.
If it was me, I would get a carbon dioxide injector, some inexpensive light casings and full spectrum bulbs from Home Depot, and some beautiful underwater plants like the kind they use in http://showcase.aqua...ategory=0&vol=0 Those are the "small" tank entries from 2009. This 5 gallon tank uses well designed planting to draw the eye upward along its height: http://showcase.aqua...y=0&vol=0&id=58 specifically this picture http://showcase.aqua...009/400/157.jpg
And I would be proud to own this beautiful 3 gallon tall tank: http://showcase.aqua...3&vol=-1&id=148 That one's actually a paludarium, where the aquarist uses the height of the tank to give space to emergent plants that rise up out of the water.
Oooh, paludariums. If you want to only fill your tank halfway, you could grow orchids out of it or something. Paludarium page: http://showcase.aqua...tegory=3&vol=-1 They could even be native plants, since this is NANFA.
*nods*
Oh, and reading Ecology of the Planted Aquarium by Diana Walstad might help. And aqmagic.com has the most inexensive CO2 injectors I've ever seen. And here is an article about DIY CO2: http://www.aquaticpl...es-recipes.html You can use pliers and a diagonally cut air line tube end to get an air tight seal on the bottle without any sealant. Just pull the tube through a tiny hole with pliers. It takes some work, but the tight fit it airtight.
So I guess what I'm saying is that small and tall tanks aren't really disadvantaged. They can be quite beautiful. You're going to have a great setup. ^_^
Anyway, the reason why I'm posting is to say that you can overcome the tall tank disadvantage (The disadvantage is the low surface area to volume ratio. A low influx of gases from the air creates a deep water area that doesn't get surface exchange) by having live plants. The live plants breathe out oxygen as they grow, and they infuse the deep water oxygen-low area with oxygen to replace what it's missing from a lack of surface exchange.
If it was me, I would get a carbon dioxide injector, some inexpensive light casings and full spectrum bulbs from Home Depot, and some beautiful underwater plants like the kind they use in http://showcase.aqua...ategory=0&vol=0 Those are the "small" tank entries from 2009. This 5 gallon tank uses well designed planting to draw the eye upward along its height: http://showcase.aqua...y=0&vol=0&id=58 specifically this picture http://showcase.aqua...009/400/157.jpg
And I would be proud to own this beautiful 3 gallon tall tank: http://showcase.aqua...3&vol=-1&id=148 That one's actually a paludarium, where the aquarist uses the height of the tank to give space to emergent plants that rise up out of the water.
Oooh, paludariums. If you want to only fill your tank halfway, you could grow orchids out of it or something. Paludarium page: http://showcase.aqua...tegory=3&vol=-1 They could even be native plants, since this is NANFA.
*nods*
Oh, and reading Ecology of the Planted Aquarium by Diana Walstad might help. And aqmagic.com has the most inexensive CO2 injectors I've ever seen. And here is an article about DIY CO2: http://www.aquaticpl...es-recipes.html You can use pliers and a diagonally cut air line tube end to get an air tight seal on the bottle without any sealant. Just pull the tube through a tiny hole with pliers. It takes some work, but the tight fit it airtight.
So I guess what I'm saying is that small and tall tanks aren't really disadvantaged. They can be quite beautiful. You're going to have a great setup. ^_^
Edited by Okiimiru, 03 September 2010 - 08:08 AM.
#8
Guest_nativeplanter_*
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Posted 03 September 2010 - 01:12 PM
Tall tanks are a little tricky to light for plants. A lot of light is lost in the water column. Larger tanks that are also deep have more room for more bulbs in the canopy. You will need to supply more light than one normally would for the surface area of the tank.
That said, I think vals look stunning in a tall tank. Really shows them off. I like Michael's ideas of flagfish or Fundulus chrysotus, too.
That said, I think vals look stunning in a tall tank. Really shows them off. I like Michael's ideas of flagfish or Fundulus chrysotus, too.
#9
Guest_HeadshotZod_*
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Posted 03 September 2010 - 04:08 PM
I want to thank everybody for the great ideas. Because I'm on my phone I'll have to keep this fairly short, but I should have access to a keyboard back after the holiday.
I have 6 flags right now in my slate bottomed 20. They get along great until they start spawning then they real territorial I think moving all of them would create some problems. If you check the killifish forum here I posted a video of a piece of screen that they spawned on. Unfortunately I didn't get the eggs out in time.
I have two female L. goodei and three melanistic male F. chrystotus on hand. I have Diane's book already bookmarked. Maybe it's time to get it now. I totally agree about the lighting and tall tanks. Currently it has a 15 watt T8. I'll probably go with a screw in fluorescent and a metal hood. That would brighten up the tank enough but probably make it too bright for flag fish.
I love that co2 stuff from aq. btw. Since you guys pointed me towards the planted tank stuff. I'll have to step this tank up a notch. I'll need to do some more research on plants and how cold of a temperature they can handle. Thanks again.
I have 6 flags right now in my slate bottomed 20. They get along great until they start spawning then they real territorial I think moving all of them would create some problems. If you check the killifish forum here I posted a video of a piece of screen that they spawned on. Unfortunately I didn't get the eggs out in time.
I have two female L. goodei and three melanistic male F. chrystotus on hand. I have Diane's book already bookmarked. Maybe it's time to get it now. I totally agree about the lighting and tall tanks. Currently it has a 15 watt T8. I'll probably go with a screw in fluorescent and a metal hood. That would brighten up the tank enough but probably make it too bright for flag fish.
I love that co2 stuff from aq. btw. Since you guys pointed me towards the planted tank stuff. I'll have to step this tank up a notch. I'll need to do some more research on plants and how cold of a temperature they can handle. Thanks again.
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