The 20 Gallon Long Tank

The Pic (eventually)

The Stats

Dimensions Filtration Heating Air Pump Lighting
30x12x12 Sponge & Penguin Mini Acura 100w submersible Dolphin P1 29" 15w flourescent Strip

About The 20 Long
This tank is perfect for both breeding and raising fry in. Different species of fish need room when it comes to spawning. We have found that this tank is excellent for those types of fish that need extra room for spawning and then we just remove the adults and the fry can be kept in this tank for a period of time til they are big enough to move on. Our set-up for this tank is very basic. There is no gravel. Bare bottom. When using it for spawning with egg scatters or layers we put a few plastic plants in the tank weighted down with rocks. After the fish have spawned and the eggs have hatched and the fry are free swimming we remove the plants. It is much easier when it comes to cleaning the tank to do this so that we don't harm any fry in the process. We have found that fry need color. When we first started using this type of set-up our tanks did not have backgrounds on them. By pure luck we realized that putting a background on a tank like this brought out the frys colors much sooner. As for the filtration, during spawning, there is no filtration. We don't feed the adults while in this tank. Once the eggs have been laid and have hatched and the fry become free swimming to the point where they need to start eating we put on a sponge filter. It helps to keep the tank clean but doesn't have the strength to over power the fry. Then, once the fry can withstand some current we add a small power filter to the tank with netting over the intake tube. It's a gradual process but in our experience, it's what works best.

The Occupants
It's important to remember that this is _always_ changing. Presently in this tank there are approximately 50 to 75 Albino Tiger Barbs, 15 or so Parrots, maybe 5 Rosy Barb and about a dozen Guppies. We like to mix species at an early age because we feel that by doing this it seems as they grow they are more tolerant of each other. At least this has worked for us to this point. I also know it seems like there are alot of fish in this tank, but the average size of these fish is about 1 centimeter. We watch this very closely and move them when the tank either starts to get a little overcrowded or they are ready to move on.


120G 90G 75G 75F 55G 30G 20LF 20HF 20G 20T 15F 15P 10G 10B BSSickHome

Legend: G=gallon T=Tetra H=High F=Fry L=Long P=Parrot B=Baby BS=Brine Shrimp