Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone I just got my first aquarium yesterday. It is a 20 gallon tank. I got it all set up and I am letting it run for a few days to make sure everything is working correctly before adding any fish to it. I was wondering what would be the best fish to put in there? I have heard the number of fish in the tank should be equivalent to the amount of gallons the tank can hold. Is this true? Also I was wondering if their are any supplies or water treatment things I should have or know about? I am very excited about getting started with this aquarium and want to make sure I am doing everything correctly. I would love any and all advice because like I said this is my first time doing anything like this. Thank you for all of your help and I look forward to learning a lot from all of you guys!

Platies are hardy, and goldfish too. What kind of fish do you want to keep? I'll give you a link to read too. The number of fishes you can put in a tank depends on the species you want to keep. The one inch per gallon rule is out! Biospira is a helpful treatment to add to help the cycling process along. Cycle is similar, but doesn't work as well or so I've heard. If you used tap water you will need an ammonia/chlorine/chloramine remover as well. You also might want to check out my article under the features tab, then setting up a new tank. It discusses the cycling process. There is also a fishless cycling, so if you are interested in doing that let me know so I can get you the link.
Good first fishes

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Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Thanks for your help that link is perfect. I did use tap water and have already put something into the water to remove some of the harmful chemicals. I am not too sure what type of fish I want to keep. I want something that requires low matinence. For now and as I get more experienced maybe add something for more experienced keepers. How many fish would you recommend adding at once? Thanks again for your help.

You should only add a couple fish at a time. If you want tropical fish that are community fish, then the platies and tetras are the fish you might want to start with. Cichlids are also hardy fish (my personal favorite although I don't have any yet). They are aggressive fish though and require a lot of research before you purchase them. I can recommend someone to talk to if you are interested in them. It's totally up to you on what kinds of fish you want to keep. It's a personal choice. There are community, semi-aggressive, and aggressive tanks.
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Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."