First planted tank-20 gal Long.55 watts?

[thegirlundertherainbow]

This is a 20 gal long. My first planted tank. 55 Watt U shaped bulb. Forget what type. So far so good, only prob was at first had some algae. Under control now. Breeding pair of kribs (yet to spawn), 4 baby CAES and 2 Skunk Botias are the inhabitants for the time being. I realise when the CAES get larger they will need to go- I got them for the algae. FIgured they were safer with Kribs than other algae eaters. The Skunk Botias were for a few snails I saw. Some of the plants, I realize will be too big for this tank- I am in the process of getting lights for my 6ft tank and the plants will be moved then. SO far I have some Ambulia, Purple Cabomba, Egeria Elodea, 2 Red Wendts, 2 that I don't know..will have to get pictures up. No CO2 yet. Substrate is "living" , made for plants..black..med gravel and finer ..settles into two layers.Ranges from 2" to 3" deep. Forget the name. I am fertilizing weekly for now.

[Rolo]

Substrate sounds like eco-complete, nice choice.

[trenac]

I also have a 20G long and have found it best to stick with low growing plants like crypts so that you don't have to prune so much. Some better choices for algae eaters are shrimp, otto's and SAE's.

[fedge]

Skunk loaches... yeoooch.. those are NASTY loaches.. one of the most aggresive ones. (that is why they are usually the cheapest).. if your other fish end up dead or harrassed looking they are the culprits..I would go with yo-yo's.. and in teh end (after snails gone) transfer them to a 30+ gallon tank. My yo-yo's will not eat big snails ... they only go after the new babies and larva.

[thegirlundertherainbow]

Shrimp wouldn't be safe with Kribs would they?
I got the Skunks because they are nasty-to defend themselves against the Kribs. I dont want SAES because a friend that works at LFS says they are vicious. Got the CAEs because they are cheap and aggressive enough to handle the kribs, but won't hurt them while they are small (when the CAEs get big they go back to LFS). Didn't want to risk Ottos with my Kribs, either.. As far as the big plants go, like I said, they will be going into my 125 gal. As far as Yo Yos go, the big tank is a peaceful community...so wouldn't put a Yo Yo in there when it got big because I don't want my other fish hurt.

[trenac]

I don't agree that SAE's are vicious (mine chase each other on occasions but leave other fish alone) but CAE's are aggressive and will suck the slime coating off the fish (learned this the hard way) before they reach their full growth potential. As long as Yo-Yo's are keep in least pairs they will not harm other fish. Mine are keep in community tanks with Endlers, corys and Tetras with no problems.