4 EASY Tank Setups for a 20-Gallon Aquarium 

*What aquarium themes or stocking ideas you would recommend for a 20-gallon tank?* Comment below to share your experiences, and subscribe if you want to see more videos like this! goo.gl/4q2idY

I like how you're not ashamed that your fish died and are honest about it with us. Shows us the reality of the aquarium hobby rather than just the glamorous side

thank you for including your mistakes in this video, makes the learning process feel more acceptable.

I really appreciate how you showed both your successes and failures. I like the blue background that you have, it is a refreshing change from the standard black background that is shown in so many planted tanks. Great video!

I really appreciate the fact that your videos are usually less than ten minutes and you pack a lot of good information into that short time frame. Some RU-vidrs have interesting relevant topics but they turn on the camera and ramble for 20-30 minutes. Thanks for being concise! You're obviously well prepared, and I always know you're not going to waste my time.

I like how honest you were with fish deaths and how you persevered through them. For 20 gallon ideas, I actually like a school of gold white cloud minnows with lots of dwarf sag or vallisneria. After a while, the novelty of new fish wore off for me, and now I prefer single species tanks.

It's cool that you admit your mistakes, and what you've learned along the way. Honest humility is so much better than idealistic pride in this hobby!

I love the honesty about how your fish died. It really encourages me. Because everytime a fish dies I blame myself and think about quitting. I love watching honest videos with real people. Liked and subscribed.

That third setup is amazing honestly!

At last someone who tells of the truth of fish keeping I like your honesty and telling it as it is new sub

Thanks for your honesty! I want to do a community tank, and your honest advice was soooo helpful. Please keep updating us on these tanks!

Love the honesty of this video. Pretty much sums up my experience also. The truth is that fish keeping can be an unforgiving hobby! Even with youtube and taking my time, there is a huge learning curve and a lot of things are hard to control. I love to look at people's tanks, especially the planted ones. I have to continually fight the urge to try it again.

Man: Ima buy every fish of every color! Colisa: Ima end this man's whole career...

Great content! Hopefully we see another video with this kind of feature. Its interesting to see how many overhauls and trial and error you do as you go on in the hobby. Really awesome!

Omg you deserve hella more subs than that !! You gave me great idea on how to decorate my aquarium and also it came in handy that you included your mistakes .I began setting up my aquarium yesterday and I have done the very very basic . Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us 👍

Those green neon tetras are stunning.

I feel this! My 29 gallon tank has been restocked and rescaped so many times.

I love that you showed your failures in the hobby along with your successes. Most hobbyists won’t admit that they had struggles in the beginning of the hobby

Shellies would be awesome. They colony breed, are always in high demand, and are just fun to watch. They excavate the sand, move shells around, claim territories. Just active and fun to see such small fish moving piles of sand. 👍💕👍

youve helped me with a good short informative video and i reallllly appreciate it thank you so much!

Great Tank Ideas! Thank you! 👍🏼

This video helped me some much. I didn't think about the start over & them dieing

I don't currently have a tank set up but I'm seriously leaning toward setting up a 20 gallon exactly like yours. The more research I do, the more I like it.

My spouse never understood why I needed to change out my 29 gallon tank every year or so.... lol your videos really hit home! At one time I even did a tank to highlight vintage bubble ornaments since THOSE were what fascinated me as a child, and made me want an aquarium in the first place.

Pristella tetras and bronze corydoras were my first 20g fish. The tetras were super active and fun to watch, highly recommend them

Already have the Chezch Blue Rams/Albino Corydora setup! Love the combo, the rams are so energetic and the corys all have their own personalities.

omg i love the last tank so cool

Great video; very informative. I like how you went from artificial-looking to natural. I have a 20 gallon long that I recently rebooted. It had two goldfish (artificial plants of course) that just got too big, and I was able to donate them to a retirement home 350 gallon aquarium! I always had tropical fish as a kid, and I wanted to try them again. I also wanted to keep the aquarium unheated, so I did a lot of research before picking my fish. I planted the aquarium with a variety of rhizome and root species, and used the goldfish gravel and water to keep it seasoned. I first added 6 black neons, 3 red wag platies and a hillstream loach. A week later I added 3 sunset variatus platies. Then I made my mistake. I was going for green tiger barbs, but the guy at the aquarium store warned about their aggressiveness, and suggested instead that I get a couple of powder blue gouramis. I told him my aquarium was unheated (house temp 20C by day, 16 at night). He said that the gouramis don't need a heated tank, and I took him at his word. I brought them back with a second hillstream loach and all was good for about 5 days. At that point, I could see white growths on the body of one of the gouramis, and it was swimming oddly. I removed him for treatment, but he didn't last a day. Less than a week later, the other gourami started swimming in the same funny way, so I removed him and tried to treat him (meds plus salt). He didn't make it a day later. I then went to the internet and found out about dwarf gourami iridovirus. I don't know for sure if that's what they got, and if so, if it had anything to do with the water temperature I was keeping them at. I did add a heater after that and moved the temperature up to 22. But I was afraid to buy any more dwarf gouramis, fearing that the virus might still be in the water. Four glofish tetras later, all is well.

Thanks for sharing your experiences

I keep finding your videos very informative. In every topic I research, I tend to find one of your videos.

Your tanks and videos are beautiful great info too. Thankyou new fan here.

I love this video. I've seen your videos before, they're really helpful. Thank you!

Thanks for sharing that you made mistakes but persevered and learned. I’m struggling with BBA and sick fish right now. Getting lots of use out of my mag scraper!

Shy guys tank was my fave! Introverts unite!

Great video love the fish!

Finally, a short and to the point fishtube video which also ended up making me enjoy it. Good work. Im more of an oddball and bottom dweller guy. Id stock a 20 long with 6 Kuhlis, 6 Panda Cories, a Bamboo Shrimp, clams, an apple snail and a Neon Dwarf Gourami as the centrepiece

So many cool ideas I love it

Man I just love cories!

I’m trying the buy whatever and so far it’s worked pretty good

I really like your style, you got yourself a new subscriber :)

3-6 dwarf puffers! Love those little guys. Heavily planted though

Man your tanks were beautiful! I love it. I know you mentioned Petsmart, honestly they have good prices on certain things but I find when I buy live plants or even some fish I get diseases in my tank or weird algae, I started shopping private shop locally that understands quarantines and bacterial health of their tanks, they also tend to care more as they are owners rather than minimum wage aquarists.

I've been doing fish tanks off and on through out my life (I'm 50+), and I LOVE doing theme tanks! Right now, I don't really have the space, but I'm planning on setting up a planted betta tank (5 gallon). I prefer natural themed tanks... but there are 3 themed tanks I have always wanted to do. 1- An underwater river theme, using nothing but stone and wood in a planted tank. A ' Lost City of Atlantis' where fish can swim around an underwater ruins setting, and a saltwater coral reef.

Awesome ideas! U have inspired me to ‘advance my aquarium’ to breed corydoras so i can actullay reach one of the things on my bucket lust! Thanks so much! Love your chanel!

Very well done! Excellent speaking voice!

I really liked that one with the albino Corys the green neon tetras and the honey gourami planted tank

Recently I went with a haunted sunken pirate ship theme. Decor was easy. Fish were glass tetras for skeletons albino Cory cats for phantoms gold BARbs for the pirate treasure and a school of RUMmy nose tetras for a good time.

Love the honesty

I love tank set up number 3 and that’s the 1 I’m about to do now, with same type of fish but instead of the gourami, I might do 2 female bettas, tetras and the some other type of Cory catfish 💪🏻

I just stumbled across you, and you totally rock! Keep up the the good work and don't be afraid to tell us when you screw up. We learn from everything. XD

Just read your BLOG posting on Aquarium Co-Op. Nice writing! We just got several Moss Balls for our Pea Puffer tank. YAY!

Nice video. Thanks for sharing. Cheers.

I know it’s an older video but I appreciate the honesty with your fish keeping struggles. I lost my first two platies this morning and it sucks because I had them for a year. I did a redesign of my tank with live plants and wood and I let the pH drop too quickly. Unlike the other rude people commenting, I tell myself that I gave the fish a better life than they would’ve had stuck at PetSmart or Petco. Which is true. I still hate losing fish due to my mess ups, but it’s the only way people can learn unfortunately. Fish are finicky creatures and in some ways are harder to take care of than my cat.

Thanks 🥰💖

Great topic👍🏽, I offen tell people that if they want to get started in the hobby a 20g long is the best size to start with. Really like that you’re comfortable with touching on mistakes, most people will try to keep quiet on it but that doesn’t help anyone

I'm a big fan of double aquarium stands. They're a real space saver. ... If you go this route, keep in mind that the lower tank is often a few degrees cooler than the top tank. Also, you should probably avoid keeping surface dwellers in low tanks, since they'll be hard to see.

Creative ways to stock your tank..👍

It's interesting that all your 20 gallons are 20 high, while it seems the 20 long is the more popular one.

I love it!

I'm planning on redecorating my axolotl tank with a marimo moss carpet and a pile of large (8") river rock pile and some live plants (like a java fern) and i think it would be totally cool if you tried something like that.

any videos specific to the thirds setup and ideas behind it ? its seems like a great starting point, and would love any more details or info about it.

I love all the ideas, and also appreciate you sharing mistakes as well. We are doing lots of research as we get ready to start our first 20 gallon aquarium. This is a little off topic, but we are having a terrible time find a decent stand for our 20 gallon tank. Do you have an recommendations? We might end up recruiting someone to help us build one.

Ive always had a betta as the star of my tanks. The betta Ive got now is my 1st who doesnt get along with other. Ive kept fish for more than 25 years.

OMG PLEASE I need a full video about the shy guy tank!!!!!

Great video. Good to see you didn't throw in the towel and go for gerbils instead. Really like the Shy Guys tank idea.

Thanks for letting us know what and what not to do. I would go with fake silk or plastic plants. As for fish 1 school of Cardinal Tetras, 1 school of Ember Tetras and 1 Betta. Clean up would be 2-3 small corys. I subscribed due to you honesty.

I am really looking forward to videos on the Shy Guys tank. I have a heavily planted 29 gallon that I would love to keep some shrimp in but the last time i tried they all got eaten but my current inhabitants (still not sure if it was the cherry barbs or the Bolivian ram that was doing it). It will be interesting to see what you're having luck with.

I am glad I found your video on the 20 gallon tank with cories, green neon tetras, and a dwarf gourami because that nearly mirrors my planned stocking choices for my 20 gallon long! I am slowly adding fish at the moment and currently have 7 pepper cories (were sold to me as pygmy cories) and three pygmy cories which means I still need to add three more pygmies. I was originally planning to add ember tetras as my mid level schooling fish but after watching your video it gave me hope that green neon tetras may do well despite my pH of 7.4. Where the green neon tetras you got tank bred or wild caught? I think that may play a role in their adaptability to higher pH. I am also debating trying my betta as a centerpiece fish or going for a honey gourami. Thank you!

I appreciate you sharing all your challenges and what you've learned! The jungle tank is gorgeous. I am questioning the ethics of starting an aquarium after hearing about all these deaths tho. lol

Hey there! I love your videos! Im wanting to get an aquarium but don't really know where to start. Tetra's are super pretty, I especially love the congo tetras. What would you recommend for beginners on things to get and how to start?

Hard to beat the Classic Planted Jungle Tank :)

Wooow!!❤❤

My recommendations on RU-vid are psychic 😳

LOVE, love , love this video. I am a 20 gallon person too ! TY so much for sharing these great ideas 🧡 Can you please do a video of community Beta fish tank. Because I have a Beta his name is ZERO and I call him that because he has no friends (booo hooo hoo). It makes me so sad. He is currently in a 5 gallon cube with a big plant that he loves to lay on and hide in. But wow I would even buy a bigger aquarium (20 gallon? if appropriate) if I can put him in a community tank. He was a foster/rescue Beta.

Amazing

I love your video. I have had fresh water aquariums for about 32 years now. I got into saltwater aquariums for 13 years and for 2 months now fresh water shrimp. I think if you want a challenge try saltwater. But if you want to stay with fresh water go for the shrimps. I am enjoying them a lot now. Take care.

Awesome video, I’m going to go with the corydoras, tetras, and gourami one with my new 20g! I try to keep one gourami in each tank that I have, and a honey gourami will fit perfectly with those two other species.

Good video

Wow I loved this video! The first vid of yours I’ve seen, and I’m wondering if you’ve found more success keeping your tanks when they have plants in them!?

I have 2 40 gallon breeder tanks, 1 75 gallon, a 6 foot long 90 gallon acrylic I built myself, a 20 gallon long tank for my betta and a 5 gallon shrimp tank. The smaller tanks are my favorite ones on maintenance day 😝

I really love the first tank that u showed, thank you for showing me some ideas. I currently have a 5 gallon and it has a betta in it. Planning on getting a 29 gallon soon!

Dang you had horrible luck with fish lady lol I mean everyone has trouble but GAWDDAMN

I was looking for a video on aquarium setups and stumbled across a video about a fish cemetery

I like your videos. Something about them just make me happy. I'm looking for top swimmers for my nano tank. I don't want to do hatchets and Im not sure about pencil fish. What were the rainbows you had? Any other fish you came across in your search you can suggest?

For a 20 gallon high I would recommend Rams and cardinals. And crypts for the planting. Don't forget to the temperature needs to be 80f or above. As another comment stated 20 gallon long is much better or 29 gallon. Both fit in same space. Just need a stronger light for live plants in the 29.

I enjoy your videos and your common sense solutions to aquarium problems. In your last tank in this video. What kind of floating plants are you using?

I have been keeping fish for a very very long time. my favorite tank right now is a 10 gallon with nano fish being celestial pearl danios, pencil fish, and dwarf cory catfish. I will upgrade them to at least a 20 gallon tank.

Absolutely beautiful tank ! The version 4 looks like a huge success. What is the floating plant you have in the version 4?🤘

Hello, thank you for showing us your failures and your successes. I have a few questions, how do you set up a quarantine tank if you only have one tank and not a huge amount of money? Also, if ich happens, how do you thoroughly disinfect the tank, substrate, decor, filter, etc.? I know I can research this but everyone seems to have different answers? The most important question I have for you is wether Albino Cory Catfish do ok on gravel? I have the same gravel you had, but in brown type colors, and some people say they seem happier on sand? I want some kuhli loaches or Albino Cory Cats (I really want the cats though because their cute Lil Albino faces ♥️) for my betta tank

could you please provide me a link for driftwood used for tank 2.0 ? i love the set up 👍🏻

Beautiful setups! I’m about to get into this hobby myself. Just bought me a 30 gal tank to start. I’m just wondering what fish I’m get 😂

My 20 has a pair of black(m) blue (f) Moscow guppies with 5 young fry. 6 Kuhli loaches, 2 purple mystery snails & a tiny snail that probably was attached to the plants when I got them. Small bristlenose pleco & a few small amonno shrimp !

Try apistogrammas!!! They are gorgeous and there are many different species to choose from. I'm currently keeping fire red agassizi (1 male and 3 females) in my 20 gallon long and they are doing great.

What did you say you had on the bottom of the tank for the corys? Is that sand, fine gravel? I can't decide what to use. I too want corys and a honey gourami...and some snails.

I love the black sand. What brand is it?

Love the shy guys theme. Maybe try an Ugly Boi theme... A brackish tank with a Dragon Goby ;)... I had a lot if fun building his cave against the front glass. R.I.P. lost that whole 75g when I forgot to plug a heater back in.

Hi great video! can you put two schools of fish in a 20 gal tank? thanks

I definitely recommend doing a planted axolotl tank! Mine absolutely adore their planted 40 breeder, however please do expect the plants to grow much slower than normal due to the cold water.

Your rainbow color tank was sort of the gamers wife equivalent of other people's clown puke gravel phase. It could have been worse!

I have a 20 gallon betta tank along with 2 plecos regular pleco and a clown pleco as well as five different corydoras mystery snails and ghost shrimp