I had initially planned to put an Oscar in said tank but before the issue occurred the people who had responded told me that the tank was far too small even for a juvenile. At this point I am wondering wether I should put in a Senegal bichir by itself in there or two convict cichlids and filtration for each. I read somewhere that a sponge filter is better for convicts that are gonna spawn. I also want to know if a 20 long tank is sufficient for a bichir and if there a recommended canister tank and certain filter floss and sponge for a separate hob filter. And is my whisper 3 hob sufficient for that.

Sorry, I can't remember the original thread. When you say 20 long tank, exactly how big are we talking?

It's 2 and a half feet long and one tall and wide. I thought 20 long was a standardardized size. It is obviously not as prevalent but I have a 29 gallon stand for the tank

Okay, 29 gallons. This is really intended for small community fish, like tetras, guppies, those sort of fish that don't really get much more than a couple of inches long. I certainly wouldn't be trying to put anything bigger than this in a 29 gallon tank because you just don't have enough water to keep larger fish.

So would a pair of convicts be ok in this tank with just a sponge filter

Jmac502 wrote: So would a pair of convicts be ok in this tank with just a sponge filter

Unfortunately not, like I said it's really meant for small community fish. Having said that, if you want to go down the roots of doing something that would probably be really interesting then why not look at shell dwelling cichlids. Some of these cichlids are very small indeed and 29 gallon tank would be more than enough for a couple of pairs. It's probably a good idea to research The species of cichlids first.

In the meantime, check out this website, it looks as though it could give you some useful and interesting information

www.tfhmagazine.com/freshwater/feature-articles/the-best-dwarf-cichlid-for-the-beginner-full-article.htm

But but but cichlidresearch.com/simpleaquarium.html
Pls I have been told no to the bichir and Oscar enough and I was suggested to start with 2 convicts Ik I'm not supposed to whine but b0ss

Convict cichlids can max out at around 6 inches, two of them will be far too big for a 29 gallon tank. Best thing to do is type in convict cichlids and look at different websites and compare what they say regarding tank size, I think you'll probably find that most of them Recommend between 30 and 40 gallons for an adult convict cichlids.

At the end of the day it's up to you what you do with your aquarium and what fish you keep. I'm not going to tell you what you can and cannot do, I'll just give you my opinion based on my own experience. Set up the aquarium and try keeping the two convict cichlids, if it doesn't work out then you'll know that a different approach is needed.

I would not put a pair of Cons in 20g. Granted, they are small cichlids, but still very territorial and like any such cichlid, will stress without proper space. Will they live and survive? Probably. Will they do well and thrive? No.

Finally stocked tank with 6 tetras