55 Gallon Freshwater Community Stocking Help and Advice

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MadHatMagic

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Sep 16, 2016
Messages
4
Hello there, I recently came into a 55 Gallon tank by sheer luck, and am pretty excited to start a tropical freshwater community tank. The real clincher is I'm not sure what would be overstocking the tank, since it's so large and the fish I'm trying to set up are in the smaller range. Any advice would be appreciated. I want to make it heavily planted with java ferns, water wisteria, etc, with driftwood and caves and whatnot. With that in mind, this is the list of fish I am considering, nothing is bought yet or in the tank, as it is still cycling.

Fish:
Neon Tetra X6
Ember Tetra X6
Cherry Barb X6
Harlequin Rasbora X6
Kuhli Loach X4
Panda Cory X4
Koi Swordtail X1
Honey Dwarf Gourami X1
Inverts:
Nerite Snail X6

Is there anything I can add? Is this already too much? Should I add more to the schools? Can I add one more school of six of something like Rummynose? Can I add some more centerpiece fish like Rams? I want as much biodiversity in the tank as I possibly can. I have two filters on either end of the tank, and they pump at about 150 gallons per minute.
 
Hi, just is only personal preference here. I tend to go for say three schools of around 10 fish (I think larger schools do better but not so large they can't be counted), some bottom dwellers (do like loaches) and one or so of the larger centre-piece fish.

I do try to get fish schools on contrasting colours as well.
 
I would skip the Koi Swordtail and gourami for one reason - fish do much better in groups or schools. Having only one fish of a species certainly doesn't do much for that fish - I think they are happier and healthier with more of their kind. Second, larger groups make for a more attractive tank, in my opinion. I'd get ten of each species and omit the loaches.
 
Thank you for the advice.
Honestly I only did 1 of the Swordtail and 1 of the Honey Dwarf Gourami because of aggression issues. More than 1 male swordtail will cause fights and more than one male gourami will cause fights. Adding females to the mix just makes room for babies and while I'm sure my fish would happily eat the spawn it just makes me sad to think about. Swordtails being livebearers they'd also breed like crazy. Gouramis do well in pairs I hear. Would it be possible to keep two or is making a bonded pair difficult?
 
Echo the other two comments. You'll see much more natural behavior with a large school, especially neons. I would double or even triple the size of the neons in favor of some of the others. The Corys like to be in schools of 6 or more. Honey dwarf gouramis are actually pretty peaceful. A pair will do just fine in a community like this. The cherry barbs are a very peaceful fish 99% of the time, but occasionally show nipping behavior and your gouramis may get harassed a bit. Just be ready for that. A larger school helps with keeping that down, if at all.

Should be a nice looking tank! Definitely post pics when ready.


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I have in the past kept several different gourami's and from memory ok but usually kept one as centrepiece fish.
 
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