Looking for advice on tank mates

[chval]

In January I set up a 55 gallon tank equipped with a Penguin 350, heater & light. In it I have 2 - black skirt tetras, 3 - phantom tetras, 2 - guppies, 2 - cory cats, & 2 - gold algae eaters.

My tank parameters are as follows:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 5
PH – 8.0

I am looking for advice on what to add. I had more guppies and a pleco but for some reason they died over a month ago. I would love to add angels or even discus but not sure I could or should. If I could add angels, does it matter if you choose different colored ones? I am looking to add more color – what I have are nice but all are basically the same coloration. Previously, I had added 2 powder blue dwarf gourami’s but the first set died within a day of adding and the second set died after a week.

Well, any suggestions on what to add would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Connie H

[papa_bear_21]

A tank like that, IMHO would do good with other community fish, mollies, rasbora's, maybe some glass cats if you like them.

Angels can be done, but you want to make sure they dont nip, as they are semi aggressive fish. There are several fish you can add, I would deffinately recommend non-aggressive, peaceful fish to keep the balance and to keep the stress down to a minimum. Find some fish you like, and look into their perameters, and make sure your current tank can support them. Loaches would add some color, and personality to your tank. What I do is browse my LFS, and when I see something I like, I determine perameters and asses the ability for them to be happy and healthy in my tank.

Please feel free to ask any questions about any fish you like, and someone will deffinately help you.

[MyCatsDrool]

Angels would do well. Get a school of about 6 juveniles and wait for a pair to form. should take about a year. when one does, take the rest back to the fish store, or put them in another tank.

Then let the pair grow into adults. Mixed colors would be fine. And 6 juvis would not kill your stock amount in that tank.

You might want to put some driftwood in there first though. Your pH is pretty high for all those fish, and for angels. No buffers. Just a piece of driftwood would do the trick.

Good luck

[chval]

Are you saying that if I put a piece of drift wood in the PH in my tank would become lower? I have some small pieces that I was going to use when I switched over to real plants. Approximately how long do you think it would take to bring the PH down?

Connie

[MyCatsDrool]

24-48 hours

[chval]

Am I supposed to soak them outside of my tank for awhile, or just put them in?

[MyCatsDrool]

Soak until they sink, changing water until they are sinking.

[zacusmaximus]

I'd get a good number of each of the tetras and a few more cories. I don't know if its common or not, but my GAE's have always been kind of a-holes to other bottom dwellers. Personally, I'd swap them out for one or two of the smaller varieties of pleco.

I LOVE angels, but I'm starting to think that unless you're sure you DON'T have a mating pair, they're not ideal for a community tank. I have a mated pair in a 55 community tank at work and they spawn like clockwork. The tank is utterly terrorized for a solid week or more with every spawning and they spawn at least 6 times a year. Given a choice or opportunity, the angels would be by themselves. Just my thoughts.

Let us know how you end up stocking your tank! Post some pictures!

[Digitalgerl]

I have to second that regarding the angels! I always like to get at least 2 of any type of fish so they have a companion-or perhaps it just makes me feel better. I have a 40 gallon. I purchased 3 angels and low and behold this is when I get lucky. 2 of them paired off within a few months and they are just as regular about spawning. Angels are very territorial in that regard. They ramp up the aggression and I know that within the week there will be eggs. Then they keep everyone away for the next 3 days or so until things return to normal again ("eggs disappear"). No fish are harmed -I have a male betta, the other angel, and a few platys. We are all stressed when it's spawning time. Lyre-tail swords can be hard to find but are beautiful fish. They are like mollies and platys in that they earn there keep and are always scaveging the plants, tank walls, gravel for anything to eat. There are also some really beautiful types of fancy guppies out there to add to what you already have. High-fin varietus platys, sailfin mollies, - just browse the internet for some other live bearers and you and your tank can remain peaceful! Lol