55 gallon and a pleco

[cgranola]

I have a Pleco that I'm moving to a 55 gallon tank. (Currently fish-less cycling. will be a bit before the move happens.) I would love to add more fish to the 55 gallon to hang out with the Pleco. I'm seriously considering group of schooling fish.

Thoughts include:

rummynosed tetras
Neon tetras
Zebra danios...
​

I know the danios can get up to 2+ inches, so they may not be the best option.

My question really is two-fold.:
1. Will the one pleco in a 55 gallon be the tanks capacity? Is there room for something more?

2. If a group of schooling fish is an option, which would you suggest?

 

[Tmar]

I love the emerald eye rasbora! They have lil glowy green eyes

 

[dsun]

how big is your pleco?

 

[cgranola]

I measured him today. From the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail is 13" He's just a little over a year old.

 

[cgranola]

Okay a little research and I have found that what I have may actually be a Pterygoplichthys pardalis and not the common Pleco I was told he is. (See belly below in image number one and number of dorsal rays in the second image.)

I'm reading conflicting information about how big these fish get. On one hand I'm hearing between 13 (current length) and 16.5. While on the other hand I've read they get up to two feet? I'm so confused right now.

 

[Mebbid]

If I'm not mistaken that is just another name for the common pleco.

Pterygoplichthys pardalis • Loricariidae • Cat-eLog

He will probably outgrow the 55g in a year or two and will likely have to be rehomed (Or you can get a bigger tank )

As for schooling fish for a 55g I would suggest either a school of 5 boesmani rainbows or 10+ praecox rainbows. Harlequin rasboras are also nice schooling fish. The boesmanis are quite a bit bigger but would still look great in a 55g

 

[cgranola]

I think I was assuming the true "common pleco" was the Hypostomus. Although, maybe "common pleco" is just a generic umbrella term. That link you have suggests a size of about 13.5 inches. Another link suggests a size of up to 27 inches. Doh.

Those preacox rainbows are really pretty. I like the red lined fin.

 

[Mebbid]

Yeah, I bought a school of 9 of them for my 55g and couldn't be happier. The males flash to the females all the time and their bodies are taking on a nice blue hue as they get older; they are my new fav schooling fish. However if my tank wasn't already stocked to the brim i would have bought boesmani rainbows instead. They are quite a bit larger but are more colorful.

 

[Surfer]

Every "common pleco" I've seen has that pattern, they all look very similar, the differences are small. That one will get to 2 feet.

 

[FallenRedeemer]

I would suggest a school of 5-6 denison barbs. They have great colors and swim around all the time. In my opinion definitely a fish that doesn't get enough recommendation. I have 6 in my 55 gallon tank

 

[Surfer]

I would suggest a school of 5-6 denison barbs. They have great colors and swim around all the time. In my opinion definitely a fish that doesn't get enough recommendation. I have 6 in my 55 gallon tank

The fish doesn't usually get a lot of recommendation due to the amount of space they require. I wouldn't put one in anything less than 75 gallons. 125 being the preferred size. They're active and need a lot of room to swim as they mature, even if they're not particularly large. They also prefer a lot of current.