Centerpiece for a 55g

[Donkey Gun]

Help me find the perfect centerpiece(s)!

My current stock is as follows:

15 neonS
7 rummynose
5 red coral platies
2 golden dojo loaches
1 bristlnose
1 upside down catfish

I had purchased a betta a few weeks ago, but he jumped out. Looking back, he was a beautiful fish but hid most of the time. So I don't think I'll go that route again.

Any suggestions for a nice active centerpiece fish? Well, active but not hunting my other fish.. lol.

 

[boadams87]

A big Angel would look good

 

[Coursair]

Try a Pearl Gourami, large but usually peaceful IME.

 

[Rivercats]

I would actually go with a Pearl Gourami because you have neons. Now if the neons are big you might be able to get a small angelfish and let it grow out with them. That way the angel is less adapt to bother them as it matures.

Also I believe upside down cats prefer being in a small group so getting 2 more would be a good idea IMO.

You could also do a nice pair of German Blue Rams.

 

[jcolon]

Consider a Denison Barb ... it's one of the few Barbs you could keep solitary. Peaceful, Graceful, Great Colors and can reach a respectable 6 inches ... though it takes time. Their main downfall is they can be pricey at mom and pop LFS's. Petsmart does carry them at a much reduced price.

With your current stock, you could even do a small school of 3 Dension's as your centerpiece. Like Rummynose, they look best when in schools. Assuming you get them at a fair price.

 

[Donkey Gun]

Thank you for all the ideas! After looking through all the suggestions, I may go with a pair of German Blue Rams.

Im also considering the peacock gugdeon. Do you think a pair of those would work in my tank?

 

[gman42]

What about a school of

boesemani rainbows?

 

[Donkey Gun]

What about a school of

boesemani rainbows?

wow, that's a beautiful fish! Do you think I have room for a school? I was mainly looking for a pair. But this may be an idea.

So far, this is what I'm considering:

pair of Peacock Gugdeons
or
pair of Blue Rams
or
possibly a small school of boesemani rainbows.



-I really like the breeding behaviors that I've read about with the Gugdeons.
-Can I really put cichlids in this tank? (Blue Rams). I thought they required brackish water. But, I am a total noob in cichlids..

 

[Rivercats]

I love peacock grudgeons but they can be quite secretive fish especially if they are in spawning mode so depending on how scaped your tank is you will only see them off and on. Rainbowfish are good but you need a school of about 6 and be sure to get only 2 males max with 4 females but IMO your tank would be maxed out adding 6 more fish. I love rams but forgot to mention they need to be introduced to a tank that is at least 6 months old. Rams are also very sensitive to nitrates so large weekly WC's are needed.

 

[Donkey Gun]

Thanks river!

This tank has been running for almost a year, with a few changes to the stock. Originally had telescope goldfish for a long time, but lost those and decided to go with a schooling jungle.

My tank gets about 50% weekly WC with nitrates never going above 20.

I've called around and found some blue rams. my only concern is my ph. I've read they need pristine water, somewhat low ph and soft water.

I just did a ph test an it's off the charts high. Im going to retest an make sure I didn't screw this up.

Is the low ph only for breeding? Also, I always drip acclimate.

 

[Donkey Gun]

I did screw up the ph test. lol. it's 7.4

 

[Rivercats]

That is a fine ph for rams which can actually acclimate to a much higher ph than what many think. The only time a truely low ph is needed is when your dealing with wild caught rams, which aren't too commonly available anymore.

 

[Donkey Gun]

thanks again!

Heading to the LFS soon! Pics to come.

 

[Donkey Gun]

well I'm now the proud owner of a pair of German Blue Rams. I spent a couple hours drip acclimating and they took the tank quite well. Timid at first of course. I've posted a pic of the pair in my 55g album.

It's seems my membership has run out so now I've exceeded my photo limit.

 

[Rivercats]

Congradulations! Looks like a nice pair.

 

[Donkey Gun]

There is a little nipping going on. The platies, 1 in particular, does not like the new additions. She keeps swimming up next to the female GBR and nips at her pectoral fins every so often.

 

[Rivercats]

This can happen in any tank with new additions. Hopefully it will stop in a day or two. If not the only thing that you can try, which is a pain in a planted tank, is to remove the platies, move a few plants around or add a couple new larger ones, like a sword. Then add the platies back in. This often confuses the old fish that were removed into thinking they are in a new tank and therefore tend to not be as aggressive.

 

[Donkey Gun]

Aarrgh! Well last night the male suddenly begin hovering at the top of the tank. I tested the water which came out 0, 0, 20. I did a water change anyways at 2am. But woke up this morning to him dead. And now out of nowhere the female has a bad case of ich...

soo frustrating!

 

[boadams87]

That isn't good. Turn the heat up to 86° and do daily wc.

 

[Donkey Gun]

I'm starting the heat treatment. Be careful telling people to just turn the heat up to 86. It should be a degree a day an I thought it's was 82.