Ideas for a "feature fish"

[JCarnes]

I have a 55 gallon heavily planted, low light tank. It has been cycling for 3 weeks now and I am almost ready for fish. I will be moving some of my tetras from my 29 gallon into the bigger tank but I am looking to add something different.

I am going to be stocking:

5 scissortail rasboras
5 neon tetras
5 cardinal tetras
At least 4 otos

I have considered gouramis but I have heard so many mixed reviews and I dont have enough floating plant coverage in my tank,

I have recently discovered the different types of rainbow fish, but I can not find them locally.

Any suggestions for a good feature fish for a community tank?

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[Fibsog]

It is rare but the humpback limia is a colorful livebearer. Otherwise maybe apistogramma, rams, or colorful killies.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

In such a larger tank, I'd increase the numbers of cardinal and neon tetras. They look better in larger schools (since you have the room). Also up the otocinclus count. I like centerpiece fish such as dwarf cichlids like rams or even kribs. But a 55 is good enough for a trio of angels. I'd get 3 veiltail koi angels. Get them small so they get accustomed to being around tetras.. Get them too big and they might think the tetras are food.

 

[twiddlemuffin]

In such a larger tank, I'd increase the numbers of cardinal and neon tetras. They look better in larger schools (since you have the room). Also up the otocinclus count. I like centerpiece fish such as dwarf cichlids like rams or even kribs. But a 55 is good enough for a trio of angels. I'd get 3 veiltail koi angels. Get them small so they get accustomed to being around tetras.. Get them too big and they might think the tetras are food.

I agree with this. Up the number of all of those schools and get 1-2 angels, and maybe some type of apisto. You could do gourami's they're pretty peaceful.

 

[Sk3lly]

Up the schools. Ive always liked the idea of the red tailed black shark as a centrepiece fish. Bit left field though

 

[azmodan]

It's not the most common fish but a festivum would look lovely in your tank. Also agree with the other suggestions of rams and apistos like apistogramma cacatuoides. Pearl gouramis are very pretty too, but as you pointed out do prefer some surface coverage (which is pretty easy though).

 

[Mebbid]

I would skip the neon tetras, increase the school of cardinals to 15, and add a pair of angels.

There's really no point of stocking both neons and cardinals since they will all school together and the only real visual difference is the length of their red stripe. The cardinals are also bigger and less likely to be eaten by angels when they get big.

 

[JCarnes]

As of this morning I will now be moving all of my fish out of my 29 gallon into the 55 gallon.

5 scissortail rasbora
5 priscillia tetras
5 serpae tetras
5 neon tetras
6 cory cats

I am probably going to add more neons or possibly black tetras but am worried about overstocking. I am only planning on 4 otos due to the fact that I already have cory cats.

Would it be alright to add 5 black neons, 4 otos, and a gourami or two to the current stocking list mentioned above?

And if I get gouramis which is the best community fish, and how many do you recommend keeping?

Thanks for all the replies so far!

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[Rodeo one]

Just a side note... I d add the Oto s last, they do better in well established tanks. Best of luck.... Sounds like a fun project.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Black neons are okay. If you want a different species than the neon/cardinals, how about rummynose tetras?

 

[FishCr8zy]

Black neons are okay. If you want a different species than the neon/cardinals, how about rummynose tetras?

+1. Rummynose tetras are pretty cool looking. As for a "feature fish" I would also do either rams, angels, kribs, or more colorful rainbows.

 

[Rivercats]

As of this morning I will now be moving all of my fish out of my 29 gallon into the 55 gallon.

5 scissortail rasbora
5 priscillia tetras
5 serpae tetras
5 neon tetras
6 cory cats

I am probably going to add more neons or possibly black tetras but am worried about overstocking. I am only planning on 4 otos due to the fact that I already have cory cats.

Would it be alright to add 5 black neons, 4 otos, and a gourami or two to the current stocking list mentioned above?

And if I get gouramis which is the best community fish, and how many do you recommend keeping?

Thanks for all the replies so far!

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I have two 55g tanks running and with the stock you have instead of adding 5 black neons you would get a much greater inpact upping your school of neons. And for gouramis a pair of Pearl Gourami's would make a nice visual impact in the tank. Have you noticed any aggression from the serape tetras?

I also strongly suggest waiting at least 4 months on adding oto's into the tank. Oto's rely strongly on bio-film for food in tanks and also do better in a mature tank that has stable parameters. They also prefer to be kept in larger numbers and with them having such a small bio-load you can safely add a lot more than 4.

 

[JCarnes]

The only aggression the tetras show is towards each other when I feed them, other than that they hang out in their cave in the current tank. How many otos would you recommend? I dont want to get too many and have them not have enough food sources.

My local pet stores have a really limited selection of fish. I am trying a new one today a little further away to try to find some new options.


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[Rivercats]

I would have a minimum of 6 or 8 oto's in a 55g. If you have a heavily planted tank you can support even more. Some oto's will eat supplemented foods such as algae pellets, New Era Pleco Pellets, and even zucchini or cucumber.