55 Gallon Freshwater Tank

[headley21]

55 gallon tank

Hi i'm wanting to get more fish for my 55 gallon tank and wondering what i can get to go in it!

I have 3 tinfoil bards now, and two african cichlids!

please help

 

[Bettababe1011]

Hi i'm wanting to get more fish for my 20 gallon tank and wondering what i can get to go in it!

I have 3 tinfoil bards now, and two african cichlids!

please help

You should just start your own thread. You will probably get more replies there anyway.

Courtesy of Dakota's iPod.

 

[McLumpy]

Hi i'm wanting to get more fish for my 55 gallon tank and wondering what i can get to go in it!

I have 3 tinfoil bards now, and two african cichlids!

please help

Congrats on your 55g! The only fish that I have in my community tank that I would suggest would be the Red Tail Shark. However, according to the Freshwater Compatibilty Chart that I have in my signature, it shows that they may or may not be compatible with Barbs and African Cichlids. Good luck on your stocking!

You should just start your own thread. You will probably get more replies there anyway.

Courtesy of Dakota's iPod.

+1 Thanks, Bettababe!

There are many people on here that will gladly provide you w/ input on compatible fish for your 55g.

 

[McLumpy]

Oh Holy Algae Bloom!

Eh, yep, I have a mild algae bloom. With the addition of my new lighting fixture and Flourish, the algae is all over the place! I have nothing to fear though thanks to Tony! lol (More pics are in my profile album).

 

[Safloore]

How big is he?

 

[McLumpy]

How big is he?

I'm guessing around 9-10 inches.

 

[Safloore]

how long did it take for him to reach that size?

 

[McLumpy]

how long did it take for him to reach that size?

It took about 9 months or so. His growth averages about 3/4" per month. He's a Common Pleco, so he's going to get huge. I have plans to rehome him once he becomes uncomfortable. But for now, he's my buddy that keeps my fish and tank in check, (can't say that about my plants though... li'l booger likes to make holes in my Sword! lol).

 

[daileene]

sorry to hear about your algae bloom...:-(

sent you a PM too about the plants.

 

[McLumpy]

sorry to hear about your algae bloom...:-(

sent you a PM too about the plants.

It's really not too bad, um, yet. Tony is working on it right now. lol

 

[McLumpy]

Lost My Betta

Yesterday was a horrible day. On top of taking care of a sick toddler and performing a pwc on both of my tanks, I discovered that my Betta was sick.

He was acting fine in the morning, but when I went in to do the pwc, he was resting in the plants. I didn't get a really good look at him until he began swimming around and doing somersaults. It appeared that he had popeye along w/ a white substance, (more than likely fungus), around his gills and his underside.

I felt I didn't have time to do a water test, so I began the pwc in hopes that the fresh water would help buy me some time before treating him w/ meds. But it was too late. Shortly after I added the dechlorinated water, he was on his side on top of the gravel and he passed away before my eyes.

I immediately removed him from the tank and shortly afterwards I decided to move my ADF's out of there as well. I don't know exactly what caused my Betta to die, but I didn't want to chance losing my ADF's too. After seeing that another member on here was successful in having ADF's in their 55g long tank, I decided to acclimate them and add them to my tank.

I know a lot of people on here think that ADF's would have a difficult time living in a 55g, but it has been quite the opposite! They're doing extremely well! They have no issues getting to the top of the tank for air, have no problem finding food, and they're even getting along well w/ my fish!

To be on the safe side, I removed the house decoration due to it having too many hiding places. It had an air hose hooked up to it and they could reach air if they were to swim to the top, but I didn't want to take any chances. My Clown Loaches and RT Shark weren't too happy to see their house go, but they've already established new territories.

So yeah, it was a bit of a sad day, but I'm glad to see that my ADF's are safe and sound. I have no doubt that my water quality wasn't as prestine as the water is in my 55g, so this was the best option that I had aside from doing a thorough pwc on the 10g. But honestly, the only reason I setup a 10g was for the Betta and I just don't feel like getting another one and try to balance the 2 tanks again. It also wouldn't make sense for me to keep a separate tank for just the ADF's if they can live amongst my community fish.

So, there you have it. I'm back to being a 1 tank gal.

RIP "Arnold"

 

[Bettababe1011]

I'm sorry about your Betta.

 

[Bruce410]

Aw man! So sorry. That stinks. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my 10g as well now.

 

[McLumpy]

Thanks for the kind words, guys. I really wish that I had some kind of warning, but I didn't. When I was feeding him yesterday morning, he ate just fine, his fins weren't clamped, he appeared to look fine, (despite a little bit of white around his gills), and he was swimming around with no problem. It was a really odd death, (to say the least). I'm sure I'll eventually get around to setting up the 10g again w/ another Betta, just not any time soon.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Sorry about the lost of your betta. But that's life, you did your best to try to provide him a good environment.

 

[McLumpy]

Sorry about the lost of your betta. But that's life, you did your best to try to provide him a good environment.

Thanks. I just found it odd that he was completely normal earlier that day, then he was gone. I'm guessing that he died from something that he had prior to me getting him from the LFS. Even though I didn't perform a water test that day, (as I do prior to every weekly pwc), I'm sure the parameters were ok.

His tankmates, the 2 ADF's, are still doing extremely well in my 55g! In fact, all of my fish are still doing great w/ them, (even my Red Tail Shark is behaving himself). Oh and one of my ADF's enjoys 'taking a ride' on my Pleco. lol I really need to get a pic of that!

 

[Joyler]

Yes...yes you do! That sounds adorable!

 

[Pecktec]

The houses are cool. Pretty fish too.

 

[honeysuckle11]

The shark gets to be a gorgeous fish but doesnt get alone with any fish smaller then it. The shark a bully and once is bigger will eat any fish smaller then him. I wanted one in my tank but the fish i have would all be gone quick. lol

 

[McLumpy]

Yes...yes you do! That sounds adorable!

I will certainly try, but the little guy doesn't stay on for the full 8 seconds, so no guarantees!

The houses are cool. Pretty fish too.

Thanks! Actually I adjusted the layout to keep my ADF's from getting stuck anywhere, so the house is no longer in there. Instead, I ended up replacing the house w/ the faux tree stump and moved things around a bit. I guess a pic of the new layout is in order, huh?

The shark gets to be a gorgeous fish but doesnt get alone with any fish smaller then it. The shark a bully and once is bigger will eat any fish smaller then him. I wanted one in my tank but the fish i have would all be gone quick. lol

I must be lucky then because my RT Shark is pretty relaxed. I've heard horror stories w/ RT Sharks doing these things, but I think as long as they have an established territory in an adequate sized tank, they won't get aggressive.

As a matter of fact, since I rescaped my tank and added live plants, he hasn't been chasing my Dwarf Gourami as much. He was never too aggressive w/ him, but I'm sure my DG didn't like getting sidebumped during feedings. lol

Oh yeah, update time on my froggies...
They are still doing great! My ADF's have their little territories and are doing very well w/ feedings. They somehow know when it's time to eat and come to the front of the tank and wait. From what I've read, (on here and abroad), they need their food placed directly in front of them due to their bad eyesight. Well, not my froggies! lol They know when a tasty morsel floats by and jumps at it, (this also includes the occasional fin, but they choose not to eat those... but they sure make my fish jump! LOL).

I think the secret to the ADF's having success in my tank is due to them having time to grow in my 10g first. They are now quite a bit bigger than they were when I got them, so they have more strength to get to the top of the tank for air. They also had time to adapt to a feeding schedule in the 10g. Since I kept the same feeding schedule w/ both tanks, they were able to make an easy transition.

In regards to what they've been eating... well... anything, really. I do try to drop the fish flakes in an area away from them and it has been working out well. But they really prefer shrimp pellets over anything, (including the specialized frog pellets that I picked up).

Some say that you should never feed them freeze-dried pellets, (due to them swelling up in the frog's belly and bounding them up), but I have yet to see them eat any until the pellets are fully swelled and ready to consume. Smart frogs? Possibly. I do know one thing, the specialized frog pellets make my fish happy, but my frogs won't touch them.