advice on stocking a 55 gallon, are these fish compatible?

[fahrenheitfan1]

hey everyone, i would like some advice and help on stocking my 55 gallon fish tank. the tank has a lot of artificial plants as will as well as rock, driftwood, and java moss, so there are plenty of hiding places. the tank is equipped with a sump, providing excess filtration. here are my ideas for the stock, it will be a freshwater community tank and i would like to know if these fish are compatible.

i will be housing:
- zebra danios (i have a school of 5)
- guppies (1 males and 3 females)
- neon tetras (i have 6 of them)
- female bettas (i've got 2)
- paradise fish (i've got one, i've heard mixed opinions on these guys, i'm hoping adding one will help the inevitable population explosion of guppies)
- red tailed black shark (i have one, i've heard mixed opinions on these guys as well, should i be worried)
- an apisto or ram cichlid (i don't have any, i would like to add one to also to help manage guppy population)
- hatchets (i don't have any at the moment but i would like to add some if i can)
- celebes halfbeaks (i don't have any, i saw them at the store and they looked cool, i can't find much information online though, apparently they're not that common)
- dwarf frog (i've heard they have great personalities, i don't have any, i'm to afraid to add one without seeking advice first, my local fish store said they are compatible with most fish)
- possibly shrimp (i don't have any but i've heard they make a great clean up crew, i'm afraid they will get eaten though)

i've done a lot of research prior (ie. aqadvisor, consulting local fish store, browsing the web) and just thought i should put this list out there for others to judge.

somethings to note:
- the paradise fish and red tailed shark are still juveniles, about the size of my danios right now, slightly bigger but not as big as my female bettas.
- my guppies have had a sucessful batch of 35 fry, i left them in the tank for a day before transferring them to a breeder, i didn't see any get eaten, they were probably eaten without my attention though
- i have a spare 30 gallon if any of the fish get out of hand, they all seem to get along fine now though
- i would like to maintain a balanced healthy population, that's my priority, any advice, is this considered overstocking?
- also i have another question, if i raise my paradise fish and red tailed shark with the rest of the fish from juveniles, are they less likely to attack the rest of the fish when they get bigger?

any help and opinions are much appreciated, i am new to the forum so forgive me if i sound like a newbie.

i have posted this list on other websites as well so i can have different opinions that will further help me with stocking my tank

 

[TMRC Exotics]

There is a whole lot to go over, the first thing I saw is red tailed shark will not work here. Too many smaller fish to kill.....

 

[fahrenheitfan1]

yeah, i've heard a lot about the red tail shark's bad reputation, he's still a juvenile so he hasn't done any harm, in fact he's rather timid, darts to the nearest hiding spot when i come to the tank. i'll probably switch him out when he's older if he get aggressive. i got him because the store clerk told me they will only attack other sharks or fish that look like sharks. the shark and the paradise fish are the ones i am most wary about

 

[Bichir Bro]

There is a whole lot to go over, the first thing I saw is red tailed shark will not work here. Too many smaller fish to kill.....

Agreed. That stock is pretty darn heavy and extremely active. Too much so IMO for any sort of apisto or ram.
My old paradise was an old grump. Not really aggressive but wasn't peaceful. Just a really mean old woman who didn't appreciate things who got too inquisitive.
Not too sure how well the halfbeaks and hatchets would work together either. Both are pretty exclusive top dwellers and it's unwise to have both in the same tank like that.
In a tank as active and moving as that one a dwarf frog would have a very tough time getting food. Their sight is awful and most people that wish to keep them long term target feed them.

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[fahrenheitfan1]

Agreed. That stock is pretty darn heavy and extremely active. Too much so IMO for any sort of apisto or ram.
My old paradise was an old grump. Not really aggressive but wasn't peaceful. Just a really mean old woman who didn't appreciate things who got too inquisitive.
Not too sure how well the halfbeaks and hatchets would work together either. Both are pretty exclusive top dwellers and it's unwise to have both in the same tank like that.
In a tank as active and moving as that one a dwarf frog would have a very tough time getting food. Their sight is awful and most people that wish to keep them long term target feed them.

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

hey, thanks for the advice, i have decided against dwarf frogs and shrimp, should have removed those from the list, but it's nice to know your paradise fish worked in a community tank. the halfbeaks were the fish i was most confused about, i can't find much info on them online. some people said they are live-bearers and can co-exist with other live-bearers, others say they are quite aggressive and will fight, i too am not sure how well they can live with hatchet, i will probably end up putting one over the other, haven't decided yet though. as for the ram and apisto, i was sure they were compatible with my current stock (which are danios, guppies, neon tetras, female bettas, paradise fish and red tailed shark) i guess not, i'm glad i didn't get one yet, i was about to get a golden ram but decided to do a bit more research.