Denison barbs or boesemani rainbows suitable for a 55?

[buzzkiller]

Hey guys I'm looking for stocking suggestions for my 55. Currently I have 1 pearl gourami 10 hengels rasbora and 10 cardinal tetras. My filtration is really good and I do a 40% water change every week. My water tests pristine and nitrate stays around 3. I'm looking for some bigger fish and have both boesemani rainbow fish and denison barbs available to me for a good price. However there is a lot of controversy whether or not these fish are suitable in a 55 gallon tank. I would love for some of you guys to just give your thoughts about keeping these fish in a 55 gallon tank. Just so were clear I don't want schools of both fish just around 5 of one species. O and my tank is a normal 55 and is 48 inches long. Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[NigelK8485]

I don't have experience with Denison barbs but I don't feel like an appropriate shoal of Boesemani would work. Mine are in a 150 and even at 2.5" long I feel like they're cramped. They're constantly swimming and on the go, I couldn't imagine them in less than 6'.


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

 

[gimmethatfish]

I have a group of 9 denison's barbs in my 120 gallon tank. They're only half grown, and they already seem to fill up the whole tank. I don't think I would recommend them for a 55 gallon tank.

 

[buzzkiller]

Well I'm still open about opinions on the denisons and boesemani but if not them can anyone suggest any other fish in the 3 to 4 inch range that would work in a 55?

 

[Mebbid]

Boesemanis are just fine in a 55g. I kept a school of 10 praecox in my old 55g and it was amazing looking. Wish I could have afforded the boesemanis at the time.

 

[jbib1089]

I have Denison barbs in my 55 gallon for about 3 years now. They are doing just fine. All of mine have stayed around 4-5 inches. I have seen bigger ones at my LFS but mine havent gotten bigger than what they are now.

 

[buzzkiller]

2 votes for no 2 votes for yes... This is why I said there is controversy.

 

[Eggheadfish]

I had boesemanis in a 55. They were healthy and active, but, I traded them to someone with a larger tank because I just felt they could use more swimming room. There's not necessarily a right or wrong answer but we all hope to help our fish thrive.
If you do decide to get boesemanis, please make sure they have hiding spaces because they do a lot of chasing.

 

[buzzkiller]

Don't worry I probably wont be going with either boesemani or denisons. Even if they can live in a 55 I don't think they would thrive. Instead I'm probably going to do 7 checkered barbs and 7 diamond tetras to cap out my stock.