Help me stock a 55??

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Hi I've been reading this and I have to agree that the parrot is possibly the worst fish in the world, I just don't get the fascination but maybe that's just me. By the way nice looking tank and the stock list looks great. Just something to consider if your stock list isn't iron clad is the petricola synodontis, I have 2 and as you said you love catfish I thought I'd throw it out there, they are a lovely fish that won't harass any tank mates and will keep any snails etc out of you tank to.
 
UPDATE!
Went over to the lovely petsmart today to get a few decorations, SNAIL FREE plants, a new pH kit and a temperature meters. Then onto Petco to get much higher quality plants and a few "feeder" goldfish. (I actually got some very pretty ones).
Pictures!
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Again, sorry for the red tint to my pictures. Added a little sandy colored rock cave to the "beach" as I'm now calling it and another little cave to the small sand pool. Also added three different varieties of plants. (And have two more to plant, but not sure on the placement yet.) :)

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Here's a close-up of the sand pool and cave. Also, the prettiest of my 15cent goldfish was put into the tank as a tester. Cute little guy with pretty fins. If he lives long enough my mom's going to put him in the outdoor small pond we have. (which is much more appropriate for a goldfish than a tropical tank)

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And here's the Beach, along with some living and fake (attached to the decoration) plants.

OTHER UPDATES
Put two feeder fish in the tub with the wood. I tested the pH levels and everything and it all checked out so if they quickly die I'll be pretty sure it'll be due to the toxicity of the wood, although I'm pretty sure it's cypress.

Also, I actually like the look of blood parrot fish just because they're so derpy. The ones that are deformed are very sad though, and I did know they had a lot of issues due to inbreeding. They actually had a good sized one at petco today that looked perfectly fine (but was 25$ eeek).
I think one of them would add a lot of color and interest to my tank. I've also decided against a BGK because I really don't think I'll have the space for it. I like to give my fish at least the potential to grow to their full size and he wouldn't be able to in my 55. So we'll see what kind of fishies I get. :)
 
So, what I'm saying is, I'd love to hear some mid-level swimming fish with a good bit of color that aren't fin-nippers and would get along with the above list.

petricola synodontis is really pretty ahhh. But I think I've gotten the bottom swimmers figured out. Just looking for some mid-level swimmers. :)
 
Ugh, That totally sucks. It was completely submerged at the pet store and the guy told me it was aquatic. Darn. Do you think it will live if the leaves grow out of the water? Are you sure it's a ribbon plant? I'm hoping it's an aquatic doppelganger, but you're probably right. :(
I'll either remove it or get a pleco and let him eat it. It only cost 5$ so it's not that big of a loss.
 
no it is a non aquatic plant lots of pet stores think lucky bambo will survive under water it just doent rot realy fast.. if you do put it in the tank the part where the leaves come out has to be above the water at least 3" but you can get anmubias that kinda look like that but is an aquatic plant i can tell that one is not but the tank looks good any way
 
Thanks, I'll be digging it up and planting it in the backyard (we have a small pond back there) as soon as it starts to looks a little weak.
My lucky little feeder goldfish is feeling quite overwhelmed in my tank but is seeming to enjoy the set up. He especially likes the sand and the ribbon plant. He'll be moved to the back yard pond as well, once the tank is ready for my pictus to move in. Don't want such a pretty guy getting eaten. ;>
I can't wait to see how my pictus reacts to his new home.
 
your pictus is a very hardy fish and if you dont want the gold fish to die from over whelming space ive seen it happen with small ones like that they just cant seem to find food... you could put your pictus in the tank just do small water changes every week and he'll be fine just dont put any other fish in for a few weeks untill its good an set up that small fish doesnt give off enough amonia to start the cycle but the pictus would..but if you want to have some mid level colourfull fish you could try angel fish you could use them as a starter fish to they are very harty get 2-3 about 3" and they will grow nice and big in the tank.. also discus are 100x more hardy then people think they are the are good fish for mid level colour and would love your 55gal just buy some that you think look cool and they will grow a little bit in your tank just dont get the big 8"+ discus go with like 2-3, 4-5"ers you wont be disapointed
 
My little goldfish seems to have settled down now and looks quite comfortable, I'm planning on adding my pictus once I put the driftwood in, which should be relatively soon. I haven't seen many discus lately in the shops but they are beautiful and I'd love to have one or two in my tank. Also still considering a blood parrot even though they're little derps. If I can find one that's not deformed at the right price I'd definitely buy. Parrots and angelfish are the only cichlids I really trust haha.

I've added some established gravel as well as some filter media and store bought "stress coat" and "stress zhyme" which basically just kicks off a cycle, so it's going along smoothly right now, and a lot quicker than I thought it would be. :>
 
no offence but stresscoat is a joke same with stresszhyme.. I use stability and prime by seachem they work 100x better but its probably to late to return them but good luck on finding a non deformed parot fish if your LFS doesnt even have discus all the time angels look the same just buy the colours you like the dont change as they get bigger ther fins some times get alot longer but it looks good
 
yeah, but it came free with my tank so I thought I might as well use it. Mostly I'm just using the filter media from my other tanks and gravel and such. I'm not a big fan of adding straight ammonia into a tank. I do a combo fishless and fish-in cycling and it's seemed to work for me well so far.
I'm also considering a freshwater bream. My grandpa has a large pond and I could catch a small one and put it in there and let it grow. It all really just depends on what they have at the LFS and the timing of it all. My stocking list is pretty flexible, except for my pictus, the butterfly fish, the sun cats, and a pleco.
 
i thought breem were cold water fish i dint think they did good in warm water but if you do catch it from a pond i would put it in a quarenteen tank for a while just to make shure no deseases transfer over to the other fish... if you want that same look you could go with rainbowfish they look kinda the same but area bit smaller and more colourful but angels and discus are great mid water options and they do suprisingly well together and get big enough the cats wont have an expensive snack
 
I'm hoping for angels and small discus. I hear some species could easily outgrow my tank, and that would be a badddd thing.
My pictus just got a nice, tasty feeder goldfish and is a happy and fat fishy right now. :>
I had a juvenile large mouth bass for about a year and a half and he adapted really well to the slightly higher temps of the tank my pictus is in currently. He came from the same pond as the bream would, but I'm in no rush. I've got all summer to stock up my tank. :>
 
angels and discus grow to the size of the tank the ones that get super big are fed perfectly at the right times so they never have empy stomachs thats the only reason the get the size of plates a 3-4" one would grow perfectly to a 55gal.. also large mouth bass are a real gamble fish cuz the dont care how big it is if they feel hungry they will eat it but like you said nothing but time.. are you still going with a black gost knife later on?
 
Yeah, I definitely wouldn't put a LMB in this tank. The one I had was solo and was perfectly happy, but one would definitely become a little monster if I put one in this tank. I'm still considering BGK later on, but I'm not sure if I have the room for them to grow properly. The last ones I saw at the LFS were around 3-4" and cost about 20$, which is a bit too high of a gamble for me if it died. :( One of my best friends (whose dad breeds all kinds of cichlids) said I could fit a BGK, but for now I think I'm not going to go for one. I'll definitely have to get my tank more layered and established, which will take a ton of time and money. I'm hoping to get a job at a local petsmart soon (JOINING THE DARKSIDE) so I could have more money to spend on decoration/plants/fish. Being a broke college student/freelance artist is slow with the income sometime so a part time job would be nice haha.
 
ya your tank is plenty big enough for a BGK just you need to feed it blood worm and give it a nice hidingplace they dont usualy get bigger then 6" any way..dont feel bad about joining the petsmart family some of the pet smarts i go to the fish actualy look realy good and healthy its the fact they get most of ther fish from some pond in florida that makes them bad. but any petsmart is better then pet value the one i went to never put anything in the tanks just ran a bubble filter and hoped for the best they would put a busted clay pot in the tank if the fish needed "cover" but it was a joke they but a full size clown knife in a 25 galon tank it could hardly move any they said it was healthy so they could sell it quick they kep neons in groups of 200+ ina big 80 galon tank that they would just scoop from at least 10 dead fish at any given time in the store they only had 30 or so tanks it was sad but the pet smart i go to in thunder bay actualy sets up ther tanks with decor and gravel but the fish arive sickly from florida but seem to do well after a week or so its not all bad
 
UPDATE!
Moved Leo into his new home today!
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He was not a happy fishy during the moving process. I tried cups of various sizes, couldn't catch him.. so I tried a net (which I know is bad for pims) Buuut... he tore right through the net. Eventually I caught him in a massive cup and transferred him. But uh, during the process he stabbed me haha. Hurts like... ouch. At least his poison is only strong enough for intense pain and swelling, which isn't that bad. It was only a tiny little poke anyway LOL.

Leo is looking not so happy in this picture because he was stressed by the move (I was too). He now has all his fins up and is moving around a little bit. I'm sure in an hour or so he'll be exploring and patrolling. He doesn't seem to be injured at all by the move, just a little overwhelmed. I also moved a piece of petrified wood from his old tank into the new one to give him something familiar. It's in the background of the picture if you were wondering what that thing was. I'll be getting my sun catfish soon so I'll keep you posted!
 
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ya when i moved my pim i used a plastic jug..... ya when he gets use to the change he will be swiming around like crazy i would sudgest putting some peroxide on wher he stabed you cuz it some what nutralizes the poison and some what kills any infection but it should look swolen for a week tops but the pain will be gone in a day or so...and dont even get me started on fish ripping thru nets i have had to move a pirahna tank 3 times ive been thru 6 nets just doing that buying at least 3 nets at a time because the get one tooth in the net then they just chomp away cut a hole big enough the can get thru and the net is useless
 
Haha! Moving dangerous fish is always fun. Usually I'm just bitten, but I've never been stabbed before. I put some peroxide and a bandaid on it, so it should be fine. I'm more concerned about him adapting to his new tank than a tiny little stabby wound. :>
He'll also be happy that I put a little feeder fish in there.
 
ya cat fish are very harty he will be stressed for the first few days but then it will be all good as long as he doesnt start getting realy pale you are fine he might loose a bit of colour but not alot and should be happy and find his "chill spot" and he will be ther most of the time
 
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