55gal stocking

[WaterPond]

ok, so after much debate i have come up with a final stocking plan for my 55gal aquarium which my parents are buying me for christmas. Right now on the plan i have:

Scissor-tail rasboras (3) 3x4”=12”
marble hatchetfish (4) 4x1.5”=6”
panda corydoras catfish (3) 3x2”=6”
cockatoo apistos (2) 2x2”=6”
blushing angels (2) 2x6”=12”
clown pecostomas (1) 1x4”=4”
male guppies (4) 4x1.5”=6”

total fish length=52”
total amount of fish=19

Am i correct with my calculations of adult size?

Is my stocking ok? any suggestions are welcome.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I would increase your schooling/shoaling fish. The inch per gallon rule isn't a great one to follow. Its just a guide.

Bring the rasboras and hatchets up to atleast 6...you could have 8 if you wanted. Bring the pandas to atleast 6, they won't be happy in smaller groups. You could even have 8 of them.

Other than that it looks good to me.

 

[zenkatydid]

i agree with everything he^ says! though personally i would cut out the guppies, i don't think they 'go' with the other fish as well, and you may find that the angels try to eat them as they get bigger. since most of your fish are small, they will produce relatively less waste than if you had 50" of, say, clown loaches (though the clown pleco is a big waste producer), so you could get away with increasing the schools. this will of course depend on what kind of filtration you have, though. will you be going with a canister?

 

[JDogg]

cockatoo apistos (2) 2x2”=6”

<JDogg holds up hands and starts counting fingers>

Thinks to him self..."2 + 2 =6... :?

all those years of math class down the drain... "

<crawls off to look for a dark corner to contemplate were else he has gone wrong in life>

LOL

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I agree. Up the number of schooling fish and remove the guppies.

 

[WaterPond]

WaterPond wrote:
cockatoo apistos (2) 2x2”=6”

<JDogg holds up hands and starts counting fingers>

Thinks to him self..."2 + 2 =6...

all those years of math class down the drain... "

<crawls off to look for a dark corner to contemplate were else he has gone wrong in life>

I originally had three planed for the tank(one male two females) 3x2"=6" LOL, should have brobably checked it over.

Ok, so here is the new stocking plan

Scissor-tail rasboras (6) 6x4”=24”
marble hatchetfish (6) 6x1.5”=9”
panda corydoras catfish (8) 8x2”=16”
cockatoo apistos (2) 2x2”=4”
blushing angels (2) 2x6”=12”
clown pecostomas (1) 1x4”=4”

69" of fish, are you sure this will be ok, and i've even heard of the scissortails growing up to 6 inches but four seems to be what everyone else says. Is this okay, i have never overlooked the one inch per gallon rule, but if you say so.

One other question, i saw a royal pleco at my LFS today, can i get one of those instead of the clown?

 

[JustOneMore20]

i have never overlooked the one inch per gallon rule, but if you say so

I have never used the inch per gallon rule and I bet if I multiplied everything in my 55g community out, I'd be extremely overstocked. But my nitrates never go over 15ppm, its heavily planted, and it works.

You will be fine with that many fish. I have alot more than that, but mine is heavily planted, like I said. That is a perfect stocking list for a 55g.

According to Planet Catfish, Royal plecs get about 13 inches, so I'd say thats too big for a 55g. Instead of the Clown, you could get a Bristlenose or Rubbernose plec. Both of those stay around 5 inches.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=151

 

[WaterPond]

i prefer clowns over them, better looking IMO.

BTW, this tank will be low light planted with vals ,java fern/moss, and crypts

 

[zenkatydid]

clowns are much shyer than bristlenoses, so having a prettier fish may not count for much. also they eat wood, whereas bristlenoses eat algae. if you want something for algae control, i'd get the latter.

 

[severum mama]

Clown plecos definitely are shy, but so are most other species of plecos, as they are nocturnal fish. Clowns do not eat wood exclusively. Like many plecos, they should have driftwood added to the tank so they can rasp. Most people think it aids in their digestion, so I go ahead and throw it in there with any pleco species I keep. Bristlenose plecos are better algae eaters than clowns, but all species are really omnivores and need food other than algae. I know you like the royal pleco, but there are other fancy plecos you could keep that won't outgrow your tank. Have you seen the snowball pleco?
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1032
We got one in at the store I work for and it is awesome! Candy stripe, queen arabesque, peppermint, or tiger pleco would work fine too.

I agree with everyone else, bump up the numbers of your schooling fish and skip the guppies. The angels will probably eat them someday anyway. You'll be a little overstocked, but the inch per gallon rule is really just a guideline, and as long as you pay careful attention to your tank you should be fine.

 

[WaterPond]

ok, I dont have alot of money to spend and beleive it or not the clown pleco would be the most expensive fish in that list (20 bucks at my LFS). Maybe i will skip the pleco all together

 

[severum mama]

20 bucks? That's really high for a clown pleco IMO. I paid 10 for mine. If you like the clown pleco, might as well go for it though.

*edit* Duh, I just realized you were in Canada! That's still a little high, but not as bad as I thought.

 

[WaterPond]

lol, yeah, all fish are at least 30% more expensive up here, usually more though, i hate it

Anybody know if fish can come across the US/Canada border?

 

[severum mama]

I thought that someone posted here a couple weeks ago that it was legal, but the cost of overnight shipping your fish is quite prohibitive IMO and you probably wouldn't save any money.

 

[zenkatydid]

clown plecos were only legalised here (australia) less than a year ago, so they cost like $50! and you can't seem to get babies, only big ones. though, i'm not totally opposed to spending a bit of money on a fish, as long as i'm happy with the stability of my tank at the time. i'll be spending about that much to get a peppermint bristlenose, because i can't live without it

 

[severum mama]

I've only seen the peppermint bristlenose in pics, but never in person. They look sweet!

 

[WaterPond]

well, there is a petsmart right across the border from me(i live right on the michigain border) so i will have a look there and see if they have cheap fish, they had scissortail rasboras (a 10 dollar fish here) for only 1.50 at the miejer(howver you spell it) And they fish were very healthy there too. I will look around, but i dont want to ship anything.