opinions please- 55 gallon peaceful centerpiece fish

[GinaGV]

hello all,

I have a 55 gallon fw tank. In it at the moment are mostly bottom dwellers.. huge school of cory cats, one albino bn pleco and a few otocinclus. I also have 6 female cherry barbs who are peaceful.

I bought 4 angelfish when they were very small, with the idea that they would grow up, 2 would pair off and I would return the other 2 to the store and keep the paired off 2. My thought was once they paired off they would be calm and peaceful, except when they would have eggs, which would get eaten by the other fish in the night.

Right now, though they have not paired off and are continually chasing and aggressive with each other.

I would gladly take them all back and replace them with something else as a centerpiece fish..

Can anyone think of something that is calm and peaceful? I have hard water here, so like a large school of cardinal or neon tetras is out.

thanks.

Gina

 

[smarsh7903]

Replacing them might be a good idea. I like angels and have kept them in a 55 (six to be exact), but it was not very pleasant. If you want some peaceful fish you might try discus if you are comfortable with them. They require more care but are generally more peaceful. Or perhaps a small shoal of rainbows, or some gouramis? I really, really, really, love rams too. German or Bolivian. Also check out the apistogrammas. These are dwarf cichlids and they aren't very big, but they are colorful, pretty peaceful, and full of character. I'm sorry, but the only fish I can really think of that likes flying solo are gouramis and redtail sharks (i like those too). Hope I helped!

Apistogramms (really pretty one)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2237/2371987623_7582ffef63_o.jpg

German Ram
German Blue Ram - Mikrogeophagus ramirezi

Rainbows
http://www.tropicalfishandaquariums.com/Rainbowfish/Bosemani3.jpg

Discus
http://www.bestfish.com/fish/discus21.jpg

 

[GinaGV]

thank you for taking the time to reply.

I think the Discus need a higher temp than my cories will do well in.. ie, discus >80f and the cories are happiest around 77f.

As far as the Rams and dwarf Cichlids, I know you cant really have 2 males together, and I would like to avoid any sort of breeding display... When I had a few male cherry barbs in with my females they totally drove everyone in the tank nuts with their relentless desire to spawn.. nobody got any peace.. my girls are so much happier...

I read somewhere that a single male pearl gourami might be ok, but then I read in other places that say they also need to have a couple of females present to chase and pester..

So I guess Im looking for a fish that doesn't exist LOL.. one that can be happy alone, and be comfortable in the top 1/2 of the tank, since Im so loaded with bottom dwellers.. At least the angels do chase each other around up there...

sigh..

Gina

 

[Homedog98]

Hmm... If it were my 55 gallon peaceful, I would go with a rainbow shark, and maybe a pair of Bolivian rams. I also like apistos, and keyhole cichlids.