Stocking Ideas- 55 - Read A Sticky - Posting My Question

[noteworthy]

I do currently have fish in my 55 gallon but need some ideas on stocking it. I have currently 2 silver dollars, 1 pleco, 6 neons, 2 headlight taillight tetras, 1 danio, 3 mollies, 1 platy.

I'm really not sure what I'm looking for in fish. Something beautiful but somewhat active. Not totally insane like the danios but not as quiet and still as the headlight taillight tetras. The platies/mollies are closer to what I want but still a bit too peaceful.

I set my tank up last week and seeded it with the filter media and gravel from my old cycled tank that has been up for about two years. Need to keep an eye on the levels with my test kit but everything should be fine.

Test Results -
PH - 7.6
Nitrite - 0ppm
Ammonia - 0ppm

I have no test for KH and Nitrates but I image the nitrates are very low considering I just seeded this tank with older media and a few rocks.

I do have very hard city water so the hardness should be pretty high.

Tank is 55 gallons. I have a 300 GPH filter on it but I have another 300 GPH I can hook up to it if needed. I have rocks that I have heated up and scrubbed clean for decoration. The filter does have a biowheel on it. Regent with Penguin wheels put on it.

I do want a community tank.


I would like a bit of small and large. More large fish I think because I have mostly small fish now.



Thank you.



Found this cool link and number 7 looks neat but dunno with my current 'peaceful' fish such as the mollies..

http://www.elmersaquarium.com/c106communityinfo.htm

 

[greenmaji]

Try to get NO3 and KH kits.. there really isnt anyway to guess if these peramiters are doing ok without testing..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I would increase your headlight Tetra's and danios. They do best in groups of 5+. Are there any fish imparticular that interest you?

 

[Blazeherd2306]

Like FF said, more danios and tetras and if you could, you might want to add one or two silver dollars. Some dwarf cichlids are colorful, though they don't get big. The problem is, most of the big fish are predatory and would eat your neon tetras and danios. A redtail shark or red-fin shark would be your best bet, but only keep one or else they will attack each other.

 

[noteworthy]

I really don't think I want to continue to keep the danios. I only have one left. I'm wondering if the fish store would take back neons if I went with something bigger. What would be my options there?

Here's a pic of the tank currently:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/photopost/data/543/medium/fulltank.jpg

I know my options are kinda limited by having both large and small fish. I would like to see larger fish in general. I like the way loaches look but I already have a pleco. My understanding is that the loach is a night time bottom feeder somewhat like the pleco. I do like the look of cichlids and bala sharks.

 

[greenmaji]

You dont like the look of cichlids? are you sure? there are alot of different cichlids.. exaples.. german blue rams, electric yellow labs., angel fish, discus.. the list goes on for miles to illistrate that Ill put a ridiculas one out there... large mouth bass... ROFL!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I do like the look of cichlids and bala sharks.

Read closer GM.

 

[greenmaji]

My bad! 8O

 

[Fishyfanatic]

What fish really stand out to you?

 

[noteworthy]

I like the look of the following:

Bala Shark
Tiger Barbs
Clown Loaches
Gold Gourami

Possibly Interested in Adding
Black Mollies
White Mollies

Looks like I need to keep the neons. The wife wants me to anyway. hrmmm

I wonder if I qualify for MTS - 55, 29, 10, 10

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The bala shark needs a tank larger than 55, preferable a 75. They will become about 10 inches in size. The tiger barb is a good option. They are semi-aggressive, so if you are keeping these, be sure to house other fish accordingly. The Gourami is another good choice. The loach will be quite large in size when it is grown out, so watch for that.

The mollies are peaceful fish and if you are going to keep semi-aggressive fish, I Wouldn't put them in the tank.

 

[azn_fishy55]

I don't reccomend the mollies either. Mollies are brackish water fish and don't do so well in FW.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I don't think that they don't do well in freshwater environments. I've had mollies in a 29 gal tank that were breeding like crazy. Then we moved them to someone elses tank and they have been doing fine ever since. I now have 1 in a 10 gal that I can't bare to part with but know that I have to, and not since its a freshwater tank, but because the tank is too small for him. I agree they are brackish fish, but I think they are also fine in freshwater environments.

 

[noteworthy]

Well I think I'm going to get rid of everything except my pleco and go for a cichlid tank. My wife said she will take my silver dollars, mollies, and neons off my hands.


I've heard you should buy cichlids in large quantities and add them at once. If I want to breed to buy 4 of each species.


Any ideas on a cichlid tank. I have tons of rocks. Look at my gallery's latest picture of my 55 gallon. I also have plastic plants. I want something that will have the color of a saltwater without as much expense and setup time.

Could I do a bala shark with cichlids?

 

[greenmaji]

If your looking to do colorfull cichlids your going to want african cichlids and the water conditions would not be good for the bala shark in an african tank.. Im not so sure that a 55 gallon would be a good size for a bala anyway..
here is the cookie cutter link from the cichlid forum for a 55 gallon tank if your intrested in doing a cichlid tank...
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_55g.php

 

[noteworthy]

Thanks for the link. I was just curious about the bala shark. African Cichlids is what I'm looking at currently. I'll check out petco later this week hopefully. They might have the fish I'm looking for, It is a 1 1/2 hr drive from home tho.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Do you have any Africans in particular that interest you? I like to suggest Mbuna's. They are smaller than some of the other Africans and IMO are more colorful.

It is true that to reduce aggression to add as many as possible at one time. But you also have to balance that with the increased ammonia levels that will appear. Cichlids are messy and will require extra filtration or increased water changes so be prepared. If you can only add a few at a time, it is also a good idea to rearrange the decor everytime you are introducing new fish.

When you go to Petco, avoid tanks that say Asst. Africans.

 

[greenmaji]

I would personaly do alot of reaserch and find the sientific names of the fish I wanted.. the cookie cutter link will help you get started with this.. and you can order the fish from most LFS's.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

and you can order the fish from most LFS's.

That is not always true. I've tried ordering from different stores, but they have to have the supply to meet the demand.

You're best bet is to go to different stores and see what they have available and see if they ever get in the fish that you want.

 

[greenmaji]

I would just ask if they could order it if they dont have it in stock.. and if they cant order it check with the next store (they likely have a different supplier for fish if they are not owned by the same people/company).
If you just check what they have you will likely not have a clue as to what they can order.. my local store has access to at least 5 diffent peacock cichlids and almost never have 1 in there african tank for example..