55 gallon stocking ideas. Purchased 3 fish today.

[lrussell]

New to aquariums here and very excited! 55 gallon, freshwater, (2) Tetra Whisper EX45 filters, fluorescent lighting, Fluval M200 heater set to 76, Top Fin air pump AIR-3000, 1 bubbler and 1 air stone various artificial plants. 1 Angelfish, 1 Red-tailed shark, 1 Spotted African Leaf Fish.

Now I need to know what I can add to these. I really like cichlids but I've read that the 3 fish I've chosen are semi-aggressive and aren't compatible with cichlids. I plan to get 2 more angelfish but beyond that I don't know what I can add. I know I can't add any other sharks since I have the 1 already.

I want to have a nice range of top, middle, and bottom swimmers and some schooling fish.

 

[josh7]

Did you cycle your tank first at all? Those fish are going to have problems in the long run at least the leaf fish and angel will. The Angelfish is a Cichlid btw just a quick fact.

 

[lrussell]

We set it up on a Wednesday and added tap water dechlorinator per the directions. The filters and bubblers were running since then. Added the fish the following Tuesday. I had the water tested at petsmart when buying the fish and they said the only concern was the ph was at 6.4 but told me it could even itself out since it's a new setup. Is there more to cycling? Should I try to fix the ph with chemicals instead of waiting for it to balance itself?

 

[cgthebeast]

Yes, you didn't cycle. Cycle is where organic bacteria is broken down my helpful bacteria in the filter. There is none BBA build up at all and you ll soon start to notice cloudy water from a bacteria bloom. This is bad and can possibly kill you fish, band even if it dosen't ,they still might suffer long term problems, like ammonia burns on there gills

 

[josh7]

Yes there is a lot more you need to research fish less cycling google it and read up on it I don't have time to type the process right now. Not only cloudy water but dead fish as well.

 

[cgthebeast]

If you can, take the fish back ASAP. Better to save them now while you can. See petsmart is there to make sales not friends and mislead you. Go ask if you can keep an Oscar in a 10g, then you'll see they probably dint know anything at all about fish keeping

 

[lrussell]

Thank you all for your advice. I'm not able to take the fish back. I've research cycling more but read there are different ways of doing it and since I already have fish I can't do a fishless cycle. We had API Stress Zyme so I added that to the aquarium. I tested the water again last night. pH=6.4-6.6, Ammonia=0, Nitrite=0, and Nitrate=0.
Since there isn't any ammonia shouldn't I be good doing water changes and adding the Stress Zyme?
I don't want to harm the fish but since I can't get back to the store anytime soon I need to work with what I have!

 

[cgthebeast]

Wait for it to go up a little then di a water change. It's good that you did more re research, that's the first step to be a good fish keeper. Also it' for sure it's not cycled by everything testing 0

 

[lrussell]

Wait for it to go up a little then di a water change. It's good that you did more re research, that's the first step to be a good fish keeper. Also it' for sure it's not cycled by everything testing 0

You're saying wait for the ammonia to go up before a water change, right? Then how much of a water change?

 

[cgthebeast]

Till .5-1 I believe though you might want to double check that, it's been a while sense I have cycled a tank

 

[josh7]

As soon as it hits .5 ppm just do a 50 percent water change.

 

[jwh0818]

We set it up on a Wednesday and added tap water dechlorinator per the directions. The filters and bubblers were running since then. Added the fish the following Tuesday. I had the water tested at petsmart when buying the fish and they said the only concern was the ph was at 6.4 but told me it could even itself out since it's a new setup. Is there more to cycling? Should I try to fix the ph with chemicals instead of waiting for it to balance itself?

Fyi, petsmart is required to tell you all is well especially in a new tank. That's how they get you to come back and come back and keep coming back until you find AA and find out jwh0818 worked for petsmart for over a year in petcare department. Do not believe petsmart at all. They are there to make money

 

[Coursair]

Are you testing with strips or liquid ? The test strips are not very accurate.

Don't add any more fish until your tank is cycled and stable. Add plants to liven up the tank.

 

[Mebbid]

As soon as it hits .5 ppm just do a 50 percent water change.

+1 this is pretty much all you need to know to keep a cycling tank safe
I would test the water every other day or so.

 

[lrussell]

I'm testing with liquid. I got the strips first but they didn't test ammonia so I took them back. I'll definitely wait until it's fully cycled and stable before adding more. At that point I need your input of what I can add with my current fish. Since petsmart won't be honest about setting up a tank they obviously won't be honest when advising me on fish. The lady working there told me when I come back I need to only look for the semi- aggressive labels. That being said, the angelfish is labeled semi-aggressive but not labeled as a cichlid. I know it takes more research and I fully intend to but was interested in the forums opinion.