New tank what kind of fish get along best?

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Kat1103

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Missouri, United States
My husband and I just got a 55 gal. No fish yet. We are going to try fish less cycling first. But I'm trying to decide on what fish to get. What gets along with red tailed sharks? How about angelfish? Or we are possibly considering electric yellow cichlids. These are just some fish we like. We are not going to put these all together ( I know better). I'm just trying to see which ones get along best and with what other fish and wanted to get some thoughts and suggestions. thanks
 
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Kat1103 said:
My husband and I just got a 55 gal. No fish yet. We are going to try fish less cycling first. But I'm trying to decide on what fish to get. What gets along with red tailed sharks? How about angelfish? Or we are possibly considering electric yellow cichlids. These are just some fish we like. We are not going to put these all together ( I know better). I'm just trying to see which ones get along best and with what other fish and wanted to get some thoughts and suggestions. thanks

It all depends on your personal preference. Find a fish you really like and go by that to make a list.

An example of what I'm building up to in my first tank right now:

6 zebra danios
6 male guppies
4-6 panda cories
1 bristlenose pleco

I just got the six danios yesterday, one died, and I replaced it because it was just stress related. I hope this helps give you ideas.

Courtesy of Dakota's iPod.
 
My husband and I just got a 55 gal. No fish yet. We are going to try fish less cycling first. But I'm trying to decide on what fish to get. What gets along with red tailed sharks? How about angelfish? Or we are possibly considering electric yellow cichlids. These are just some fish we like. We are not going to put these all together ( I know better). I'm just trying to see which ones get along best and with what other fish and wanted to get some thoughts and suggestions. thanks
Years ago, I had my Red tail with a couple Bolivian Rams and some Barbs and Tetra's. And He never bothered any of them.
But, from what I've read about them is always avoid other sharks and any fish with a similar body type. Some Cichlids would be OK, but you'll need to research which ones are best. Also the Angelfish should be alright too.
My RTS was really mellow but that's not always the case. So be prepared to separate him from the rest if he starts to harass or kill his tank mates. But, he will most likely never bother anyone else.
Now I have an all African Cichlid Tank in my 55g. Along with the others I have 3 Electric Yellow labs. They are the mellowest of the group, the Red Zebras was the most aggressive. He killed almost half his tank mates before I realized it was him doing the damage. He went back to the FS and I got some Cobalt Blues and the Elect. Yellows. I think either one should work for you, they are mellow enough not to pick a fight but tough enough to defend themselves and they have the teeth to stop any shark.
 
Could u put ,the shark with cichlids or angelfish?
Well technically Angelfish are in the Cichlid family. So either one should work. But when you say Cichlids, I guessing you mean the Africa Cichlid.
Or do you mean the South and Central American. There are actually a few different types of Cichlids.
But, as I said the Angels should be OK. And the less Aggressive of the African Cichlids should be OK. The same with the less aggressive South and Central American Cichlids.
But remember, with a Shark of any kind there will be a possibility that it won't get along with anyone. Won't know for sure until you try it.
Good luck!!!
 
How's your ph and hardness? I think that would narrow it down a bit.
 
My husband and I just got a 55 gal. No fish yet. We are going to try fish less cycling first. suggestions. thanks

I wanted to mention something about doing a fishless cycle. I just finished my first fishless cycle. I've always done my cycles with fish before.
When I started it I was adding a little food every day to keep the Ammonia up to feed the Nitrates to trigger the Nitrates. The cycle, right, any way, doing that always left the tank dirty. Old fuzzy food to clean up, it was a PITA. But if I didn't feed the cycle, it would stall and I'd have to start over again, bigger PITA.
I found a small nylon fine mesh bag, it's about 5"tall & 3" wide. I filled it about half way with fish food, tied it shut and hung it inside the water and in about a week to 10 days, I had, 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, and 40ppm Nitrates. All I had to do to clean it, up was untie the bag do a PWC and add fish. Well, one Pleco to start.
Using the nylon bag saved a lot of vacuuming of gravel and trying to keep the tank clean while trying to keep the bacteria growing. Before, the fish did all that processing for me, kept things cycling. Using the bag kept the bacteria fed and the tank clean. Give it a try, see if it works as well for you. Less mess is such a good thing.
 
Instead of the messiness of trying to seed your tank with fish food, you could go the route of pure ammonia. You should be able to find some at your local hardware store. Just check the bottle first to be sure it doesn't have any surfactants. The best way is to shake the bottle; if it bubbles, then don't buy it.

I bought mine at Ace Hardware; janitor strength pure ammonia.
 
Instead of the messiness of trying to seed your tank with fish food, you could go the route of pure ammonia. You should be able to find some at your local hardware store. Just check the bottle first to be sure it doesn't have any surfactants. The best way is to shake the bottle; if it bubbles, then don't buy it.

I bought mine at Ace Hardware; janitor strength pure ammonia.
Your right pure ammonia would be a cleaner way to do a fishless cycle. But, you can't get it here where I live. All there is around here is the bubbly kind for cleaning and that wasn't going to work. So the food thing was my only option.
This is a way to quickly do a fishless cycle without using any chemicals and not leaving a big mess to clean.
 
Thanks WendiDell I love the nylon idea. I think I may try that. And I was thinking of getting african cichlids possibly the electric yellow lab and the powder blue. I've heard those are less aggressive. We have slightly hard water where I live so that should work with the cichlids. But I'm not sure what ph angels require. I'll have to do some research.
 
Any time, when I find something that works well and doesn't use chemicals, I like to share.
I have Cobalt Blues, Elect. Yellows, and a Red Top Cobalt, and they all get along great, no territory problems at all. But I also have 4 girls for every boy, that really helps.
I did have a Red Zebra , he was as beautiful as he was deadly. He killed anyone that came near his side of the tank. So AVOID those guys. The girls are OK though.
Your in luck I happen to know what the pH for the Lake Malawi (Mbunas) Cichlids and for Angelfish, which are also a type of Cichlid. The Mbunas, like the Elect. Yellows need a high alkaline pH between 8.0-9.0 and Angels need the opposite they need an acidic pH between 5.0-7.0.
My tap pH is 7.5 so I need to raise it fro the Mbunas .
But, now I'm setting up an Angel tank so for them I'll have to lower it. It helps that My tap is in the middle.
I hope that helps you.
 
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