Planning my 55 Gallon. Suggestions/advice appreciated!

[Gelmi]

Hello all.

I'm currently planning out a 55 gallon aquarium, and was hoping I could get some opinions from seasoned aquarists on the fish and number of fish that I plan on putting in there. I feel like it might be edging on crowded, but I'm not sure. (the tank will be well and over-filtered with an external canister that can cycle a max of 75 gallons, so waste and ammonia build-up shouldn’t be an issue. It's physical swimming space I'm concerned about).

Here are the fish and their maximum sizes, and links to the pages I used while researching them.

FISH
- 1 Firemouth Cichlid (6 inches)
- 12 Tiger Barbs (3 inches)
- 3 Silver Dollars (6 inches)
- 6 Panda Corydora Catfish (2 and a half inches)
- 1 Synodontis Zebra (Hybrid) (9 inches)

Reference Pages
Firemouth: Firemouth Cichlid
Tiger Barb: Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Tiger Barb
Silver Dollar: Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Silver Dollar
Corydoras: Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Panda Cory Cat Corydora Catfish
Synodontis: Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Synodontis Zebra Hybrid

I feel like their temperaments match well - all are peaceful except for the semi-aggressive cichlid and tiger barbs. The peaceful fish are all larger or equal to the size of the cichlid and barbs, except for the panda corydoras which could potentially be picked on by the cichlid. However, I plan on providing them with plenty of hiding places so that they should be able to get away and feel well protected. The size of the tiger barb school - and their semi-aggressive nature - should protect them from the cichlid I imagine.

Besides that, the main thing worrying me is the size of the Silver Dollars and the Synodontis. I feel like either one or the other might have to go to balance out the fish and space in the tank nicely, but if anyone thinks this could work please let me know. I'd appreciate it.

 

[Gelmi]

Here's the plants I plan on adding also:
3 Anacharis: Aquatic Plants for Freshwater Aquariums: Anacharis
2 Myrio - Green: Aquatic Plants for Freshwater Aquariums: Myrio - Green
5 Dwarf Sagittaria: Aquatic Plants for Freshwater Aquariums: Dwarf Sagittaria
1 Java Fern: Aquatic Plants for Freshwater Aquariums: Java Fern Aquatic Plant
2 Moss Balls: Aquatic Plants for Freshwater Aquariums: Moss Ball

 

[jasonfishaddict]

What you have here is a great plan for a semi-aggressive community. The only problem I see is Silver Dollars. They prefer to be in a larger group and a 75g is more suited to at least 6. Not sure about the Synodontis but what about Pictus Catfish. Have you considered a Rainbow or red- tailed shark? I think a shark and 1 or 2 Pictus cats would be very good additions.


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[Gelmi]

Ahh, just looked up the Pictus Catfish. It looks like a very cool fish, I might switch the Snynodontis for it. I admit I'm reluctant though because the Synodontis is also a very beautiful fish. Also, on the same site that I researched the fish in my list (liveaquaria) it says a minimum of 70 gallons is recommened for the Pictus, despite it only being 5", while the Synodontis requires 50gal.

I think what i'll do is start off with the school of Tiger Barbs as my 'starter' fish, and then add the corydora panda's after that. Then i'll go for the Cichlid, and after seeing for myself how much room is left in the tank, i'll decide what else to add. Thanks for the reply!

 

[grode15]

If i were you i would not put the cories with those fish because they will probably get picked on. Mabye instead of cories you could add some more tiger barbs. Also i like jasonfishaddicts idea of adding a red tailed shark there pretty cool fish and can hold there own against all the fish you listed.

 

[Gelmi]

The problem is, I need (or at least, would greatly prefer) to have some kind of small bottom-feeder included, both to help keep the tank as clean as possible and to add more variety and interest to the tank. (that way there's large variety in fish size as well as specie and also the area of the tank they occupy).

From my understanding, bottom-feeders/catfish are generally ignored by free-swimming fish more than other free-swimming fish would be, because they occupy a different part of the tank (only bottom and sides). So I was thinking, as long as I provide them with plenty of hiding places and keep the other fish well-fed, perhaps they'll be just fine? The specie chart on liveaquaria only cautions about pairing them with the Cichlid, but it doesn't say it's impossible.

I won't dismiss the idea of that redtail shark though. It's true it's a cool fish and might fit really well with the tank, especially with the colour scheme I plan on having.