Reconstructing/recreating 55g fw tank

[nfeagle5]

Im new here but from what i have read so far there are some pretty hardcore fish people..hardcore in a good way....My cousin and i share a dorm room at our college..in it we have a 55g FW tank....We bought this tank as a partnership mostly because i wanted 1 at school and i already have a 55g at home and because he can use it as part of his biology major

ne ways...We want to make it obviously attractive, but at the same time have alot of diverse species,livebearing fish and show how fish live in interdependent communities..I wanted to know if anyone could give me some ideas for the fish,plants that would show the qualities of an ecosystem.

TIA

-Adam

 

[nfeagle5]

Dont worry about money...basically give me the "dream 55g ecosystem"
Thanks

-Adam

 

[Endgame319]

I would do a planted tank with 2-3 angels and some schools of lager tetras.

 

[nfeagle5]

will that sho an eco system tho? I mean the whole deal.........algea eater cleans tank...catfish cleans up floor.....all that stuff you can make into a 20pg essay

 

[mitche8359]

I'd do a native tank, where all the plants and fish come from the same region of the world. I only know South American habitat fairly well as that's how I have my tank set up. Some of the fish include otos (algae eaters), cories (catfish), hatchet fish (exclusively at top of tank), tetras, rams, angels.

 

[hashbaz]

That sounds like kind of a fun project. Forgive me for butting in, but your cousin might also write about "cycling" the tank (the nitrogen cycle) and stuff like that. He could measure conditions after they have stabilized and then add a whole ton of plants to see what difference it makes.

Look through the photogallery here. Planted tanks can be extremely attractive. I would suggest upgrading the lighting to 3 watt/gal. You will then need to add CO2. For gravel I would suggest "eco complete". It is very good for plants, plus it's black. This helps a lot to bring out the colors of both fish and plants.

 

[nfeagle5]

thanks that sounds sweet

 

[tamtam]

wow thats a dream............*MAWH* 55gal no money limit. WOWZERS!!!

What about some mollies, cories, maybe some snails, some tiger barbs, some Zebra Danios, and u wanted plants so how about in the foreground some Micro Sword it will spred tho with high enough lighting and start to take over the tanks bottom it looks kinda like grass... But it could be fun or some Anubias nana. for midground plants if u want a challenge Madagascar Lace Bulb is nice or Rotala Indica fer color or u could go for the good old java ferns trusty and pretty. and background some Cabomba, Balansae Plant, and/or Ruffle Plant. Wow im getting to carried away...
well a if u wanna know more id suggest going to www.liveaquaria.com all the plants ive mentioned are there. and they have a discription of em.