Help with starting a semi-planted community please?

[Orokahs]

I've always wanted to make a big community of fish, and now I have the opportunity to do so. I have a 55 gallon tank and I'd like to use it for a planted tank. Just a bit of vegetation with plastic is what I had been thinking, but if that's not good I'll do something better. My fish choices so far are:
5-6 Zebra Danios
5-6 Neon Tetras
4-6 Swordtails
A few ghost shrimp, not sure how many.

I don't know what else to put in there with them, nor what plants/flooring I should use. Feeding is also an issue I'm having trouble deciding on.

If I could have some help and tips, I would be REALLY grateful... I'd like to start the tank next weekish.

 

[Rivercats]

Lighting will determine what plants you can use. What type of lighting and bulbs do you have?

You should also look for some driftwood as many of the very simple low light plants such as Anubia's, Java Ferns, and Bolbitus are normally attached to DW. Pet Smart sells all these plants in tubes. Substrate would be best using sand or a very small grained gravel. You can always use any commercial plant substrate for aquariums but it is often more expensive. Black is a good color in planted tanks for a substrate as it makes plants and fish color pop. The other plant you could do in a very low light tank would be Crypts. There are many kinds of them and Pet Smart also sells them in tubes. You do have to buy and use root tabs in the substrate with Crypts.

 

[rmiller]

Welcome to the board!

Have you read thru this article? It's a good place to start.
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

Do you know about cycling? You can do either fishless or fish-in, but with a fishless cycle there is no harm to any fish. Totally up to you, we can help either way.

55 gallons is a great size to start with. You'll have lots of fun with it.

 

[Fishperson]

Well you need to know about cycling, so check out the first 3 links on the first post here:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ou-get-started-with-your-aquarium-154837.html

Also, I think you could have all of those fish, and more. Good beginner fish are:

Tetras
rasboras
barbs (tiger barbs aren't quite so good though)
guppies
platys
mollys
Plus others

Welcome to AA!

 

[Rivercats]

Something to remember is Swords have a high bio-load and males in a large tank can grow to 5+ inches. You have to consider the total bio-load of the adult fish when stocking.

OP your stocking would work but the only other thing I would consider for the tank to start with would be a nice group of cory cats or loaches for the lower level of the tank.

Better to under stock in the beginning and add later on.

 

[Orokahs]

Will all those fish be compatible? And how many should I add? Also, I have an ancient light+filter, not even sure what. I'm planning on getting new ones, the light at least. The filter is one with the spongey thing constantly being flowed over. It has a tube sticking into the water with small 1mmx1mm square holes sucking the water up. If flows back in like a waterfall. Nothing but water in the tank so far.

Also I heard loaches eat smaller fish and my shrimp too?

EDIT: Also I'd maybe like to have a small ecosystem if possible. Could I get a few guppies or something and a fish or two to eat them when they get to be too many?

 

[Rivercats]

Loaches don't eat fish but love snails. Depending on the loach species will determine if they bother shrimp. I had ghost shrimp in with yo-yo loaches before and they never bothered the shrimp. If you get 2 male swords and 4 females you'll get fry which the other fish and the parents will eat. Even a neon will eat a fry if it's small enough and can catch it. Guppies instead of Swords would be the same where fry are concerned. But you won't get enough fry for them to be the main food source. In a 55g a pair of Pearl Gourami's would be nice.

 

[Fishperson]

Angels could easily patrol a guppy population, IMO, but they might kill all of them (lol).

 

[Orokahs]

My pet stores don't sell pearl gouramis... any other slightly larger fish I could use?
Could I do:
5+ Zebra Danios
5+ Neon Tetras
4+ Fancy Guppies
5+ Swordtails
3 Gold Barbs
2 Cherry Barbs
2-3 Veiled Angelfish
1 Clown Loach
3-6 Ghost shrimp to start with

Plants: (All are high/high-moderate lighting needs)
2+ Egeria densa
2+ Alternanthera reineckii
1+ Cryptocoryne balansae
1+ Brazilian Pennywort

Decor:
1-3 Petco Star Coral Replica Aquarium Ornament at PETCO
1-2 RockGarden Sculptured Lava Rock at PETCO
1 Penn Plax Hideaway Pipes Aquarium Ornament at PETCO
2+ Petco Flowerball Aquarium Decor at PETCO
Sand(Petco Black Aquarium Sand at PETCO) as the ground, I'm trying to keep it natural.

What light/filter do I need? What else do I want/need?

 

[Orokahs]

Sorry, double post

 

[rmiller]

Couple of points, one the clown loaches will grow too large for your tank. Also, I would choose either the gold or cherry barb and do several of one.

 

[Orokahs]

So...

5+ Zebra Danios
5+ Neon Tetras
4+ Fancy Guppies
5+ Swordtails
5 Gold Barbs
2-3 Veiled Angelfish
3-6 Ghost shrimp to start with

Is that a good community?

 

[agrasyuk]

for plants i highly recommend Anubias , love that stuff and it can live under any light.
as for count this is about twice more fish then i personally will be comfortable with.

 

[Rivercats]

IMO that is way too much in a 55g. I have 2- 55g tanks so I know exactly how big they are.

Pick two of the below schools but personally I'd leave danio's out as they are very active and can annoy angels:

5+ Zebra Danios
5+ Neon Tetras
5 Gold Barbs

Do only 2 Angels

2-3 Veiled Angelfish

Pick 1 species of these but I personally don't like swords with angels:

4+ Fancy Guppies
5+ Swordtails

And lost the "+" on all of them. The two schools can do 6 each but neons could do 10. Swords are too large to do more than 5 but as I said I wouldn't do swords with angels.

 

[Orokahs]

Okay could I do...
5 Zebra Danios
6 Neon Tetras
4 Gold Barbs
4 Fancy Guppies
3 Swordtails
A few shrimp

 

[Rivercats]

That would probably work.

 

[Orokahs]

Would the pants I chose work with them?

 

[Rivercats]

Alternanthera reineckii needs medium light and the Elodea Densa could be eaten or nibbled on by the swords and barbs.

You have to choose your lighting before choosing plants. Stem plants like AR and Elodea are planted by stems in which 2 stems aren't enough for a grouping.

 

[Orokahs]

I don't know about lighting, what would be best for the community as a whole? I was just choosing plants based on what seemed to be good. The one plant I really like is the pennywort. Can I build off that one's needs?

 

[Rivercats]

Sure you can pick a favorite plant, see what lighting is needs, then pick suitable plants to use with it. Your in luck as Brazilian pennywort can do any light. So if you want to keep the tank easy get some DW to tie Anubia's, Java Fern's, and Bolbitus on. Then you can get Crypts and Pennywort to plant. All you'd need then would be root tabs for the crypts and Seachem Flourish Comprehensive to use 1 or 2x weekly. It would be a very simple low light tank.