New 55 Gallon

[Aquastrategist]

Hi, i am switching from my 25 gallon to a 55 gallon long. I will be making an amazon tank (not a biotope just fish from amazon). So far I have 5 Cory cats for the bottom, 1 angelfish and 8 neons. The yank will have water in it around Christmas, so I have plenty of time. My substrate is high desert play sand, my questions are if I could grow plants in this sand, or what sand I would need. Also what other fish should I add on? I don't really meant more angelfish and I don't want the one I have but I am stuck with it. Thanks for any help!

 

[librarygirl]

Sand should be fine; I have sand and grow plants. Some plants are root-feeders and would benefit from root tabs in the sand (swords, cryps, etc). Some plants like java fern and anubias prefer to be anchored to rocks or driftwood (they can be put in the sand as long as you don't bury the rhizome). What light are you planning to have? That'll dictate largely what plants you can grow. Most low-light plants might do fine with the stock lights, or you can upgrade to a single T5 HO light fixture.

For fish there are a lot of options. You could do something like:
*increase your neons to 12-15; they'd look stunning in a large group in a 55 gal tank
*increase your corys to 8
*1 small pleco like a bristlenose
*1 german blue or bolivian Ram
*another shoal of schooling fish like maybe 8-10 rummynose tetra or pencilfish

 

[Aquastrategist]

Thank you very much, I think I will follow the fish advice. For plants I will try anubias, as it seems to be hardy and I would like to tie it to rock's. My lighting is two aquaglow 20 watt lights ( the tank has been in my cousins shed for a while so I might get new ones). Also, would you recommend shopping at petsmart or mtg LFS?

 

[librarygirl]

It depends. I've been to all of the chain stores and LFS here and I wouldn't trust any of them. I get all of my fish online lol Visit stores near you, watch the fish, look at the tanks. See if they are clean, if the fish look healthy (moving around, etc). Look for signs of disease like fin rot, Ich, etc. That's really the best you can do. Ideally you'd want to quarantine new fish for 2-4 weeks before putting them in your main tank but if that isn't feasible for you the best you can do is visit various stores, observe the fish and try to get ones that seem healthy.

 

[Aquastrategist]

I agree I've been wanting to get fish from liveaquaria but I hear it's better to get them in person. How do your fish look from online and what sites would you recommend?

 

[librarygirl]

Ironically I almost never see the fish I get when I buy online unless the seller posts pictures. I mostly buy from other hobbyists on here (the Classified forum here is a good place. Most of my fish came from Severum Mama and HN1 on this site) and another forum.

 

[Aquastrategist]

Thank you very much for your help, this site is so helpful!