Fish List for 55 Gallon

THIS IS FOR A 55 GALLON SETUP


Upsidedown Catfish
Albino Cory Catfish
Agazissi Catfish
Bushy Nose Pleco
Khuli Loach
Neon Blue Dwf.Gourami
Dwarf Gourami
Powder Blue Dwf. Gourami
Pearl Gourami
Albino Cherry Barb
Boesemani Rainbow
Celebes Rainbow
Sparkling Gourami
Diamond Tetra


This is the final list we came up with...i know these fish will work with each other nicely..now comes the tricky part..how many of each we can get. List your reccomendations. Thanks!

 

Pictures of fish..website?

TINA-- Where did you find those marvelous pics???? I would like to see more so that i can get good pics of what they truly look like..not just from liveaquaria...pics like the ones you posted in the other thread but for the other fish.

 

I just did a google image search.

Let see....

Upside down cats: 2
Albino cories: 4
Agazissi cories: 4
Bushynose: 1
Kuhli loach:3
Neon blue dwarf gourami: 2 (m+f)
dwarf gourami (is this the regular like the flame ones or the honey dwarfs?): 2 (m+f)
Powder blue dwarf gourami 2 (m+f)
Pearl gourami: 3 (m+f+f)
Albino Cherry barb (never heard of this one): 6
Boesemanni Rainbow (excellent choice :mrgreen: ): 2
Celebes Rainbow: 5
Sparkling gourami: 3
Diamond tetra: 6

These are the minimum groups these fish should really be kept in IMO. This puts you at 99 inches of fish, which is way too much. I think you should take out some of the gouramis personally. IMO, they really all look the same in real life and I really don't know how that many gouramis in one tank would take to one another. In order for them all to have a chance you'd have to purchase them all at once and add them at the same time so they establish territories at the same time. This will be really hard on the bioload for you tank.

Here's my recommendation:

Upside down cats: 2
Agazissi cories: 4
Bushy nose: 1
Peal gourami: 3
Sparkling gourami:3
Albino Cherry barb: 6
Boesemanni Rainbow:2 (makes for a good centerpiece fish)
Celebes Rainbow: 5
Diamond Tetra: 6

This at least gets you down to 85 adult inches. Take out the pearl gouramis (even though I love em, but the compete for attention with the boesemanni rainbows which would be much more stunning on their own as a centerpiece IMO.) Also take the albino cories instead of the agazissi cats and you end up with 60 inches, which is much better.

Also keep in mind that you might decide you want to add different fish later. Leaving a little room open in your tank would be nice for these impulse purchases that (if you're like me) you'll just die without :wink:

I took out the dwarf gouramis because IME they are more territorial than the pearls (and not as pretty) and sparkling gouramis and I really don't know how that many of them will react together. Maybe someone else knows.

Anyway, just my $.02. Tweak the list however you like, it's your tank Just try to keep it close to the 1" per gallon rule and you'll have a much easier time starting out.

 

i dont like the 1" per gallon rule. i mean. people see a texas cichlid and see it grows to be 8". so they buy itt more there 10g tank.

 

I would rather have the dwarf gouramis instead of the pearl ones because they stay small and dont get to 4" like the pearls.

How about this

Upside down cats: 2
Albino cories: 4
Bushy nose: 1
Neon Blue Dwf Gourami: 4
Sparkling gourami:3
Albino Cherry barb: 6
Boesemanni Rainbow:2 (makes for a good centerpiece fish)
Celebes Rainbow: 5
Diamond Tetra: 6

 

clarify?

 

The 1" rule is a good starter for some fish. Obvisouly it doesn't work for large, messy fish like cichlids & goldfish. But for smaller fish like barbs, tetras, and some gouramis, it's fine.

And how about losing the upside down catfish because they get around 5" which is quite large. And consider cutting out either the cherry barbs or the tetras and only going with 2 celebes rainbows. That would leave you with 49" of fish not including the pleco. With fish keeping, especially if you're fairly new to it, it's better to shoot for understocking than overstocking.

-Chelle

 

Exactly, I'm not a big fan of the rule either but it is useful for new fishkeepers.

That list sounds better. I would stick to five of the celebes even though they eat up 10 inches. They will be worth it in a group when you can watch them interact.

You are getting the hang of it Heather. Just wait until you see that one fish that you hadn't thought of and you have to start all over to fit it in :mrgreen: Happens to me all the time!

 

Yeah but i dont wanna get rid of the upsidedown catfish That is one fish i wont get rid of..i'll get rid of the cherry barbs though ;-)

Updated list

4 albino cory catfish
1 bushy nose pleco
4 neon blue dwarf gourami
2 boesemani rainbow
2 celebes rainbow
4 sparkling gourami
6 diamond tetra
2 upsidedown catfish

 

You're getting there

Just out of curiosity, are you ordering any of these fish from liveaquaria.com? I know you had mentioned it at one point. If you do I would be interested to know how it works out. I am considering ordering some fish from them too.

 

Yes i believe i will be ordering all my fish from there. They seem like a really good company to order from and ive never heard bad things about them mentioned on any forum ive come acrossed.

Check these pages out.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/gene ... pagesid=61

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/gene ... pagesid=91.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/gene ... agesid=166

 

Get rid of 2 dwarf gouramis and 1 albino cory and you should be good.

3 albino cory catfish (3 x 3 = 9")
1 bushy nose pleco
2 neon blue dwarf gourami (2 x 2 = 4")
2 boesemani rainbow (2 x 3 = 6")
2 celebes rainbow (2 x 3 = 6")
4 sparkling gourami (4 x 1.5 = 6")
6 diamond tetra (6 x 2 = 12")
2 upsidedown catfish (2 x 5 = 10")

That's 53" not including the pleco. With frequent water changes it should be managable. Just keep a close eye on your nitrAtes.

-Chelle

 

Ok, so you're doing good. But one thing, I don't know how much you've read about cycling (I think Chelle posted a link to an article) but you can't add all these fish at once. Tanks need to be stocked gradually in order for the good bacteria to be able to keep up with the fishes wastes.

I hope we haven't confused you too much, but before you buy your first fish please be sure that you understand how the cycle takes place. Unless you can get a hold of a product called Bio-Spira you will need to add fish very slowly. A few per week only.

 

Nah im not confused Ive been doing my homework on that process, I know i cant add fish all at once. We might do the normal cycle with a couple fish...like maybe the pleco and a beta to start.

 

That's fine, but check your ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte levels every day and be prepared to do water changes every time they get over 0, 0, and 20 (respectively).

-Chelle

 

For a 55 gallon how do you do full water changes on that? Its really heavy LOL Or is it a partial water change? Whats involved in a partial water change on a tank that size?

 

Just do partial water changes using a gravel vac/siphon.

-Chelle

 

Where do i get one of those? What constitutes as a partial water change..on a 55 gallon?

 

You can pick them up at any fish store or order them online at any fishy site really. The gravel vacuum is a siphon that allows you to get in down into the gravel to get out all the fish waste from underneath the gravel.

I just get a bucket and have at it until I've done taken out about 25% of the water. You may need to make several trips to empty your bucket for a 55 so that its not too heavy.

Then just fill it up again. Most people have a bucket that is strictly for fish use so they use this for their bucket for dirty water, then they rinse it out and fill it up with clean water and use it to refill the tank.

There's also things called Pythons out there that are supposed to make cleaning larger tanks easier. They hook to your faucet somehow, I'm not really sure how they work though.

 

Thats a great idea. Thanks so much! When you add the clean water, Do you treat each bucket going in before adding it?