Enigmma

Hello everyone,

New to Fish keeping, but as I usually do with a new hobby I have devoured all that I can in 2 weeks. Great site and I have learned a great deal.

I purchased a 55g FW tank and am in the process of stocking it. I have read volumes on the nitrogen cycle, and am using a product called Stability by Seachem. I read great reviews of it, and I am convinced it works perfectly. I have done daily testing of my water and it has been a constant: ammonia=0, nitrite=0, nitrate~10, pH=8. I know my Ph is a bit high and I have some driftwood soaking as I type. Two 25% water changes so far. It is not planted at the moment, but as soon as I get it stocked I want to work on that aspect.

I currently have in my tank 9 Zebra Danios, and 2 Dwarf Guarami.

My overall plan is in total: 12 Zebra Danios, 6 Cory's, 2 Dwarf Guarami, 1 Clown Pleco, maybe 6 Glass/Ghost Cats (I installed a power head to create a current for them, and just better overall circulation).

Here is where you come in! I want 1 or 2 more "showcase" type fish. I wanted Angelfish, but I read that they are not compatible with my Guarami. I have been unable to find this last piece of the puzzle.

Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

MinxMermaid

i'm not a stocking expert and some of the more experienced fish lorians may have better feedback on your current load....

but first...welcome to fishlore!!

second, we have a 110 gal community with some of your same fish.

and yep you're right ANGELS can be VERY CHALLENGING. we did very well with ours for a while, then when one died and we tried to add more, it never quite worked out, with aggressions and fights and stuff, now we're down to only one. so i can't really recommend angels.

however, some of the more special fish we LOVE that are doing well in that tank are the headstanders, very mellow and very interesting, our leopard loaches are cool too. and the glass cats do very well in there. we had an elephant fish for over a year and she was very cool, even though she was nocturnal and you don't see her much.

look in my albums, in my profile, under OTHER fish for some ideas and GOOD LUCK!!

clinton1621

-sigh- I have the same issue, Gouramis are difficult to put with a lot of other fish. I really dont know of a safe 'showcase' type of fish to put in with them. You could always go with more schooling fish, like neons, harlequin rasboras, and cardinal tetras... those would all be fine. Also, for bottom feeders, do not get loaches or plecos if you want a planted tank... they will destroy most plants. I would recommend a school of cory cats, along with a small school of either otocinclus or siamese algae eaters for a good clean up group. The otocinclus and siamese algae eaters are really great to watch, they go around cleaning algae off of your plants and glass all day long, and they dont hurt the plants like plecos or loaches would.

kacie

Hi,
Here's an idea I've been playing with Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlids. I don't know if they would work does anyone else think so?

Lucy

Hi Welcome to Fish Lore
I'm not good at stocking suggestions so I'll leave that to the members who are.

sirdarksol

The gourami make any sort of showcase fish difficult, but you don't need one. Each of your inhabitants have their own draw.

The clown pleco may not destroy your plants, as it stays small and will mostly eat driftwood and the crunchy veggies you feed it, but it really needs a lot of different kinds of driftwood in the tank.

Enigmma

Thanks for the replies so far everyone!

Sirdarksol, do Bristlenose Pleco's need the same requirements for multiple driftwood like the Clown? I don't really have that many options for driftwood where I am.

SAE's look pretty cool. Read they get over 6". How many do I need? Not sold on the Oto's unless I just am not getting it.

Barbrella

The common Bristlenose pleco (Sp.3) doesn't strictly require driftwood, but certainly appreciates it, both for munching and hiding. It will get about 5" long and will keep your tank free of algae. Just make sure you feed it a variety of veggies and algae pellets a few times a week.

It will not eat your plants nor bother your other fish, and will continue to eat algae it's whole life, unlike some other algae eaters.

The powerhead you have for you glass cats is great, but gouramis don't really like strong currents.

Enigmma

Barbrella,
Ok the Bristlenose sounds like an option. Can I have just one or does it need a partner? I did read about the current and the Guarami's so I positioned the current to flow near the front glass of the tank both to draw the Glass Cat's out front, and leaving the back portion of the tank current free for the Guarami's. They tend to hang in back anyway since that is where most of the hiding places are.

kacie,
These (Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlids) look awesome; I would love to add a pair of them! Can anyone tell me if this fish will work in my tank.

Thanks

clinton1621

The problem with plecos is not that they eat the plants... the main issue is that they uproot them... or rasp on them, especially with large flat leaves like a swordplant, they can literally rasp a hole right through it. Sticking with a tough small leaved plant would be best if you have to have a pleco.

Why are you not sold on Otos... they are basically smaller versions of siamese algae eaters.

Enigmma

Clinton,
Oto's are ok, just wasn't sure if they did as good a job on algea as the Pleco's or SAE's. Also they are schooling fish? Read they grow to about 2" so I am worried if I need 4 or 5 I might be running out of room.

clinton1621

They do get 2 inches long, but they are only about as big around as a pencil... so they really only take up about 1 inch of actual fish space, if that much.

sirdarksol

We have several members here who have had the smaller plecos in their planted tanks, and they do fine. In general, if you give them plenty of veggies, they'll leave the plants alone. There's usually more algae on the walls and driftwood, anyway. The real problem with plecos is the uprooting part, where the larger plecos will just pull the plants out by swimming past them.

Otos have their own problems, the biggest one being that they tend to die pretty easily. They react horribly to the smallest change in water quality.

However, I agree that otos and Siamese algae eaters are very similar, except in size. If going for SAE's, however, be sure you know what you're looking for, since some stores will try to pass Chinese Algae Eaters off as Siamese.

Barbrella

They definitely do NOT need a partner, so just one is perfectly fine.

I have two BNs in two different planted tanks, one of which is heavily planted. They've been in them for nearly a year now and have not eaten or destroyed any plants at all. I do keep them well fed however.

The only problem I have with the BNs is the rapid build up of gunk in the filter and filter tube due to the veggies I feed, but it's simple to clean more often and worth it to have all algae gone.

I totally recommend them. Plus, they're very funny to watch as they flip and flap around the tank and get cranky if other fish try to pilfer their food.

Enigmma

Thank you to everyone who has replied.

I think I have a pretty good plan put together, but I am still missing the last couple of fish.

12-Zebra Danios
6-Peppered Cory's
6-Glass/Ghost Cats
2-Dwarf Guarami
1-Bristlenose Pleco

?-I would like 1 or 2 more 4-6" colorful active fish. I am stuggling to find anything that will work in a community tank.

Anyone have any suggestions? I like the Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlids suggestion, but I am not sure if they are passive enough for this tank, also they seem really hard to find.

Thanks again.

Barbrella

I'm told that one of the more peaceful and hardy Dwarf Cichlids is the Apistogramma Borellii, so you might want to reseach them.

Jo3olous

common plecs do a good job on cleaning the the algea and such, but they are a major bioload, esp when they get big