iloveengl

Please help me stock my soon-to-be 55 gallon freshwater. (I posted some questions about that here: Your advice on purchase & starting my MTS )

My friend is giving me starter plants so this one will have REAL plants, too!

I would LOVE to hear what you all suggest! It helps me to know how many of each type because I'm pretty new to being a fish owner.

*non- or semi-aggressive fish only please*

Time

Cool! you should get dwarf gourami neon tetras or maybe guppies. Just a suggestion. There are other cool fish that can go in there too.

iloveengl

Yes - I'm definitely going to get a DG for this tank; I think they're beautiful. I'm going to drive to PetsMart in a day or two (after people give suggestions) and see what fish are available in my area. I'll probably move my danios into the 55g and keep my DAF, snail, and 3 gups in my 12g in the living room. 55g just seems like so much space. It's exciting!


*Would this be large enough for a freshwater dragon goby? (Petsmart keeps all their dragon gobies in freshwater.) I know they can get 2', so if I got him would I be able to have anything else?

Time

Yeah Dwarf Gourami is a beautiful fish, I want one, but I don't think I will have room for it after I stock my 10 gal how I wanted.

bolivianbaby

Rainbowfish are beautiful. You could get 5 dwarf neon rainbows. Corys are a hoot in a 55 gallon. They take advantage of all that space. Platys and mollies would enjoy it as well. Angelfish would love a 55 gallon.

Hope this helps

iloveengl

Thanks Bolivian! I'd never heard of Rainbows - they're gorgeous. I was definitely thinking about some cute Cory Cats, too.

bolivianbaby

I've got 10 corys in my 55 tropical and they're all over the place!

I can't remember the scientific name for the dwarf neon rainbowfish, but you can google and find some great info on them. I love mine. As they grow, the really color up. It's cool to watch them change

There are many different species of rainbowfish to choose from, but my only experience is the dwarf neons. Other members should be able to help you out with the other species of rainbows.

flotus48

I have zebras, plattys, mollies and corys in my 55 gal tank

iloveengl

What about this list so far:

1 violet goby
6 Cory Cats
5 dwarf neon rainbows (though, I'm not sure if Petsmart has those)
8 zebra danios
1 apple snail

...Is there room to also have giant danios or would that be too much?

*I'm going to replace the danios in the 12g with a DG; right now, I'm sure my guppies think the danios are all tweaking out.

alicem

Congrats on the new (to you) tank! Yes, it's very exciting, we are excited for you.
Your plants will be good for the cycle (often they carry in good bacteria with them) and fish setup (help oxigenating the water and using nutrients to lessen algae growth).

Dwarf Neon Rainbow is Melanotaenia praecox.
Often they are just called praecox (pronounced "pray-kox")

You probably have room, but I believe they can get rather aggressive, something you said you would like to avoid.
The zebra danio can get that way too, but with 8 of them, they may only chase each other.

If you want some action but non aggressive, instead of giant danio, take a look at congo tetra (Phenacogrammus interruptus).
4 to 6 would fit in your tank.

For a splash of color, red swordtails would look nice (1 male/ 2 female).
You may end up with babies, tho, but that's kind of fun.

As for the violet goby, I've read they are actually brackish water fish, and can be difficult to feed.
They can be kept in fresh water, but it will shorten their live expectancy.
What is it you like about them? Maybe we can suggest something that would
be similar with out the hassles of it getting so large and special water needs.

and either
3 red swords (1m/2f)
or
4 to 6 congo tetra
would be fish-a-plenty for your 55G. Keep up your weekly partial water changes.

If you can't find Praecox, 6 congo tetra and 3 swords would be nice.
If you dropped the 8 zebra danios (kind of nippy) you could have 1 angel for a center piece.

Tons of options! Check out what PetSmart has and write them down.
Let us know what you find and we can offer even more suggestions.

btw, maybe I missed something, but how are you cycling your new tank? With the danios?
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
alicem

iloveengl

Thanks for all the advice!

1. I'll forgo giant danios. Maybe I'll just keep my 5 current zebras in the 12g.
2. Congo Tetras are fantastic - I'll definitely check Petsmart for them.
3. I saw the dragon goby at Petsmart & I just liked their grumpy faces and Lenny personalities. I find such conflicting info online about their living in fresh coastal pools, brackish pools, and even marine.
4. I'm going to cycle using the new filter in the old tank for a couple weeks to suck up good bacteria.

NEW LIST:

6 Cory Cats
5 dwarf neon rainbows
6 Congo Tetras
1 apple snail

Is that a full stock? How do the numbers seems?

iloveengl

Thread closed because the suggestions lead me to realize that what I really want is a brackish tank. Thanks everyone for letting me see what was really in my head!

http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/aq...tml#post658176