ryan herbst

Hi I'm hoping to purchaase a 55 gallon aquarium, would a rts do good in this or would a bala shark be better. 2 snails, 1 pleco, 2 blue gouramis, 2 dwarf gouramis, 4 angel fish, 4 cory catfish OR 2 pitcus catfish, 2 pearl gouramis, and 4 sword tails.

gmen4life

i would say a rts the bala will out grow the 55 and rts can be territorial and welcome to fishlore

ABCDemily

Balas and RTS' are somewhat different. Balas are schooling fish that grow to huge sizes, we're talking 14" here, and if you have a school, then the minimum tank size is about 200 gallons to keep them happily.

An RTS however, will grow 5-6" and are solitary fish, they are aggressive and terratorial. If you're looking for a bottom dwelling fish, then an RTS may be the fish for you.

Note: Because of the aggression, I'd recommend adding the RTS last. Also, look out with the Corydora's, as they are also bottom dwelling fish.

With the two DG's, I'd maybe go down to one as it's luck-of-the-draw if you get ones that don't fight. Often they fish to the death if kept together unfotunatly.

Welcome to FishLore! Good luck with the 55!

Toddnbecka

Whatever you do, DON'T put a common pleco in the tank. They're as bad as the bala sharks for outgrowing the tank.