55 gallon tank redo

As some of you might know, I recently lost two of my three goldfish very suddenly. The last remaining goldfish has been moved to another tank for now, and I’m planning to redo her old tank. It’s 55 gallons, fully cycled and has been running for 3 years. I’m going to add sand substrate and live plants (it’s currently bare bottom and had silk plants, but I moved them in with my last goldfish).

Since I just had such a dramatic loss, I’m going to wait a while and do lots of water changes to make sure everything is safe and stabilized before I add more fish. But I’d like to ask for some opinions on my potential new stocking:

I’d like to get angelfish, but I’m not entirely sure how many. I’ve read that they can be kept as a single fish, as a pair, or in a school of 5+. What would you recommend?
I think freshwater hatchetfish are really cool, and I know that they live in the same region as angelfish. Would they be compatible, or would the angelfish bother them?
I also plan on getting a school of kulhI loaches. Will they work well with the others?

 

I would just like to make sure that the goldfish isn't going in with the new fish you want right?

Well besides what I said angelfish will do best in a group of 5+. Angels are a mid water swimmer so hatchets should be fine- just keep some surface plants and keep a tight lid- they will jump.

School of kuhlI loaches should be fine.

 

No, the goldfish won’t be going back into the 55 with the other fish. She’ll either be staying in her new tank or going to someone else where she can be with lots of other goldfish.

Thanks! Will a 55 gallon be big enough for 5 angels? I know they get pretty big.

 

Very much will be fine with 5 angels

 

Thank you! I’m gonna have fun redoing this tank!

 

Have you considered Rainbowfish?

That would be a good choice for a planted 55g.

 

For a 55 gal I would recommend as a centerpiece fish:
5-6 x Turqouise Rainbows or Red Irian Rainbows OR
4 Pearl Gouramis (could also substitute other gourami species, but pearls 4TW) OR
4 x Angelfish, they can get aggressive if breeding but can manage the space. Finalfins on target they are usually mid-tier swimmers but mine move around a lot and range throughout the tank on occasion.
Bottom line is recommend go with any of the above but not all...

Corydoras seem to get along with almost anyone community. Definitely school of 5+.

I myself am very interested in hatchets and planning to potentially put them in a tank at work. Have heard they benefit from some UV light usually used with reptiles but have yet to confirm the science in this. My plan is to use a plastic grid product found at Lowe's/Home Depot designed for drop ceilings in lieu of a hard lid and planning to lower water line a bit from the top. Reason is with a planted tank I don't want to use glass or plexI cover as it attenuates light considerably. Also should be relatively removable. Many tank lids out there and some could work, but depends on compatibility with your setup.

 

Thanks for the suggestions! I’m pretty committed to my current stocking plan, though. Angels, hatchetfish and loaches are all fish that I’ve wanted for a while but didn’t have room for, so I’d like to give them a try. I actually have a school of Corydoras in another tank, and they’re great little dudes!