Adding A New Fish Or Small School To 55gal

[wpascarelli]

I have been keeping my 55gal tank for almost 3 years now. I have about 13 Congo tetras, and 2 Bolivian rams, most of which have been with me since I started the tank.
When I started the tank, my friend also gifted me 1 large, old male Bosmani rainbowfish. I am aware that this fish needs to be kept in a school, however he was getting out of the hobby and only had 1 left and he gave it to me. He was alot of fun to have and watch in my aquarium and was basically like a centerpiece fish. He was extremely bright colored and had a very fun personality He never caused any problems with any of the other fish. Unfortunately, he passed away last week. He was probably close to 7 years old. While I really enjoy the Congos and the 2 Rams, I definately feel like I am missing that sort of impact fish that the Bosmani was.
I understand that most peaceful community fish are schooling fish. I would like to know what are some suggestions of either single fish or a pair or small group of fish that I might be able to add to my current setup that might specifically provide me with some of the wow factor that I am missing.
Thank you!

 

[tetratetris]

Maybe a gourmai? I love dwarf gouramis.

Hope this helps!

 

[Smalltownfishfriend]

@Fanatic @TexasDomer ..here I will summon a few stocking experts!!!

 

[Fanatic]

I have been keeping my 55gal tank for almost 3 years now. I have about 13 Congo tetras, and 2 Bolivian rams, most of which have been with me since I started the tank.
When I started the tank, my friend also gifted me 1 large, old male Bosmani rainbowfish. I am aware that this fish needs to be kept in a school, however he was getting out of the hobby and only had 1 left and he gave it to me. He was alot of fun to have and watch in my aquarium and was basically like a centerpiece fish. He was extremely bright colored and had a very fun personality He never caused any problems with any of the other fish. Unfortunately, he passed away last week. He was probably close to 7 years old. While I really enjoy the Congos and the 2 Rams, I definately feel like I am missing that sort of impact fish that the Bosmani was.
I understand that most peaceful community fish are schooling fish. I would like to know what are some suggestions of either single fish or a pair or small group of fish that I might be able to add to my current setup that might specifically provide me with some of the wow factor that I am missing.
Thank you!

You could stick with the Congos, and add some different fish!
Why not try some Cory? That’d be an active addition to your tank, and they do well in large footprints.

I think you could try some type of centerpiece, but I am trying to think of a good type of fish to choose. I’ll let someone else give a suggestion on a single species fish.

 

[tetratetris]

Gourami!!!

 

[Fanatic]

I also thought of some fish overnight, and you can add some bottom feeding fish of your choice.

I personally recommend Bristlenose Pleco, they are a wonderful type of plecostomus that doesn’t get as large as other species, and makes a great addition to an aquarium.

Why not try this?

12 Congo Tetras
10 Albino or Bronze Cory
2 Pearl Gourami
2 Rams (depends on your species)
1 Bristlenose Pleco

 

[tetratetris]

I like how that sounds!

 

[wpascarelli]

Thanks for the replies.
So 2 pearl gouramis seems to be a popular choice. Is there any other kinds of variants or colors of gourami or basically the Pearl ones are the best for my situation?
I sometimes have issues getting food to the bottom of the tank. I dont know much about the BN pleco. Do I need to make sure I get sufficient food down there, especially also if I add a lot of Corys in addition? Also how big does the pleco get? I know some get very big.

 

[TexasDomer]

Pearls would be a great addition. You can add more than two if you'd like - you have the room. They're peaceful, beautiful, and temperature compatible with the Congos (and a little bit with the Bolivians), so I think they'd be one of the better choices for these reasons. I would keep your tank at 76 F to keep everyone comfortable.

For the cories, you can add sinking pellets to make sure they'll get the food. They're mostly carnivorous, so don't feed them algae wafers or the like. Shrimp pellets and frozen foods are readily eaten. For flake food, you can release the food underwater in the flow of the output of the filter so it gets spread throughout the tank. This will help make sure that some food gets to the bottom. I would get a species that will do well at 76 F, like C. splendens, C. aeneus, or C. sterbai.

For the BN pleco, they top out around 5-6", so they're not too big for your tank. 76 F is also a fine temp for them. Make sure you have driftwood in your tank (they munch on it), and you can feed them combos of veggies (like green beans, squash, zucchini, etc.) and the same food as the cories.

 

[wpascarelli]

Pearls would be a great addition. You can add more than two if you'd like - you have the room. They're peaceful, beautiful, and temperature compatible with the Congos (and a little bit with the Bolivians), so I think they'd be one of the better choices for these reasons. I would keep your tank at 76 F to keep everyone comfortable.

For the cories, you can add sinking pellets to make sure they'll get the food. They're mostly carnivorous, so don't feed them algae wafers or the like. Shrimp pellets and frozen foods are readily eaten. For flake food, you can release the food underwater in the flow of the output of the filter so it gets spread throughout the tank. This will help make sure that some food gets to the bottom. I would get a species that will do well at 76 F, like C. splendens, C. aeneus, or C. sterbai.

For the BN pleco, they top out around 5-6", so they're not too big for your tank. 76 F is also a fine temp for them. Make sure you have driftwood in your tank (they munch on it), and you can feed them combos of veggies (like green beans, squash, zucchini, etc.) and the same food as the cories.

For the Gourami, is there any sort of male/female ratio to get or to avoid? Or can I just get 2 or 3 random sex?

 

[TexasDomer]

For the pearls, sex isn't as important - males are usually fine together, and they don't seem to harass females.