55 Gallon Tank Help destroy some of my dream fish ideas

Bit of an odd title but hear me out. I don't see me upgrading my tank size again (I don't have the money/space for it), and these are all ideas for after my current fish die (hopefully of old age). The aquarium is question is 55g with a fluvel 306 canister filter and custom lighting.
The problem is I have so many dream fish that I would love to have so I need to start trimming the list so please tell me anything wrong with any of these ideas/fish so I can scrap them.
I know oscars, parrot cichlids and flowerhorns get to big so I've stopped dreaming about them.

Fish 1. A pair of fancy goldfish ( coldwater tank), the problem is I like my plants. Will Amazon swords survive goldfish?

Fish idea 2. If I have to get rid of my plants anyway can I keep a dragonblood peacock cichlid by itself or with larger tetras?

Fish idea 3. A breeding pair of clown angelfish or convict cichlids. I've never bred egg layers might be interesting to watch.

Fish idea 4. Probably the most reasonable a paradise gourami with danios or minnows (coldwater tank)

Fish idea 5. They were called polar blue striped parrots at the store basically a parrot/convict hybrid. Since I can't have full sized parrots. Anyone know much about them? I can attach a picture if anyone wants.

Idea 6. Crayfish breeding tank. Again I'd have to sacrifice my plants but crayfish are so cute and fun to watch.

Thanks in advance. If something above dosen't work can you suggest a similar alternative?

 

Scratch idea number 2. NEVER mix Malawi cichlids with anything else and don't keep them in too soft or acidic water. In a 55 you can do a real Malawi tank and not a fishsoup.

 

Scratch idea number 2. NEVER mix Malawi cichlids with anything else and don't keep them in too soft or acidic water. In a 55 you can do a real Malawi tank and not a fishsoup.

Dont I need 75+ gallons to do a proper malawi setup? They get about 6" each right?

 

Depends totally on what fish you want to put in exactly. 75 would be definitely better and good for a Malawi community, a 55 is the minimum for a species tank (1m+3-5f), though. Anything smaller is definitely out.

 

Depends totally on what fish you want to put in exactly. 75 would be definitely better and good for a Malawi community, a 55 is the minimum for a species tank (1m+3-5f), though. Anything smaller is definitely out.

Yeah I don't think I'll be able to tell the gender difference in the store and I don't want any fish to live in a "bare minimum" setup.
I only mentioned a peacock cichlid because I fell in love with this particular coloured one at the store. That's why I asked if could be kept as a single.

 

I love Goldfish, but they maybe not the best for your setup. You see, it all depends on the *breed*. Orandas are some of the largest breeds of Egg-bellied Goldfish, reaching anywhere from 6" at the very least to over 14" in some cases! The smaller breeds like Bubble-Eye, Ranchu, Lionhead, Pearlscale, and others usually hang out towards the bottom. They not only get big, but they need LONG tanks! Goldfish use a large amount of oxygen in their aquarium, much more than most species, and therefore need longer tanks in order for the oxygen exchange to be much more effective. Otherwise it can cause a lot of problems!

 

Yeah I don't think I'll be able to tell the gender difference in the store and I don't want any fish to live in a "bare minimum" setup.

Honestly, for dragonbloods I could only do a sexing at the store if they are mature adults. Juveniles I can't distinguish. When I kept and bred Malawis (stopped 20 years ago) dragonbloods were not available yet. I only learned of their existence about 10 years ago.

 

i think 1, 4, and 5 would all work. Yes, goldfish can get big and do require special care, but honestly your typical petsmart fantail or oranda is likely not going to reach 14"...they aren't started out with the greatest of care and not likely to reach their full potential size due to poor nutrition when they are little. i think a paradise fish would love a whole 55 to himself with some speedy roommates like danios. convict parrots are cool and I don't believe they get as big as blood parrots do.

 

Okay, but if I'd have to promote an idea of yours, I would definitely go for the Paradise Gourami with Minnows! One of my favorite fish of all time are Fathead Minnows, known as "Rosy Reds" in most pet stores. I can't even tell you how much I adore this species! Their personalities shine in larger coldwater tanks, and if you have several males like I did, they will "butt heads" constantly! It's very enjoyable to watch!

Blue Paradise Gouramis are some of my favorite! Their non-over-the-top coloration and intriguing personalities make them a fantastic addition to a lot of planted tanks! If I were you, I would most definitely go for this option!

Seriously! Can you imagine a showcase fish like a Paradise Gourami swimming around peacefully in your aquaria, its fins flowing like feathers in the wind! A large group of Fathead Minnows swimming peacefully alongside the Gourami! During feeding time all you see are large, peaceful fish pecking at the ground! Honestly now you've made me wish for this setup!

 

I know I’m doing the opposite of what you want but you could keep a parrot cichlid in that tank as long as it’s not the King Kong parrot. Also I know it’s not as cool but a female flowerhorn could be in there as long as it’s alone. Maybe a short body male flowerhorn but I don’t recommend getting those because they’re life span is significantly reduced

 

Okay, but if I'd have to promote an idea of yours, I would definitely go for the Paradise Gourami with Minnows! One of my favorite fish of all time are Fathead Minnows, known as "Rosy Reds" in most pet stores. I can't even tell you how much I adore this species! Their personalities shine in larger coldwater tanks, and if you have several males like I did, they will "butt heads" constantly! It's very enjoyable to watch!

Blue Paradise Gouramis are some of my favorite! Their non-over-the-top coloration and intriguing personalities make them a fantastic addition to a lot of planted tanks! If I were you, I would most definitely go for this option!

Seriously! Can you imagine a showcase fish like a Paradise Gourami swimming around peacefully in your aquaria, its fins flowing like feathers in the wind! A large group of Fathead Minnows swimming peacefully alongside the Gourami! During feeding time all you see are large, peaceful fish pecking at the ground! Honestly now you've made me wish for this setup!

Rosey reds are sold as feeders here so I would definitely have to treat for parasites first. I've seen how cute they are and have considered them before.
Honestly that set up is the closest to what I have now. Right now I have a female betta, black neons and cardinal tetras.

I know I’m doing the opposite of what you want but you could keep a parrot cichlid in that tank as long as it’s not the King Kong parrot. Also I know it’s not as cool but a female flowerhorn could be in there as long as it’s alone. Maybe a short body male flowerhorn but I don’t recommend getting those because they’re life span is significantly reduced

I didn't know that female flowerhorns were smaller.
The only parrot cichlids I've seen are adults in the lfs. They are all almost oscar sized so I'm guessing those are the king kongs?

 

Okay, but if I'd have to promote an idea of yours, I would definitely go for the Paradise Gourami with Minnows! One of my favorite fish of all time are Fathead Minnows, known as "Rosy Reds" in most pet stores. I can't even tell you how much I adore this species! Their personalities shine in larger coldwater tanks, and if you have several males like I did, they will "butt heads" constantly! It's very enjoyable to watch!

Blue Paradise Gouramis are some of my favorite! Their non-over-the-top coloration and intriguing personalities make them a fantastic addition to a lot of planted tanks! If I were you, I would most definitely go for this option!

Seriously! Can you imagine a showcase fish like a Paradise Gourami swimming around peacefully in your aquaria, its fins flowing like feathers in the wind! A large group of Fathead Minnows swimming peacefully alongside the Gourami! During feeding time all you see are large, peaceful fish pecking at the ground! Honestly now you've made me wish for this setup!

Now I want it, too. One of my first fish as an uneducated child was a paradise fish, who did not live very long but he sure was beautiful!

 

I didn't know that female flowerhorns were smaller.
The only parrot cichlids I've seen are adults in the lfs. They are all almost oscar sized so I'm guessing those are the king kongs?

Male flower horns can grow anywhere from 9-16 inches and a female only grows 7-10 but usually 8-9. the only bad thing about the female flower horns is they don’t grow the iconic flowerhorn bump only a little nudge on they’re head. And the parrots must have either been extremely power fed at a young age or they are the King Kong parrots because all the parrots I keep have maxed out at like 6-8 inches

 

Okay, but if I'd have to promote an idea of yours, I would definitely go for the Paradise Gourami with Minnows! One of my favorite fish of all time are Fathead Minnows, known as "Rosy Reds" in most pet stores. I can't even tell you how much I adore this species! Their personalities shine in larger coldwater tanks, and if you have several males like I did, they will "butt heads" constantly! It's very enjoyable to watch!

Blue Paradise Gouramis are some of my favorite! Their non-over-the-top coloration and intriguing personalities make them a fantastic addition to a lot of planted tanks! If I were you, I would most definitely go for this option!

Seriously! Can you imagine a showcase fish like a Paradise Gourami swimming around peacefully in your aquaria, its fins flowing like feathers in the wind! A large group of Fathead Minnows swimming peacefully alongside the Gourami! During feeding time all you see are large, peaceful fish pecking at the ground! Honestly now you've made me wish for this setup!

I agree with this. It would be beyond a ‘bare minimum set up’ with plenty of room to scape and for me personally, I get the most satisfaction from my tanks knowing my fish are spoiled and have a lot of room and are happy.

 

I agree with this. It would be beyond a ‘bare minimum set up’ with plenty of room to scape and for me personally, I get the most satisfaction from my tanks knowing my fish are spoiled and have a lot of room and are happy.

I had such a hard time choosing whether I should 'Agree' your post or 'Love' it! But I seriously can't agree with you more! That's why Honey (the crazy looking Betta in my profile photo) gets a 65 gallon blackwater heavily-planted Walstad!! It's certainly a mouthfull!

 

Male flower horns can grow anywhere from 9-16 inches and a female only grows 7-10 but usually 8-9. the only bad thing about the female flower horns is they don’t grow the iconic flowerhorn bump only a little nudge on they’re head. And the parrots must have either been extremely power fed at a young age or they are the King Kong parrots because all the parrots I keep have maxed out at like 6-8 inches

Also parrots can be kept with plants, mostly because of their mouth they can’t pull things up but they leave mine alone for the most part. So if you want a parrot I say go for it they have lots of personality and sometimes they swim up to your hand and try and play with it

 

Also parrots can be kept with plants, mostly because of their mouth they can’t pull things up but they leave mine alone for the most part. So if you want a parrot I say go for it they have lots of personality and sometimes they swim up to your hand and try and play with it

Is there a way to tell the smaller species of parrotfish from the larger king Kong ones?

 

Goldfish will do just fine in your setup, Amazon swords are (usually, there are always outliers) fine with them. That'd be my top pic.

 

Is there a way to tell the smaller species of parrotfish from the larger king Kong ones?

I don’t think so besides the size. But I would recommend getting one while it’s small like 2-3 inches so he can get to know you better. You can ask your LFS if they can get you a normal parrot or if you find a small one in the store ask if it’s normal or the King Kong

 

Ok so, so far we took one option off and added two more on. Is it too late to add a poll?

 

I tried Amazon swords with goldfish and they decimated them. The goldfish were certainly happy with their achievement!
Also gave several amazon swords (and valisneria, and java fern, and anubias, and guppy grass, and hornwort, and dwarf salvinia) to a friend with goldfish who wanted to try a planted tank because I have a mother plant that gives me new amazon swords every other month. They too were eaten down to the roots within two months. Maybe I just have delicious amazon swords? Or maybe goldfish are just voracious plant eaters.

The one of your ideas that fascinates me most is the laradise gourami one. Only I'd do a group of paradise gourami along with the minnows in a planted tank. I kept 7 male paradise gourami in a planted 29 (with guppies (no they didn't eat them) and a BN pleco) and they were beautiful to watch. They have a complex hierarchy and lots of body language you'll never get to see if you only ever have one. In a 55 you could easily do a dozen paradise. They don't get particularly large.

 

The one of your ideas that fascinates me most is the laradise gourami one. Only I'd do a group of paradise gourami along with the minnows in a planted tank. I kept 7 male paradise gourami in a planted 29 (with guppies (no they didn't eat them) and a BN pleco) and they were beautiful to watch. They have a complex hierarchy and lots of body language you'll never get to see if you only ever have one. In a 55 you could easily do a dozen paradise. They don't get particularly large.

I thought they were like bettas and you couldn't do more than one male in a tank. I guess that only applies to smaller tanks? Can anyone else confirm this? Could I do a male with one or a couple of females?

I suppose since paradise gourami is the most popular choice then that's what I'll do. It'll be the easiest to switch to because all I'll need to do is remove the heater (the room temp doesn't fluctuate because my birds are in there too).
The only thing I need to decide now is what colour to get. I'll have to get the lfs to order them in so hopefully I can get a choice. I've seen blue ones, red, green, black, albino all with or without stripes (thanks google). I'd probably go for a lighter colored one because of my darker background.

Edit: I found some pics of different colours that might look good in my tank.

 

Yeah a lot of people seem to have this odd concept that paradise are like bettas. But thats not the case at all. I imagine if you only had two males and nothing else then yeah they'd probably fight. But in a decent sized group? They just establish a heirarchy and go from there. They flare (sorta like bettas. You can see it in the top pic I posted, center fish) and will also change color to show dominance/attitude (notice the darker one in the second pic. Its actually the same as all the rest, they can all choose to be pale silvery blue through deep near black blue). So they do a lot of bluffing at each other, and whoever backs down will roll to their side, and that signals that they are being submissive to the other paradise. And thats it. There's no fight. They swim away and continue about their fishy business.

Now, I specifically choose an all male group to avoid any breeding related agression, though I've read of others keeping mixed sex groups with similarly non-violent results. I imagine one could keep an all female group just the same as I did an all male group. The males just have longer fins.

You mention your store being able to get a lot of different colors in - there are multiple species of paradise gourami, and I wouldn't want to mix them in the same tank. Stick with all of one species. But at least around me, they only ever have one species, the others are very rarely ever imported into the US to my understanding. The blue variant with orange/red stripes is the common one, and the albino is the same species, just albino.

 

The "odd" concept that they are like bettas comes from everywhere on the internet saying that. That's why I want input from multiple people who own or have owned them. I assume every fish has it's own personality and it may or may not like tankmates.

Don't worry I wasn't planning on mixing species, those were just pictures of colors that would look good in my tank. Whether I get multiple paradise fish or a single really depends on both price and if I'm comfortable with it working. Also depends on what the lfs guy can order in.
Long fins aren't a huge sell for me, I'm used to keeping female bettas. As long as the colours are just as vibrant then gender dosen't matter. If females have more of a dull color then I'll go with 1 or multiple males.

 

I vote for the convicts or crayfish
I really enjoyed watching my convicts breed. Then I’ve always wanted to do a crayfish set up!

 

I vote for the convicts or crayfish
I really enjoyed watching my convicts breed. Then I’ve always wanted to do a crayfish set up!

Do convicts rip out plants?

 

Bit of an odd title but hear me out. I don't see me upgrading my tank size again (I don't have the money/space for it), and these are all ideas for after my current fish die (hopefully of old age). The aquarium is question is 55g with a fluvel 306 canister filter and custom lighting.
The problem is I have so many dream fish that I would love to have so I need to start trimming the list so please tell me anything wrong with any of these ideas/fish so I can scrap them.
I know oscars, parrot cichlids and flowerhorns get to big so I've stopped dreaming about them.

Fish 1. A pair of fancy goldfish ( coldwater tank), the problem is I like my plants. Will Amazon swords survive goldfish?

Fish idea 2. If I have to get rid of my plants anyway can I keep a dragonblood peacock cichlid by itself or with larger tetras?

Fish idea 3. A breeding pair of clown angelfish or convict cichlids. I've never bred egg layers might be interesting to watch.

Fish idea 4. Probably the most reasonable a paradise gourami with danios or minnows (coldwater tank)

Fish idea 5. They were called polar blue striped parrots at the store basically a parrot/convict hybrid. Since I can't have full sized parrots. Anyone know much about them? I can attach a picture if anyone wants.

Idea 6. Crayfish breeding tank. Again I'd have to sacrifice my plants but crayfish are so cute and fun to watch.

Thanks in advance. If something above dosen't work can you suggest a similar alternative?

You answered my question few days ago so I want to pay back the favor
I think a pair of fancy goldfish should be happy there, they have a lot of space to swim and get bigger, about the plants I think you can you redecorate the aquarium to make the plants behind the rocks and wood so the fish won’t destroy it from the roots, I didn’t try this method but it still your decision, also the Crayfish idea is great.

 

You answered my question few days ago so I want to pay back the favor
I think a pair of fancy goldfish should be happy there, they have a lot of space to swim and get bigger, about the plants I think you can you redecorate the aquarium to make the plants behind the rocks and wood so the fish won’t destroy it from the roots, I didn’t try this method but it still your decision, also the Crayfish idea is great.

So they don't start by eating the leaves, they eat the roots?

 

So they don't start by eating the leaves, they eat the roots?

They can miss with the leaves but the leaves can grow but the roots would kill the plant, again I didn’t try this method yet

 

I can second Paradise fish in a group!
While they can definitely be aggressive they do establish a hierarchy and show really interesting behavior in a group. I kept my 3 males in a 33 for a couple of months, there was a female but they harassed her to death unfortunately. They've been in a 4ft tank for the last two months, unfortunately I've not been around to see them, but I've been told they're doing well.
My partner also had a pair mixed in with other Gourami for 6+ months without issues, also in a 4ft aquarium.
Note on that tank, it will eventually be something like a group of Paradise Gourami and 5 Dojo Loaches.

 

Sounds like paradise fish is a winner (you might also consider Samurai Gourami, I think they are very unique and beautiful). As far as the guppy’s/minnows to go with them my favorite fish I have ever kept have been my Long Finned White Cloud Mountain Minnows. They but on these awesome displays of fin flaring while swimming parallel to each other back and forth, like a dance. A lot of personality, plus they are super cheap, hardy, easy to breed, and will do great in your cool water.

 

I personally like leopard danios (I like fish with splotches/spots). Does anyone know if they readily breed in an aquarium?