Help Me Decide... Restocking 55 Gal

Hello,

I've reading through the forums here for a while, and I have finally decided to post my own questions. So, I have been keeping fish for about 18 years now, and I have had this 55 gal tank for at least 12 years. For the most part I have kept the usual suspects: small tetras, barbs, rasboras, etc. But I would like to try something new, a little bigger, with a little more personality. Here are the options that I am considering.

Option 1
1-2? - Electric Blue Acara
12 - Columbian Tetras or 15 - Lemon Tetras
8 -Emerald Green Corys

Option 2
? - Bolivian Rams
? - School or schools of tetras - Top choices right now are Neons, Von Rio, Silver Tip, Rummy Nose, and Lemon
8 - Emerald Green Corys

So with option 1, I am not sure if I would want 1 or 2 EBA. I not really trying to breed them, but I want to make sure they show as much color as possible. So if I need two to keep them happier that is fine. But I would also like to try to avoid any M/M agression. If I had only one EBA, I could up the number of tetras. Also, I think the yellow of the Lemon Tetras would look good with the blue of the EBA. But are the Lemon Tetras too peaceful or shy to be with EBA?

The second option is a bit more open. I am not really sure how many Rams I could/should keep in a 55 gal tank. Some places I have read that they should be kept alone. Others say pairs. Others say 3-4. So I am not really sure. Once I decide on the Rams, I can decide on having one large school of one type of tetra, or possibly 2 or 3 smaller schools of different types of Tetras.

So, I am looking for some opinions/ideas. If you were putting together a 55 gal tank, which option would you choose? If you have kept EBA or Bolivian Rams, how many did you keep together? What did you keep them with? Do you have any other ideas of what I should restock the tank with?

Thank you for your replies.

 

Hello,

I've reading through the forums here for a while, and I have finally decided to post my own questions. So, I have been keeping fish for about 18 years now, and I have had this 55 gal tank for at least 12 years. For the most part I have kept the usual suspects: small tetras, barbs, rasboras, etc. But I would like to try something new, a little bigger, with a little more personality. Here are the options that I am considering.

Option 1
1-2? - Electric Blue Acara
12 - Columbian Tetras or 15 - Lemon Tetras
8 -Emerald Green Corys

Option 2
? - Bolivian Rams
? - School or schools of tetras - Top choices right now are Neons, Von Rio, Silver Tip, Rummy Nose, and Lemon
8 - Emerald Green Corys

So with option 1, I am not sure if I would want 1 or 2 EBA. I not really trying to breed them, but I want to make sure they show as much color as possible. So if I need two to keep them happier that is fine. But I would also like to try to avoid any M/M agression. If I had only one EBA, I could up the number of tetras. Also, I think the yellow of the Lemon Tetras would look good with the blue of the EBA. But are the Lemon Tetras too peaceful or shy to be with EBA?

The second option is a bit more open. I am not really sure how many Rams I could/should keep in a 55 gal tank. Some places I have read that they should be kept alone. Others say pairs. Others say 3-4. So I am not really sure. Once I decide on the Rams, I can decide on having one large school of one type of tetra, or possibly 2 or 3 smaller schools of different types of Tetras.

So, I am looking for some opinions/ideas. If you were putting together a 55 gal tank, which option would you choose? If you have kept EBA or Bolivian Rams, how many did you keep together? What did you keep them with? Do you have any other ideas of what I should restock the tank with?

Thank you for your replies.

You have some cool ideas. Personally I would keep 1 eba as they are more solo animals and become more like a pet as 1. I prefer normal acaras. If they are kept healthy they look much better, but you couldn’t really keep the lemon tetras. If you wanted to you keep a bristle nose pleco in option 1.

 

Thanks for the reply. It sounds like you are advocating for possibly getting a single regular blue acara. I was actually at my LFS this past weekend, and they had some juvenile regular blue acara. I think that would be pretty cool option for me. Though from what I have read, the regular blue acaras can get a little bigger and more aggressive than the EBA. I am just a little concerned that it would get too big for a 55 gal tank. Would it work with Columbian Tetras and the Emerald Green Corys?

 

Thanks for the reply. It sounds like you are advocating for possibly getting a single regular blue acara. I was actually at my LFS this past weekend, and they had some juvenile regular blue acara. I think that would be pretty cool option for me. Though from what I have read, the regular blue acaras can get a little bigger and more aggressive than the EBA. I am just a little concerned that it would get too big for a 55 gal tank. Would it work with Columbian Tetras and the Emerald Green Corys?

If you want normal blue acras
I think that corys would be fine, but as a precaution I’d get cheaper ones like bronze corys Or if your worried just go for a bristle nose. With the Colombian tetras I guess they would be quite a gamble. They are quite tough fish and could stand a few beatings, but they are small enough to become fish food. What I would is buy all the tetras and corys, and let them all establish territory, then add the blue acra as a baby and let it grow out and make friends with the other fish.

 

Thanks again for your reply. I'm still not sure what I am going to do. I'm also starting to consider some apistos as well. So many choices...