Picking A Single Species For 55 Gallon

I'm planning to bring a 55 gallon tank out of storage and set it up, but I need ideas about what to stock it with (preferably a single species). I was considering a few freshwater angels or orandas or a school of tetras, as I am partial to all of them. What would you put in it?

 

Some of my favorites:
Cichlids
Betta sorority
Featherfin Rainbowfish

 

You could do a nice African cichlid, discus, or angel tank. A puffer tank with figure 8s or Amazons would work as well... if you're willing to put the work in to care for them.

Another thing you could do is have a single 'wet pet' tank. These are really personable fish that are kept by themselves in a larger aquarium. Some good ones for a 55 would be Flowerhorn, Red Devil, and Midas cichlids. They're really fun fish that are active nonstop. With the FH and Midas especially, you'll have to have very good filtration and keep up on water changes. You may want to upgrade your tank further down the road because they get pretty large. I'd encourage you to look into these fish as well.

 

I would put a group of Mudskippers - you will smile every time you look at them!

 

I would get a bunch of silver-tip tetras or tiger barbs. Their color looks amazing, and they follow your hand!

 

I personally would get some fancy goldies... If they aren't your taste, maybe look into a BP cichlid?


Have you thought on doing a nice 'nano fish' tank, like keeping a large school - 50 or so - of ember tetras, dwarf rasboras and the like?