55 Gallon Tank Stocking for 55 gallon

[GrandGinkgo]

I currently have a 55 gallon tank and I was wanting to use it as a planted display community tank. I have a few ideas for stocking. I was thinking an angelfish, 8 or 10 otos, 8 sterbai corys, a Siamese algae eater and a few nerite snails. Angel as the center piece fish, otos for cleaning algae, corys for the bottom feeder, Siamese to clean hair algae, and nerite snails for any other algae. I was thinking of also putting either a kind of tetra, rasbora, or danio for a schooling fish. Not sure if these are over stocked because I haven't kept a tank of this size before. Are there any suggestions on what kind of schooling fish or if this is too much? Thanks!

 

[connorjs1004]

With angelfish I would recommend getting either a tetra or Rasbora, but one that is deeper bodied. If you get something like a neon tetra or chili Rasbora, theres a chance they will get eaten.

Also, if you keep up with maintenance and water changes, you don't need to have that many different "cleanup crew" fish. I would just skip the siamese algae eater as those get around 6 inches which is a tight fit in a 55.
I think if you got 8 otos and 5 or 6 nerites you should be good. You don't want too many things that compete for the same food, it just won't end well.
So, this is just an example of what you could have:

• 2 angelfish (1m, 1f)
• 20-25 tetra/rasbora
• 8 corys
• 8 otos
• 5 nerites

 

[GrandGinkgo]

With angelfish I would recommend getting either a tetra or Rasbora, but one that is deeper bodied. If you get something like a neon tetra or chili Rasbora, theres a chance they will get eaten.

Also, if you keep up with maintenance and water changes, you don't need to have that many different "cleanup crew" fish. I would just skip the siamese algae eater as those get around 6 inches which is a tight fit in a 55.
I think if you got 8 otos and 5 or 6 nerites you should be good. You don't want too many things that compete for the same food, it just won't end well.
So, this is just an example of what you could have:

• 2 angelfish (1m, 1f)
• 20-25 tetra/rasbora
• 8 corys
• 8 otos
• 5 nerites

Ive heard that when there are 2 or more angelfish they will pair up and tank up 1/3 to half the tank and become aggressive so that's why I was thinking one. Do you have any recommendations for what kind of tetra/rasbora? I'm looking for colorful fish. Also I think the corys will be more active if they have 10 or at least there will be more action at the bottom. So I might go for these.

• 1 angelfish
• 20 tetras/rasbora (probably 2 different species)
• Maybe 2 German blue rams (if so then 12 or 15 tetras/rasbora of 1 species)
• 8 otocinclus
• 10 sterbai corys
• 6 nerite snails

 

[connorjs1004]

You could do 1 angelfish if you want, but they do better when there are multiple as it reduces stress and makes them more comfortable. While it may seem to be better to have different schools of fish swimming about, its better to have one larger school. I would probably go with a tetra over Rasbora with angels. Some tetras you can think about keeping with them are:

• Congo tetra (Would only recommend 8-10 as these get pretty big)
• Diamond tetra
• Columbian tetra
• Buenos Aires tetra

You could also look at certain species of rainbow fish in a 55, but just make sure they are compatible with everything else and won't get too big for the tank

I would suggest you don't get gbrs because they really need a temp of at least 82 and do better more towards 84-86 range.
As a substitute, you could look at Bolivian rams, as they can live in cooler water and do best in the mid 70s range. While they don't get as colorful as gbr, I personally really like the colors they get when they are fully grown.
The rest of the list seems ok

 

[GrandGinkgo]

Thanks alot! I'm not sure how many angels are a good amount because people say that angels get into aggressive pairs and take up part of the tank.

 

[AlyeskaGirl]

I would stick with your plan of just 1 Angelfish.

If you want a pair then get 6, once you have a pair, rehome the other 4.

Young ones live together fine until they start to mature and want to pair off. Things can get ugly. Especially when they want to breed.

On another note to keep multiple Angels to reduce aggression you would need a much larger tank and overstocking but within reason.

 

[GrandGinkgo]

I would stick with your plan of just 1 Angelfish.

If you want a pair then get 6, once you have a pair, rehome the other 4.

Young ones live together fine until they start to mature and want to pair off. Things can get ugly. Especially when they want to breed.

On another note to keep multiple Angels to reduce aggression you would need a much larger tank and overstocking but within reason.

Some sites say a single angelfish will feel comfortable just with other fish around.