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Subscribestocking 55 gallon
sirbooks
 
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Are you going to stick to fish from one continent or go with a more diverse community? Is this a planted tank?

Some common showcase fish include medium-sized peaceful cichlids and gouramis. If you don't care for the typical specimens of either group, there are species which are out of the ordinary.

The problem with the sharks (I assume you mean the Labeo species) is that they can be very aggressive towards conspecifics. Typically, these sharks will fight unless given large tanks, and yours doesn't sound like it is big enough to take the risk.



And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile MSN PM Edit Report 
djtj
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Serpaes are awsome, I have 11 in my 20 long. They're really nippy with each other. Chochus blue tetras are also tough for tetras.
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
Nick
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try obtaining a Raphael Cat, or one of the other smaller Doradids


I looked at these in the FW profiles and I think it's a little bigger than I want. I only found one other in the Doradid family and it was bigger. Any other suggestions of a smaller catfish in that family as you had suggested? Also, keep in mind I would really like whatever catfish I get to serve it's purpose as a catfish...did that makesense? Basically I want it to keep the bottom of the tank as clean as possible. Obviously I will do regular gravel vacs, but a little help is always welcome.

Buenos Aires Tetras are tough. They're capable of being used as dither fish for Convicts, which should give you an idea how tough they are. However, they are the largest of the Hemigrammus, at 3½ inches fully grown


This was another concern of mine, I looked at these as well, and also thought they might be a little bit too big for what I want. I liked the look of them. What about Serpae Tetras?




Last edited by Jessnick at 24-Jan-2006 17:49
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Calilasseia
 
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Buenos Aires Tetras are tough. They're capable of being used as dither fish for Convicts, which should give you an idea how tough they are. However, they are the largest of the Hemigrammus, at 3½ inches fully grown, so they like space. In a 55 you shouldn't have too many problems with them, provided you watch what else you put in there with them.

As for bottom feeders, if you want something that will withstand any unwelcome attentions from your Kribs, and for that matter are tough enough to live alongside Dempseys, try obtaining a Raphael Cat, or one of the other smaller Doradids. Those fishes are underwater main battle tanks protected by armour that is covered in sharp spines - they're like razor wire to the touch, so be VERY careful when handling them for any reason! If your Kribs do try and take nips at a Raphael, they'll only do it the once ...


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Nick
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buenos aries tetras are the fish for you.


I think i'm going to take that suggestion......Thanks

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Nick
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and another....



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Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Nick
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Thank you again everyone for the suggestions, and again with a special thanks to Books. Well here they are...got 5 last night....they look great! Some pics....



Jessnick attached this image:
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
djtj
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If you want some schooling fish that will stand up to firemouths and/or kribs, even if they're breeding,buenos aries tetras are the fish for you.
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
luvmykrib
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I'd suggest all males if you can find them, they are still very colourful, the females while young come into a sort of heat and may beat each other up, my lone female krib does this about every three weeks and she chases the tiger barbs and bullies the poor little otos. I have had mixed male and female but they all died either from the lfs tanks still cycling or from chasing each other all around the tank. This may not be as bad in your tank as it is much bigger (jealous) than mine.
Other than that I highly recommend kribs as they are really neat fish with interesting personalities, mine eats out of my hand and sometimes nips my arm when I'm rearranging plants and such LOL!

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
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Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
sirbooks
 
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Kribs would be fine as long as you make sure that you don't end up with any pairs. Kribs are easy to breed, and many people have had them successfully raise fry in community tanks. The biggest problem is that a pair of breeding kribs will likely injure or kill other fish, especially those that live near the bottom like cories do. I have seen a pair with fry attack oscars more than double the kribs' size, and push the oscars into a corner of the tank. All females or even all male kribs would be best. If you do not have any pairs, kribs are usually pretty decent community fish.

Depending on how many of the cories and tetras you want, it should be perfectly fine to add another group of schooling or shoaling fish to the tank, or even something solitary. You have the space for fairly large or medium-sized groups of schooling fish.



And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile MSN PM Edit Delete Report 
Nick
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ok how about:

3-5 Kribs
school of Neon Tetras
school of Cories (probably Albino..but undecided)

well?would that work? and same question above, could anything else be put in with them?
and what about the gender, same problems as the Firemouth?



Last edited by Jessnick at 22-Jan-2006 11:47
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
sirbooks
 
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Well, breeding firemouths would not be a nice thing to have in a community tank. Even two that have merely paired off can become more territorial than usual, so buying all females would avoid that problem. Females tend to be less of a pain than males, especially since the males will likely go into dominance battles or something of the sort.

I'm not sure how well neon tetras would do with firemouths, because it seems like the cichlids would be able to easily eat neons once they grow larger. Someone else here might know. Pictus catfish would be okay, but you'd need to stick with just one. A lot of the time, adult pictus don't like the company of their own species. A single pictus cat won't scavenge the substrate like Corydoras will, but it would be more able to withstand a bit of bullying and some people really adore those long whiskers. Corydoras should be okay with kribs, especially if you choose a larger species that wouldn't be injured easily if a firemouth decided to get rough.

Hope that helps you out a bit.



And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile MSN PM Edit Delete Report 
Nick
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So,i'm leaning towards the Firemouth. I was thinking anywhere from 2 to 4 of them depending on what will work. I'm not sure I want a "breeding" pair, would all the same sex work? Or is that a bad idea? Maybe 2 females and a male, something tells me that would work better than 2 males and 1 female. I would think pairs would want two seperate "territories",I don't think I want to rearrange the tank that much. Anyways, will the Neons work with Firemouths'? What abouth catfish? I have to have catfish, maybe a school of cories would work? The LFS guy says Pictus would work, and i'd be alright with that as long as I knew they were as good as a tank cleaner as a school of cories. Could I get more than one Pictus? I'm sure the Emperors' will not be staying in the tank, so that would leave me with:
2-4 Firemouth
school of Neon Tetras
school of cories or 2-3 Pictus catfish

what do you think? and if this would work, could I add anything else??? I'd like to try to squeeze another something in there if possible. BTW thanks for everyones' help, especially Books. Look forward to reading the responses.


Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Nick
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I thought you were looking for a "shark" tank?


Well I was just throwing out some ideas. But the biggest thing I don't like about the "catfish shark" is that it would be the only fish in the tank. I'd like a a bit more fish than that...but thanks for the suggestion

Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Nick
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I'm still trying to come up with a stock list for my new 55 gallon. Right now there are Emperor and Neon Tetras, which i'm not so sure now they will be staying. I was thinking of a big community, but i'm very undecided. My wife would like to have a couple of big fish in the tank and that's it. So what do you think? Community? Aggressive? I'd love to hear everyone's ideas, because I can't seem to think outside the lines.

how about a shark tank? Is that something I could do?


Last edited by Jessnick at 15-Jan-2006 07:32
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Nick
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Well, it's not a planted tank..but lots of fake plants and hiding places. I was figuring a shark wouldn't be good either, and as far as Gouramis go, i'm not a big fan. So that brings me to Cichlids. How diverse can I get? I would like to keep the tank as close to it's current parameters as possible i.e. ph runs about a 7.2 and temp. is about 80 degrees F. I was looking at a post that mentioned Firemouth Cichlids, and I thought those were cool looking. So maybe something along those lines. I don't know. What can I do with it? And while were talking about Firemouth Cichlids, just curious but let's say I went with them....Would a school of cories still be ok or am I way off with that one? I attached a photo, maybe that will give you an idea on what I have to work with.




Jessnick attached this image:
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
djtj
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You like sharks? How about a real life freshwater shark?
Actualy, they're a type of catfish, but they closely resemble the real deals of the deep blue sea. They're only 10" long, so you could have one in a 55 gallon, but nothing else as they are as agressive as their name suggests. Don't worry about lighting too much, in fact none is best since they're nocturnal. It is rumored that if you keep the lights off, they will think it's night and become active 24/7. Blue sharks are not the most common fish, and they cost a bit, around $40. But since you can only buy 1 fish, it's too much of a purchase. You just don't want to confuse them with a baby whale. These are blackish fish that will normall go for $7 or $8, so that will be an indicator.
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
sirbooks
 
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Well, there are a number of cichlid species which could possibly work. Before we go any farther though, exactly what fish are in the tank? Which ones do you plan to get rid of, if any? Is there any reason why the tank is kept at eighty degrees? Some cichlids wouldn't appreciate that, and the tetras you have don't need the temp to be quite that high.

If you've got plenty of room, a firemouth would be possible. They normally aren't overly territorial unless a breeding pair is obtained, in which case they can be beasts. Plenty of people keep these fish in a community setting without problems, however. Corydoras could be kept with a firemouth, provided you have the space for each.



And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."
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Fallout
 
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I say go with some boesemani (blue/orange/red) or irian red rainbowfish (red/silver), and a trio of congo tetras (blue/green/orange/silver) Big, colorful, active and very fun to watch. You don't have to worry about "will this fish eat/beat up my other fish?" either.

If you get rid of the neons, you could get a school of dwarf neon rainbowfish. They're a nice shimmery blue with a red/orange streak on their fins. They stay small and are still very active and peaceful.

What's not to love!?
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Calilasseia
 
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Even though you're not a fan of Labyrinth Fishes in general, how about the Moonlight Gourami, Trichogaster microlepis?

My LFS has these in stock. Even at 2 inches, they shimmer beautifully under the right lighting, and though the base colour is silver, the pearlescent scales can refact light so that the fish looks as if it's iridescent lavender in colour. It has the advantage of being a lot more peaceful than many other similarly sized fishes (it reaches 8 inches) and so it would be compatible with surprisingly small companions. Whether it would be compatible with Neons is moot, but your Emperor Tetras would have nothing to fear from Moonlight Gouramis.

if on the other hand you want Cichlids, but want something a little different, you could try Jade Eye Cichlids, Cryptoheros spilurus. These used to be known as Cichlasoma cutteri, and breeding adults have iridescent gem-like eyes. Here's a pic for you to peruse at leisure


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:53Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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