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I just received a used 55 gallon and am wondering what to put in it. My 29 gallon is a bit overcrowded and i'd like to just keep it an Asian tank. I want to move the 3 Bleeding Heart Tetras that are in it and incorporate them into the 55 gallon. I would up there number to about 5 or 6. My ph is 7.5 and i will use live plants and driftwood. This will be a living room display so i'd like it to be eye catching. Please suggest some good stocking themes for me. Thanks.

You could do a South American tank and make the Bleeding Hearts the main schooling fish, get a school of Marbled Hatchets for the top, a nice looking school of Cories(maybe Panda or Dainty) for the bottom, and a pair or two of Apistos, Rams, or Keyholes. I don't know if a 55 is big enough for a whole group of Anglefish, but a solitary one or even a pair instead of the other cichlid would be fine.

What is the lighting on this tank going to be? The substrate? The natural habitat of these fish is tannin stained water with lots of sticks and leaf litter. Unfortunately leaf litter would rot in the tank and produce waste. An alternative could be a nice carpet of Dwarf Hairgrass, an Amazon Sword or two, and 2 or 3 nice big pieces of driftwood.

These are merely suggestions, the sky is the limit when it comes to stocking and aquascaping a tank. You could use decorations from a pet store and fish from different continents, or natural driftwood and rocks and fish from the same area. Whatever you like is what you should do(as long as it won't affect the health of the fish), because your the one who will be looking at it.

Together with the Bleeding Heart, you can add another Tetra school (there are plenty to choose from), a bottom feeder school like Corydoras, some Keyholes & Rams or a trio of Angels. If you have a light algae problem, you can also add a couple of Otos or a BN.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

Could i do 6 Bleeding Hearts, 5 Platies, 1 BN, 2 Rams, 2 Keyholes, 6 Panda Cories and 6 Congo Tetras?

You could probably to 8 of each Tetra, 8 Panda Cories, the Rams and Keyholes, and 1 BN. I would recommend that if you do the Platies, start with just 2 females and 1 male, they'll eventually up their numbers naturally.

whatever you do

DONT FORGET THE INVERTS!!!

decorative snails, shrimp, ane dwarf crays add to any community tank...

jason - is it better to get a trio of Angels like you say or one or two? Some posts i've seen say not to get 3 Angels or one can be bullied. Thanks for the help.

If you go with a trio of Angels, make sure that you get them all when they are small. If they grow up together there is less of a chance they will bully each other. I think. You could get a solo, a pair, or a trio, it's up to you. I think any of the combos would work though.

With 3 Angels, there's a bigger chance that you can get a pair.

As truestar wrote, all combinations seem to work & personally, i had 3 Angels in a 100Litre tank, without any problems.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

jason & truestar, how's this for stock? - 3 Angels, 4 Rams, 6 Diamond Tetras (saw these at LFS and think they're cool), 6 Bleeding Hearts, 1 BN or Gold Nugget Pleco, 6 Cories. Too much? Room for more? Should i cut out or add anything? I saw some Cockatoo Cichlids and like them alot, would i have room for a pair?

I think that could work. I'd wait and see what Jason thinks about it first, as stocking isn't my strong point. However, I'm fairly confident that it could work.

I've changed my plan after seeing an amazing tank at my LFS. It had absolutely stunning Colombian Tetras in it with a big school of Rummy Nose and Cardinal Tetras, 4 Rams and a male Cockatoo Cichlid. It was a stunning display with tons of color and activity. So on that note how about i go with:

6 Colombian Tetras
12 Rummy Nose
12 Cardinals
2 BN
4 Rams
1 Cockatoo Cichlid
6 Cories

That should be okay. You could go for a pair of Rams and one pair of Cockatoos. Or just the 2 pairs of Rams. You could cut the other 2 Tetra schools to 10 each and go with 8 Colombian Tetras. That sounds like a good tank, and you could probably do anyone of the stocking options listed above, or the one you listed in your last post. Good Luck.

I just read that Colombian Tetras can be nippy and aggressive. Is it ok to keep Rams, Rummies and Cardinals with them? Anyone have experience with them?

Colombian are a bit nippy & i wouldn't add them. Stick with the Rummynose & Cardinals. I agree with truestar about the Rams & Cockatoo. Go with 4 Rams or a pair each. Yhe Corydoras & the BN are fine for me, but remember to add some Driftwood, so the BN can munch on it as well.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com