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Hello!
I am new to this site, and this is my first post although I have been reading a lot! And sorry this is a tad wordy!
I recently purchased a new 55 gallon aquarium. It was an impulse buy, fueled by jealousy of a friend who just bought one! LoL I got it from Wal-Mart, which I know wasn't the best idea, but I will slowly upgrade everything that came with it. Right now I have an undergravel w/ powerheads and a hang on water filter. (I had a 15 gallon several years ago, so I have some experience.)
I was planning on finding some slate and building my own rocks and caves, but any ideas on other rocks that would be good to use?
I have never had a planted aquarium, so this will be my first attempt. I have picked up that I should cycle the tank before adding plants. I am not too sure what to get yet, I know I eventually want Java Moss for the bottom dwellers. And the rest will depend on the fish, I guess.
But I cannot make up my mind on which fish I want!! I know I want this to be a community tank, but I can already see the future addition of 1 for an Oscar and a smaller brackish one for puffers.
As far as the bottom of the tank, I know I want 6 Cory Catfish, and I like Kuhli loaches...and the algae shrimp caught my eye as well.
I also would like 6 glass catfish...and that is about where I get lost. I was thinking about 1-2 pairs of Dwarf Gouramis (or other types), but it's hard to find females here. I'm not really a big fan of tetras. I've seen some interesting Angels and Hatchetfish.

I don't want to overstock my tank, and I'm worried that getting schools of 6 limits my options...and I don't want all my activity to be at the bottom of the tank. And since I'm so indecisive, I'm not even sure what to get to start cycling the tank...maybe the Cory Cats?

I'd love any input and ideas, and if I need to be on a different track, feel free to tell me! I'm just trying to get as much info as I can.

I live in Memphis, TN, and I have been trying to find a good LFS. I may have found one, but a few of the tanks didn't look so good...but the owner mentioned trying to hire someone which could be an explanation. If anyone else is in the area, please feel free to contact me!

Christina
crickit99@aol.com

hi let me be the first to say Welcome!
And if i were to do anything i would go with live bearers like guppies, platys and sword tails i think those are the best, and if u get and oscar im confused now u want 1 for THIS TANK? if u want to well let me let u down easy, if u want those other fish u cant have and oscar or anythin else big hat might eat them, and oscars need a 75 gallon, i have an oscar and they are great but they grow almost as fast as u fed them, but i have live bering fish too, they are in a 10 gallon and i already have 20 fry from the guppies and swords, and more are pregnant, i just got hooked on platys and they are great little fish, but if u want a full aquarium, get the corrys for the bottom they are cute too i had 2 at one point, and get a ew of each live.b and soon u will have lots more, and eventualy u can make money off them

Welcome to Fish Profiles!

As for the plants, you can add them at the beginning of the cycle, it doesn't matter. The type of plants that you have depends on how many watts per gallon your tank will have.

Your ideas sound good. Corydoras catfish are a lot of fun to watch. Kuhlis are awsome too.

About the gouramis, I would stay away from trying to get a pair. Males can be very agressive, and can injure/kill females. If you want several gourmies of the same species, have a trio (1m/2f). Dwarf gouramis are nice, but take a look at other species of gouramis too (I think some are much prettier).

As for cycling, I would stay away from corydoras, as they can be sensitive to ammonia and nitrites. Good hardy fish to cycle with are danios and livebearers.

HTH

Thanks for the welcome!
As far as the Oscar...I meant a seperate tank!! Haha, I know better than that!
I had some platys in my 15 gallon tank, so they have been on the back of my mind. But I tend to lean towards the more unusual looking fish...and I have a Cory Cat obsession, I think!
I have never had any fish that bred, but that has crossed my mind! Although I haven't looked into it much yet. I can already see my house turning into a giant aquarium!

And as for the Gouramis, I was planning on 2 females for every male, I just tried to cut down on some words! Would I be OK getting 3 each of 2 types? Or better off w/ 6 of the same?
I am afraid to get Danios, and I have had bad experiences...mine were very aggressive. I wasn't able to add any new fish to my old tank, and when I gave them to a friend w/ rather large angels (she figured they'd be eaten)...well, they killed 3 of her angels and were working on the 4th!

So 6 Cory Cats, 5 Kuhli's, shrimp, 6 Glass Cats, 6 Gouramis...and maybe some platys to start w/ the cycling? Or could I do it w/ the hatchetfish? (I don't know much about them.) That doesn't seem like too much?
Any good plant ideas for this group?

Christina


[span class="edited"][Edited by crickit99 2004-07-21 15:25][/span]

[span class="edited"][Edited by crickit99 2004-07-21 15:38][/span]

This is changing the type of tank, but I'm just throwing out another suggestion. Maybe 10 or so tiger barbs, 6 corys, a rtbs, and a BN pleco?

For Gourami's the Pearls are a good bet , very pretty and possibly the most peaceful gourami species.Gourami just don't seem to like other gouramis so maybe better with just one type.

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