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Hi...

I'm new with this fish stuff and I don't know what fish goes together, my question... I have a list and I was wondering if they all would be fine together? I have a 55 gallon tank.

Rosy Barb
Planty's
Tetra's(Neon,Bloodfin,Rummynose,Cardinal,Congo,Glo wlight,Green Fire)
Rainbow's (Boesemani, Praecox)
Ram's (German Blue & Red Ram)
Gourami's
Cichlids

Sorry for the long post & all the questions I ask, I'm just learning.

Thanks,
Sugarcookie

Your list looks pretty good. Remember, though, that many cichlids can be aggressive, and that keeping too many cichlids and gouramis can cause them to start pushing each other around! Depending on the type of cichlid, too, you won't be able to keep them at all and have a peaceful community; some cichlids that you should be avoiding are african rift lake cichlids (there are a lot of them!), oscars, jack dempseys, green terrors, red devils... Notice how a lot of these tougher cichlids have tough names, too! This isn't a rule though, so try to find what cichlids you like and see if they'll fit your tank. Flag Cichlids, keyhole cichlids, and severums are some more peaceful types, if I'm not mistaken.

You won't be able to get ALL the fish you listed; your tank isn't big enough for that. But you'll easily be able to have a great diversity. I started out with a 55 gallon too, it's a great size, but too expensive for the average beginner to start out with.

With the kind of stock you have in mind, you can go to two extremes:
1. Lots of smaller fish
2. Some medium to big-sized fish

Likely, you will find a middle ground and include small fish and large fish. You could conceivably do a tank with Rosy Barbs, Platies, Congo Tetras, Boesmani Rainbows, Rams, a Moonlight Gourami or two, and a pair of Angelfish. On the other hand, you could get more fish if you traded out the beosmani for praecox and the congos for cardinals and rummynose. It's all up to you!

Do some research into the species you want and pick and choose which ones you like best. Go to your LFS and see what kinds of fish they have in stock; for example it might not be easy to get Green Fire Tetras or Red Rams.

Have you set up your fish tank yet? If not, this is the best time to learn about some of the beginner's concepts of fishkeeping. You should do a little bit of research on your own, and your library will probably have a good fish book where you can get all this information in one place. Some very important concepts have to due with the cycling your tank, the Nitrogen Cycle, and New Tank Syndrome. If you get yourself started with an understanding of these concepts you are much less inclined to fail.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

It looks like you want to go with 2-4 inch schooling fish. This is a good idea for a beginner. I would go to the profile section of this site. Try and stay away from the territorial or aggressive fish to start with. You will find that info in the temperament section under each fish. Use the "Find compatible species" under each fish profile this is a good aid as well. Most cichlids are to big for what you want to do. Some gouramis are timid and some will be a terror. You will have to do some homework and bring your list of fish down. For the schooling fish I would keep in group of 5 or more, odd numbers.
Look at the size that the fish can get to. Do the math and not have more then 55 inch of fish in your 55 gallon tank (1 inch per gallon). If you go with bigger fish (6-8 inch +)1 inch of fish to 2 gallons.

As a note, the "Find compatible species" in our profiles is often a good guide, but it also has some flaws; I've come up with some fish that are not actually compatbile using that feature, such as fish that require different types of water. If you need help making judgements on compatibility you can just come back and we'll help you.

When using the above-mentioned "inch-per-gallon" rule, consider the adult sizes of the fish, not the size you get them at. That way your fish don't eventually grow to overcrowd your tank. It is very important not to overcrowd for the health of your fish, so as I said before you should do some research to see which ones you like best.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, welcome to FishProfiles!

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

first of all you need the necessary equipment. you need a tank, a filter, gravel, an air stone and aerator (not necessary but can be a nice addition, decorations (can be real or fake plants, terra cotta or clay pots [after curing], drftwood, rocks, bricks, or anyother random fish safe decorations), a heater, lighting fixtures, water treatments, water quality test kit (try not to do strips), and etc...

once all of these are added to the tank(except live plants ) and have been properly functioning for a week then start your fishless or fish cycle. you can do this with either zebra danios, feeder gold fish, or some facy goldfish... after, i would say, a month trade the fish for what you want or toss them () (that is why feeders are used for their cheapness and availability)...
or you can use a producted called cycle or others that help boost the cycle and feed the added bacteria pure ammonia (ask others as i have never used this method)...

i would start with a some cherry barbs (6+) and work my way up to some platties (2 males and 6 females [see livebearers lane in the profile section for how to distinguish between the two] or more!)... then slowly add more fish with a week or two in between each addition... the rams would be the last to add as they are less hardy and are e to death with bad water chemistry...

but most importantly DO NOT OVER STOCK and RESEARCH EVERYTHING PRIOR TO PURCHASE!!!

you might even want to start a 5 or 10g quarantine tank to make sure once your tank is healthy it stays that way!

i would say a good stocking for your tank would be (some of these may not be on you list so sorry but they are great fish!):

10 cardinal tetras,
6-8 tiger barbs,
2 dwarf neon rainbow fish,
3 opaline gouramis (1 male 2 female)
6 cherry or rosy barbs,
and lastly another schol of tetras (glowlight or rummy nose are good ones... )

GOOD LUCK!!! AND KEEP US POSTED!!!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Nice list of choices, keep in mind you will need a cleaning crew. (Algae and scavangers) So here would be my stocking

Rainbows, either the Praecox or the bosemanis are great and very peaceful in a community tank. I would go with 5 or 6.

Gouramis 3-4

Platies 6-8 (The Rainbows will eat the fry so you wont have to worry about a population growth.)

Tetras 8-9 , Bloodfins, they get along great with the Rainbows, I have even had them schooling together.

4-5 corries

and either a Siamese algae eater or a school of 6-7 Oto's

mts.gif" border="0"> I vote do you?
My Tanks at Photobucket

also with the list i previously stated you could easily add a small school of corries (about 6 or 8) if you keep to the smaller sides of the other schools.

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"