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A couple weeks ago this guy my aunt works with told her he had a fish tank that he was trying to get rid of, she told him that she would take it off his hands. So finally weeks later my dad grabs his truck and we drive over and get it. When I first saw it i was appalled, all 4 sides were completely green, however you couldn't even tell because the water was so brown. A few hours and a soar back later, It turned out to be a 55 gallon tank, with a solid wood stand, and cover thing, a tetra whisper filter for up to 60 gallons, and a florescent light fixture with bulbs. I'm not planning on doing anything with it for a while but what are some stocking idea's you guys have?

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac210/_last_regret_/P1020290.jpg
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac210/_last_regret_/P1020289.jpg
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac210/_last_regret_/P1020288.jpg

P.S I am familiar with the nitrogen cycle and what-not.

"You used to be much more... much-ier, you've lost your muchness"

hey good deal!
Sore backs are worth fishtanks (granted I'm little and usually get other people to get sore backs so I can have the tanks

55 offers a good deal of space to work with, really it comes down to what type of fish you want to keep. Africans, americans, asians....then working on picking a good mix of fish from there. I'd steer away from any of the larger fish since a 55 still has it's limits, for instance stay away from goldfish or oscars, both really need much larger tanks IME/IMO.

If you're thinking of going planted, you'll most likely need to replace and upgrade the lighting. Florescent bulbs can lose their effectiveness for plants even though they are still plenty bright. Also, the gravel may pose a problem for some fish. Usually dark gravel is used as fish see light as up and dark as bottom, having light gravel can confuse and stress fish.

Since you already know about the cycle, you can work on doing a fishless cycle while you come up with what you want. My suggestion is to stop by your LFS and have a look at what interests you, write it down, and check in with the profiles section here to make sure they meet your requirements.


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As of right now I have no where to put it in order to start the cycle . Could I do some type of peaceful Gourami tank? I currently have 2 Gold Gourami in a 20 gallon long tank. Would they live compatibly with other types of Gourami like pearl, chocolate, or blue?

"You used to be much more... much-ier, you've lost your muchness"

I would highly suggest doing a fishless cycle. Since you already have an established tank all you need to do is give the 'new' filter a rinse off in clean water, then give it a dunk in some declorinated water and set it up to run on your existing tank for a few weeks. It'll be populated with the good bacteria.
You didn't mention if it came with any ornaments, but if you pop them in the existing tank as well they'll get some bacteria on them. Basically any surface you can have in an existing tank for 3-4 weeks will have the good bacteria on it. If you have an old pair of stockings somewhere a lot of people will fill them with the gravel and hang them in an established tank to be populated. Then once you're ready to set up the new tank you just move everything over, and start stocking slowly with the hardiest fish you plan to have in your stocklist.

A few gourami, a big school of rasboras (10/12+) and a medium school of yoyo loaches should do a nice asian type set up. Some easy to grow java fern on some driftwood and you're done! You could also go with a few of the smaller barbs like gold or ruby, or add danios instead of rasboras to fill the middle layers.

I've only ever had one gourami, one the hubby picked out so I'm not too sure on compatibility among different gouramis.

That stand looks like it's pretty sturdy and should distribute the weight evenly across the floor so just about anywhere should be good. I'd stay away from any bright windows as sunlight can cause a lot of algae issues with tanks. Also keep it away from any fireplaces or heaters as it is possible that sudden changes in temperatures could cause the glass to crack.

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Thanks for the tips! By medium school of loaches, how many are we talking about? I'm not planning on setting up a planted tank but for the moss, is it easy to grow and keep alive? With driftwood, I've tried it before and it made my water yellow-ish. Maybe if i put it in hot water or something? Thanks in advance for the help

"You used to be much more... much-ier, you've lost your muchness"

Yellowish that would be the tannins. Soaking in warm water that you change out every day for a week+ will help reduce the amount of tannins that leech into your tank. Some people like it and use it to lower the ph, especially for south american tanks. Carbon also tends to pick up some of the color. The amount of tannins will depend on the type and size of the wood and if it's been soaked before. Most wood will also develop a white fuzz for the first week or so that it is in a tank, it goes away on its own even if it is unsightly.

Small school of loaches, I'd say 3-4 as a minimum. Yoyos IME don't tend to school but they do like to have their own kind around, so it doesnt' need to be a full sized school, but the more the merrier. Stay away from clowns as they get too big for that sized tank.

By moss, I'm guessing you mean java moss? I've never really been a big fan of java moss just because it doesn't grow roots and is so hard to keep put (and out of the filter!!!) It works ok in tanks set up for fry as they like to hide in it and usually in that case you're running really light filtration like a corner filter. It can be tied down to rocks or wood, but I've always had pieces escape and it look messy.
Java fern on the other hand is pretty easy to keep alive. Most fish won't eat it (I've had a silver dollar munch up lace java fern though) and it doesn't have any demanding light requirements. Just tie onto wood or rock or even ornaments and let it take care of itself.


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When I said moss, I was thinking fern, I guess i was thinking java moss instead of java fern or something...
I think I will stick with fake decor, or rocks instead of driftwood. When I got the tank from the guy, he actually had two fish in it, a fairly large rainbow shark and one gold gourami. In my 20 gallon long tank I originally had 1 gold gourami and some tiger barbs. Will the shark be okay with the gouramis and rasboras in the new tank? (as long as i have enough little hiding spots for them?) and this face looks kinda cute so I need to post it:

Edit: I forgot to ask, due to the type of fish at my local fish store if they don't have rasboras, could I do danios or some type of tetra? or maybe a school of guppies/swordtails/platies?

"You used to be much more... much-ier, you've lost your muchness"

Yep danios are a good hardy fish, never had much of a problem with them, only time I ever had an issue was a full grown long tail zd that I'm pretty sure spent his whole life by himself (this was a tank bought from the papers fully stocked). When I added some companions who were still very young he harassed them to death.

Swords, my first experience with them hasn't been good so far, have a bully (again ) that likes to be by himself. Guppies may work, but don't expect to raise many fry with other fish in the tank.

As for your rainbow shark I would fully expect him to make lunch of anything too small or slow, may want to make sure you've got fast fish. Zebra danios will be good, tiger barbs in a big enough school. The Gourami may be ok if it's full sized it shouldn't be harassed too much. Smaller loaches, cories, and other bottom dwellers may be a no with him. Sometimes it all depends on the fish.

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Okay cool, currently he is in the tank with two gouramis and a decent school of tiger barbs, and he seems to get along well with them. In the end my mom is going to make the decision on what fish go where, and it seems like she is trying to move all the fish from my 36 gallon bow-front tank into the new tank. In which case do you think the rainbow shark will get along with tetra's (serpae, lemon, neon and glowlight) cories (albino, and emerald) and a botia loach? If it goes the way I'm hoping do rainbow sharks enjoy company of their own species? Thanks again for the help!


"You used to be much more... much-ier, you've lost your muchness"

Rainbow sharks don't really get along with others of their kind very well. I had two in a 55 gallon together and they fought non stop. I had to seperate them. As for them eating little fish mines don't. I have one that is atleast 6-7 inches long in a 55 gallon tank with a guppy and about 25 neon tetras and she doesn't bother them at all.

LUCKY