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I have a new 55gal. tank and of right now I have 5 red eye tetra and 5 platy (all small,3m/3f), and one swordtail(small female). Here's the fish that I like and that are available at my LF stores:

guppies, mollies, angels, congo tetra, diamond tetra, blue tetra, long fin danios, blue gourami, dwarf gourami, long fin rosy barbs, rainbowfish, black neons, white clouds, black/white skirts, severum, blue acara, rainbow cichlid, sajica cichlid, convicts...hmmm thats all I can think of right now. I want 2-3 schools (or just groups of the same kind of fish) and a few (maybe 2-3) bigger fish. Oh and I guess I should plan on some corys, a pleco, snails, etc. for the bottom later on when I need a cleanup crew.

I would post a pic but I dont know how. But the overall look is blue/black gravel mix, two grayish castles (by the way does anyone know how to safely repaint a fishtank ornament?), a few green plants (but I'm thinking of going with the pearl colored plants or just some colorful unatural colored fake plants or I'm considering a fake plant/real plant tank with mostly fake with a few real plants like Microswords, etc.)

I really am leaning toward the livebearers, congos, red eyes, blue gourami, and a cichlid ...but I'd like other suggestions as well or comments about the ones I like and what will work and what probably won't.

Rather than tell you what and how many to get, i'm going to tell you what i think you should not get from the species available that you like, if you want a happy small community of livebearers and tetra type fish with 2 or 3 larger feature fish, and a few other suggestions.

Give the blue acara and larger cichlids a miss they are generally too aggressive or grow too large for a small community to be happy.

Also the angels and severum while they would be ok while they are small, they too would end up getting too large and would see the other small fish as a food source.

The rosy barbs are definiatly fin nippers we had the short finned variety and they just constantly chase each other around playing tag by nipping at each others tails and any other unsuspecting fish they happen to sneak up on and in my experience the tiger and moss green barbs are much the same in behaviour, this behaviour can be contained to an extent by having a school of more than 6 fish but they seem to establish a pecking order and slowly but surely the fish at the bottom of the order will be picked to death followed by the next and the next along with a few of the other species.

Be very careful when buying a pleco some of them can grow absolutly massive, find out what species it is before you buy it and look it up.

The blue gourami will be ok with the smaller fish but they can sometimes be agressive toward their own kind and other gourami's of the same body shape like the gold and platinum gourami sometimes they'll come to a relatively peaceful arrangement on territory and a short fight breaks out every time the teritorial borders are crossed, and in my experience the females are more suited to life in a community than males. It is difficult to tell the sex when they are young, males have longer and pointier dorsal fin while the females tends to be more of a curved circular shape.

I'll also suggest a blue ram or two to go in there as your token cichlid they're small and placid and will fit in nicely if you can get your hands on them,
and as for stocking the tank it helps to add all the smaller species of fish before adding your larger feature fish and if possible buy juvinile feature fish to grow into the community.

hope this helps you out a little
GT

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

Ok, right now I'm really liking the idea of either the congos, diamonds, or long finned rosy barbs. I think the shimmery goldish white will look great with what I'm trying to go for...I'm trying to create something that looks like it could have come straight from a fairytale. So I have the castle and pretty blue gravel and background, and some green fake plants and a bit of shimmer would really work I think. But the red eye tetra look really good in the tank too and they would be a problem with the long finned fish. Hmmm decisions decisions. I probably won't get any kind of ciclid, I think I'll have whatever shimmery fish I choose to be the showcase fish in the tank..which is why I would like to go with the lf rosy barbs because they can get up to 6in. supposedly. And I do want some type of gourami, and livebearers (not gupppies I guess). Can corys and plecos be in the same tank? What plecos don't get big? Can I have snails with these fish that I've listed?

Hi. If I were going for the fantasy castle theme I would choose the Congo Tetras. They have that fantasy look about them. A great pleco that does not get too big is the bristlenose plec. Interesting looking and peaceful too. They would get along with corys too. Snails are not my area so I can not help you there. Good luck!

"Talk is cheap. Action can be almost as affordable"

If you want snails, I say go for Malaysian Trumpet Snails MTS. If you go the real plant route they wont eat them and act like earthworms for your substrate burrowing through to help keep it lose. If you go plastic they'll help keep the algae off them (same with real)

Before you decide on how to stock the plants, consider how much light you have over the tank. You'll need at least 2 watts per gallon (WPG) to get good results from mid to low lights plants, and more for anything else. Just like the fishies plants need research too .

I'm going to vote against the long finned rosy barbs. They're genetic modifications of rosy barbs that I don't feel is fair to the fish. Rosies are fast swimmers and like being active, that tail just holds them back IMO. Go with the tetras .

^_^

Go with the tetras.

Do you mean go with the congo tetra or diamond tetra? I really think congos, diamonds, and lf golden rosy barbs would look great together but I guess I have to choose. I really really like the lf rosy barbs, and I think considering their size they would be more of a centerpiece fish. Congos are pretty, but smaller and I think more expensive and harder to come by but I have seen them available. Would red eyes and congos look ok together you think? Congos are more fancy though. Do diamonds prefer soft water? I have well water by the way so I'm guessing its hard and ph is around 7.5 maybe..I haven't checked it in a long while though but it was in the upper 7's. Do congos or diamonds have similar body shapes as the red eye tetra? I want variety in shapes and colors in the tank but nothing that is going to clash. So it looks like I'll be having a white, gray, black, blue color scheme (with a hint of orange and yellows on the livebearers). Can I have guppies with congos? Or a blue gourami? Dwarf gourami? Do only white clouds and blue neons get to be about 1.5inches? What about black neons, are they 2inches? SOrry for all the questions!

Keep in mind that your stocking ideas involve a lot of schooling fish. And as I'm sure you know that means that you need at least 6-10 of each for them to feel comfortable. More would be better.


If you want to play up the fantasy theme, try going for the congos. Diamonds are okay but some people have had problems with keeping them (I never did, they were the only tetra I liked ), and the red eye doesnt seem to scream out fantasy to me. Congos get my vote out of the ones you've suggested, and the barbs IME might be out of place with the castles, I think you want slower moving graceful fish dancing about the tank.

I wouldnt suggest WCMM, seems you're leaning towards an amazon set up and WCMM prefer cooler faster moving waters.

If you want to go with the livebearers you could go with some guppies, the rest of the tankmates might help to keep them from overpopulating the tank, and the long tails will help with the fantasy theme . Make sure you get more females than males for any livebearer as the males tend to harass the women. If you do end up with too many fry you can always see if you can trade back to your LFS.

You might also want to look at a school of dozen harlequin rasbora They're asian, but do like the warmer temps and I think the patterning would work perfect for the theme !

Sorry if I didnt get everything, I'm sure someone else will ...oh and try splitting your questions into paragraphs, it makes it a bit easier on us to try and get everything answered .

^_^

Congos are fairly large. I wouldn't put any bigger schooling fish in a 55 than that. The barbs may just be so large they stop being a centerpiece fish and end up dwarfing your tank making it look ridiculously small even when it's a good sized tank. Something around the size of congo tetras would be a bit more to scale for a theme tank of that size. I'd do a school of 8 and make sure to pick out mostly males. Males will have a reddish area down their middle and bluish coloring above and below it. It's rather light on young stressed males in stores but will still be there. These areas will darken and spread to create a red and blue shimmer. Females will just be gold colored and will stay that way as they grow making them rather plain compared to the males. 2-3 females though will really cause the males to color up.

For a 2nd school diamonds will match the congos and have a bit more shimmer but with less constrasting colors while red eyes would stand out seperately. You could do a 3 spot gourami as a centerpiece fish. The way they slowly cruise through the plants with their deep coloring would probably add just the mood your looking for. A moonlight gourami would be another larger option but I think the tank would start to look a bit washed out or boring with such light or subtly marked fish.

For planting I'd actually do a fairly low light setup or have lots of plants covering the surface. Crinums in the medium light range would work and are very hardy plants. They'll grow to provide a canopy of leaves(like thick grass blades) over the top of the tank creating shaded areas. None of those fish like really bright tanks but they do like really heavily planted tanks so plants that partially cover the surface balance it out giving the fish areas of shade that they feel safe swimming under even if you put on a fair amount of light to keep the plants growing. Add some lower light plants under it like crypts or java fern and the fish should show off their colors perfectly. I would not suggest microswords since they need high light reaching all the way down to the substrate which will create this big bright area and only provide cover near the bottom of the tank. The fish will be stressed and their color washed out.

Ok this way overstocks it but its a starting point to be narrowed down. Maybe help me make a few different stocking list from these options.

Also if I can't find the congos or they are too expensive I'm going to replace them with the long fin rosy barbs more than likely because I really like them and I think 5 would be good in the tank (25-30inches).

8 Congos = 20-24inches?
6 Red Eyes= 12-15inches? (I already have 5 and they go good with the gray castles)
3 ballon mollies= 6inches?
2 regular mollies= 6inches?
6 platy= 12 inches?
8 guppies= 12inches?
8 black neons= 9-12inches?
3 swordtails (males)=12inches?
1 blue gouami= 5inches?
1 dwarf gourami= 2inches
1 angel?
? corys
1 pleco (but I don't like the bristlenose ones)
1 good size snail

One way to narrow down that list would be to pick one kind of livebearer. You could put more guppies in the tank than any of the other's since they're a smaller fish.

Also, I think the gouramis might think your snail is a snack. Unless maybe the snail gets too big for them.

I definitly want all those kinds of livebearers, just not sure on the numbers. I'm not even sure though that the guppies would live, I never use to be able to get them to live for very long. Would even dwarf gouramis think small snails were snacks?

That many livebearers will only work in that tank if you've got something to take care of the fry.

The tetras will get many of them, but you're starting out with an overstocked tank that will simply increase the population every month. This is not a good plan for a new tank

yes 8 Congos = 20-24inches?
yes6 Red Eyes= 12-15inches? (I already have 5 and they go good with the gray castles)
males 3 ballon mollies= 6inches?
males2 regular mollies= 6inches?
males6 platy= 12 inches?
males8 guppies= 12inches?
no8 black neons= 9-12inches?
yes 3 swordtails (males)=12inches?
no1 blue gouami= 5inches?
yes1 dwarf gourami= 2inches
no 1 angel?
no? corys
absolutly not 1 pleco (but I don't like the bristlenose ones)
yes 1 good size snail

Comon plecos get 2-3 feet, and create more waste than you can handle in that tank. Even the smaller, more expensive ($50-$100) ones will create a lot of waste. This is simply due to their diet.
In a more lightly stocked tank (ie scratch the livebearers) you could have 1 school of tetras 1 school of corys, 1 angelfish or gourami, 1 small pleco,1 snail.

If you want an angelfish and pleco pick ONE type of livebearer (I suggest the guppies) to go with the school of tetra, angelfish (they'll eat some babies but not all) pleco, and snail. Then after 3-4 months if you have no problems with the tank you might be able to add a school of cories.

^_^

I don't want to start out with an overstocked tank, the stock numbers I put are just for everyone to get a general idea of how many of each type of fish that I would like if I were to put that particular kind of fish in the tank.

I don't want just male livebearers, that would defeat the purpose of wanting livebearers in the tank. I would be putting the baby fry in a seperate tank. And really with all the livebearers (that eat their own young and the young of others), and an angel or a blue gourami (which would definitely take care of the population) I don't see that it would be a problem with population control. I really can't pick between the livebearers.

So the only bottom feeder/cleaner you think I should have in a 55 is one snail?? I really like plecos (unlike alot of people haha) but I guess it won't really go with the fantasyland theme anyway, snails and/or corys would go with the theme though I think.

I can do away with the black neons even though I think a school of them would look nice.

Why no dwarf gourami? Seems everyone is concerned with the Blue gourami getting along but I've had one before and there was no problem, I think it all depends on the fish itself. But dwarfs aren't as aggressive right? And they would add a touch of color and more sparkle.

My dwarf gouramis were just as if not more agressive than my blue gourami. In fact I'd rather try to put several male 3 spots in the same tank than dwarf gouramis again. However neither one is very agressive toward other non gourami species. I don't think it really matters which gourami you pick but only pick one otherwise you may end up with fights.

If you are doing all those livebearers I would only do 1 type of tetra and it would probably be better to do a smaller species instead of the congos. Black neons would be fine or possibly the diamonds. You need to at least drop the mollies to be able to fit a larger schooling fish or 2 schools. I would not go with an angel either. It will take up too much space. More so than even the blue gourami. Angels are also a very bad idea with snails. They will harass them to death. You could possibly do a couple small plecos like clowns if you can find them. I wouldn't add a school of cories unless you have fewer livebearers. The really small pleco species will not take up much space if you can find them. Clowns do need driftwood in the tank though.

With that many livebearers you are going to have a ton of fry. Even with other fish to eat them fry still manage to survive. Usually at least 2-3 per batch but sometimes 10+. With lots of fry being produced at once there is an even higher chance of more fry surviving for each batch. So for every female in the tank you could have around 10 fry about every month. You also are going to have a heck of a time catching each and every one so the stocking level of the tank will slowly increase even if you try to remove all the fry. Considering you should keep about 2-3 females for every male livebearer unless you have somewhere that's willing to take the fry constantly your looking at a potential mess. Most stores do not want livebearer fry. They are overrun with enough of them and even if they take them they first won't give you anything and 2nd will likely just use them as feeders for some bigger fish they have. Unless you've got really good quality livebearers that people will want and a breeding plan in mind it's best to only keep males. Livebearers are made to produce fry and they do it very very well. It's very easy to be overcome. When I had guppies I kept 3 tanks with 1 for males, 1 for females, and 1 for breeding and fry grow out. I made sure to remove females as soon as gender could be determined and not let any rogue breedings occur. Otherwise I would have had far more than the ~80 I ended up with after a few months. That's after the blue gourami ate half of them and with only 1 female being allowed to breed. No store would take these guppies either. It took me months to give them away after I stopped letting them breed.

I've kept livebearers before, I've never had a population problem, and like I said I have a seperate grow out tank and if all else fails..I have a hungry turtle.

Also I've always been able to catch every single one of my fry ..that were not eaten...it takes a few days because I wait until the come up to the top and hide in the floating plants then I take a cup and scoop them up.

So how much smaller are diamonds compared to congos?

Actually take out the guppies all together, I'll put them in a 29gal or maybe a 40gal long one day (what size are they, 48in long?).

But I do want a few mollies and swordtails in the main tank. But I do think some of the sparkly blue/green/black/white looking platy and swordtails would look good in the main tank...you know the kind I'm talking about? Right now I have organge and yellow platys and those just aren't going with the theme.

I'd like to turn my 29 into a very colorful tank ..a kind of artsy theme...with black background and gravel so the fish really stand out.

So now how about choosing from :

6 Congos = 15-18inches? or 6 Diamonds= (i'm guessing 2in/ea?= 12inches)
6 Red Eyes= 12-15inches? (I already have 5 and they go good with the gray castles)
3 (1m2f)regular mollies= 9inches?
4 (1m 3f) platy= 8 inches?
2m swordtails= 8inches?
1 blue gouami= 5inches?
1-3(1m2f)dwarf gourami= 2-6inches
1 angel?
corys=?
1 good size snail