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Okay, so we have a 55 gal tank set up and running in our living room. The majority of the fish died after we had to suddenly leave town for 2 weeks last December (DH's mother was on life support and subsequently passed away). My mother, who is clueless about fish care, was coming over to feed the fish and apparently she and I have VERY different ideas about how much fish flake is a pinch. Anyhow, the ONLY fish who made it through was our gold gourami that we've had for about 3 years I think. We'd like to get more fish for this tank as the kids really like to look at them. Honestly, I have 3 kids age 5 yrs and under and don't really have the time to research. We've had platies in there before and I liked them because we just bought 5 of them and they filled up the tank. The gourami took care of some of the fry and we had lots of floating plants for the rest to hide in. I'm open to doing livebearers again but DH wasn't too fond of the platies.

I do have a few "rules" for the fish:
I want a very peaceful tank. My oldest is very sensitive and would freak if the fish were being "mean" to each other.
I want smaller fish so that we can have quite a few (less chance that the kids will notice if one starts swimming upside down).
They need to be a variety of colors for the wonderful visual stimulation for the little ones.
I honestly do not want to have to put in a ton of work... I have way too many things on my plate already. Of course feeding the fish and doing typical water changes are to be expected but I don't want a fish that needs pristine water.
Oh, and I do have a smaller unused tank that I can move our gourami to if it will be too aggessive for a community tank. I know in the past she's been a bit too much for our platies that we had.

Sorry to ramble so much. I do appreciate any help. Thanks!

Beth

There are quite a few options to choose from for this tank:

Most small tetras would do great in your tank. I highly recommend my favorite tetras, rosy tetras and black phantom tetras. both are beautiful and hardy, surviving just about anything IME. Other tetras that would do well include your tank include cardinals, silvertips, lemons, glowlights, bloodfins, as well as a few others i cant think of off the top of my head. Just be sure that you keep these fish in schools of at least 6 for their well-being.

There are also many schooling cyprinids that are well-suited for your tank. A few that come to mind are zebra danios, harlequin rasboras(my favorite ), white clouds, and brilliant rasboras. All of which are very colorful, peaceful, and active. But as with the tetras, these also must be kept in schools of at least 6.

Any species of corydora catfish would also be great for your tank. Although they aren't very colorful, they are very active, yet innoffensive, and are sure to entertain your kids with their antics. As with the previous fishes, though, these also need to be kept in schools of at least 6.

Good luck

This might sound a bit strange but I would go for a mix of small live bearers Guppies & platies plus some easy and hardy egg layers such as Zebra danios.
All of those breed quickly and there is always plenty of colour.

You would also require some live plants a good one for fish like that is Indian Fern also known as Floating water sprite.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
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Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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Thanks for the advice. I was leaning towards zebra danios as I seem to recall they are very hardy. I also think that DH really likes guppies and they can be easily found in a wide variety of colors. We were planning on putting in some cories as well, we've had those in there before and they are quite active. We had the albino cories and the kids really liked watching them. My thought is:
6 zebra danios
6 albino cories
3 guppies (I think I recall reading 2F 1M?)

I think we'll get the zebra danios this weekend and then go from there. (And I promise if we go out of town again I'll put the appropriate amount of food in one of those 7 day vitamin things so that they don't get overfed.)

Oh, and is that list okay for the size of my tank? Don't forget I have that gourami in there as well.

Beth

I recently set up a 55g in my bedroom. I want a peaceful set up as well.

Here's what I have so far:

3 neon green platys
3 gouramis: 1 opaline, 2 flame
a neon tetra (had a shoal of 13)
9 silver tipped tetras, very kool
2 Bolivian Rams
6 various fancy guppies

I've got room for some more small fish which I'll add eventually...

Lemon Tetras are great, X Ray tetras are great, Rummynose Tetras are great, Cories are great too.

Good luck keep us posted!!!

/:'