Stocking advice

[Joanie]

I need HELP! A friend of mine that just moved out of state knew how much I love keeping fish and dropped off his old 55 gallon setup before he left town. I haven't had a large tank in about 8 years and I'm stumped with what to do with all that room.

So all I have now is a dry tank with sand and slate rocks. I would love to have my first planted tank (even though I realize starting out at this size is going to be work!). I've been cruising the internet for days trying to figure out what fish won't eat each other and what kind of colorful plants won't get devoured and my head is spinning. I just really don't want to spend a ton of money and have it go down the tube, or worse, unhappy and unhealthy fish!

So. . . ANY help would be appreciated! even if you can just steer me towards a good book or web site. I'm trying to get as much color and variety out of my tank as possible, so if you've got a peaceful species that lights up your take like a neon sign I'd love to hear about it!

I'm brand new to MFT and I look forward to posting pics of my new tank SOON! Thanks all you fishy people!

 

[Lotus]

If you're wanting to do a planted tank, then peaceful community fish is what you're looking for.

Some of the types of fish you could look into are a school of tetras (there are many kinds), rasboras, perhaps some livebearers like guppies, platies or swordtails. Cory catfish are a popular species for bottom dwellers.

In a tank your size, don't get any fish that get larger than about 5" adult size, as they will become cramped eventually.

It's always a good idea to do research, so it's good that you've come here The Profiles section (link at the top) has quite a few fish, with user reviews and some basic information.

Sometimes it's good to go to the fish store, see what appeals to you, then go research the fish in a book or online. Impulse buying fish you like can lead to big headaches, if you don't know its preferences or how it will get on with your other fish.

Feel free to ask away!

 

[ishar]

Welcome to the tank .

If you want to save yourself money, like I do, then I would say get a school of one type of tetra, like a cardinal tetra as they are quite colourful. I think a school of like 9 or 11 (odd numbers are somehow more appealing ) would be a good size for that tank. Then buy the best looking guppies at your store. The guppies will keep your tank stocked with new fry that will grow up to adulthood, and then you won't have to buy too many fish. Depending on how fast you want it to restock you could try like 2 males and 4-6 females. That will get you new fry in no time.

For plants, there are sort of limited colours for aquatic plants- green or red (but there is the odd orange tint). My advice would be to good a good mix of those colours. And you want to go hardy plants for your first time, so here is a list to look at and get your ideas going in a good direction

>Java fern- I have a variation called 'Windelov' or 'lace fern' and I love it. Do
not bury the rhizome in the gravel (the horizontal stem that all
leaves come from)
>Java moss- perfect beginner plant and it will help the guppy fry live if you
go in that direction
>Anubias barteri var barteri or nana- I know from first hand experience that
these plants are bloody tanks. Near impossible to kill them
unless you bury the rhizome (a horizontal stem like structure)
>Vallisneria- I believe most of these species to be very easy, and are sort of
grass like. Some spin as they go up and others are really big,
but they are (I think) all easy to care for.
>Hornwort- this is a very simple and easy to grow floating plant.
>Red Crypt- I have no experience with this plant but I have been told on
numerous occasions that it is probably the easiest and lowest
light red plant. Red plants usually need a lot more light than
green plants but this one, I have been told, is a lower light
demanding red plant.

That should get you started. All of the plants I listed there are low light species so you don't have to spend a lot of money on lighting to start out. And the fish will be pretty cheap if you do what I suggested as you only need to buy the tetra school and the first few guppies, then the guppies will fill up your tank faster than you know. However you need to have a back-up plan (like I don't ) so that when your guppies have more fry survive than you have room in your tank then you have somewhere to put them. See if you LFS (local fish store) will buy them or something.

Anyways good luck with everything, an good luck with your tank. Ask any questions you want- you will get an answer that isn't from a person who is trying to sell you something (aka fish store clerk).

 

[Joanie]

Awesome! Thanks so much for the advice you two! That'll give me a lot to look at while my tank is cycling.

 

[jpsnickel]

some more random advice -
our 29 gallon has 5 platies (we only bought 3 females - obviuosly they were already knocked up!), 3 emerald cories (which are very active and a riot to watch), 3 zebra danios and 3 pearl danios. (the danio species do tend to school together)

we have not had much aggression issues - our one platy was a little aggressive when she was still in the 5 gallon tank. We're not sure if she felt cramped with 2 other platies in a 5 gallon tank, or she was the one giving birth. I don't even know if platies get hormonal! One of our zebra danios will occassionally chase one of the others, but there hasn't been any extreme fin nipping.

In our tank we also have some red wendth and wisteria. both have grown quite well, without becoming a nuisance.

good luck with the tank!!
jennifer*SUNSMILE*

 

[Katie217]

So all I have now is a dry tank with sand and slate rocks.

When I saw that, all I could think about was Malawi Cichlids.
Would you be willing to consider a more agressive species? They have all what your asking for (colour and variety) except they can be a bit agressive if not planned out well.
Definatly something to consider!

 

[Joanie]

The guy I originally got it from was breeding cichlids in that tank. I've been thinking about it but I think I would prefer to have some size variation. All of my tank before has had one or two "big" guys, a couple of medium guys and then a school of little guys. But I do have a dual stand so if I can get a good deal on another 55 gallon I would like to try a semi-aggressive tank, so I'll definatly keep them in mind. Thanks Katie!

 

[marvin]

cichlid reserch.com fishbase.org cruse these 2 sites