55gal: questions about fish compatibility

[Gabe988]

Hi everyone,

I've recently purchased a 55gal tank with live plants. I know there are already a lot of threads like the one I just started, but unlike ppl in other threads, I already researched fish. I made a list of what kind of fish I want to get, so I just need a few opinions/ suggestions about fish compatibilty from you guys.

here's my list:

I have : 7 zebra danios

I want to get:

5-7 tiger barbs,

5-7 black phantom tetras,

9-11 neon tetras

2 gold/ blue rams

and a few plecos, corys and other algae eaters, and maybe a clown or yoyo loach.

would those fish be compatible with each other? I read that the rams are too small to harm other tank mates. thank you for your help!

Gabe

 

[ValRasbora]

It sounds nice! You could check out "Anything to go with tetras?" just for suggestions. I think it would work, but I'm no ram expert. The tetras and the barbs should work, though. You could go for a bottom feeder\algae eater to reduce the tank maintenance, but they aren't really necessary, though!!

 

[damian09]

http://www.aquariumlife.net/fish-compatibility-chart.gif hope this helps

 

[misterking]

It would be nice, but for a bigger tank. Best bet is to try and stick to "1 inch of fully grown fish per gallon" for small, slim bodied fish like many you listed above. You could be pushing your stocking a bit..

Also, what kind of plecos? I wouldn't go for anything that gets above 6 inches for a 55 gallon. So things like bristlenose plecs, clown plecs, rubbernose plecs etc. Clown loaches are also pretty big, reaching a foot in the wild (6 inches is more common in captivity) and like to be in shoals. Yoyo loaches are smaller but also like to be in a group.

The compatibility of the fish IMO is fine, just could get a bit overstocked if you stick to that list.

 

[tropicalcrazy]

yeah they should be fine with each other, but you have a lot of fish there that when fully grown are going to seem overpopulated even with your minimum counts. i would say cut down the tetras to 5 each and 5 barbs. and your not going to want that many bottom feeders/plecos as at least i know that the plecos will start to get territorial with each other. if your wanting something to clean up after the fish, ive found out chinese algae eaters and gold algae eaters do the best. my plecos are kinda lazy and my gold algae eater does most of the work. and i dont know about the compatibility with the rams and the other fish

 

[misterking]

if your wanting something to clean up after the fish, ive found out chinese algae eaters and gold algae eaters do the best. my plecos are kinda lazy and my gold algae eater does most of the work

The one thing I'd say about chinese algae eaters and their gold form, althought they're brilliant algae eaters, they grow to be large and agressive fish, reaching around 8 inches, and don't like to be around members of their own species the bigger they grow.

 

[tropicalcrazy]

The one thing I'd say about chinese algae eaters and their gold form, althought they're brilliant algae eaters, they grow to be large and agressive fish, reaching around 8 inches, and don't like to be around members of their own species the bigger they grow.

really 8 inches. wow. i thought they only get up to 4. i did notice the bigger they get the more they get aggressive towards each other and even sometimes other fish. thats why i think i have 1 now. and i havent seen my rubber lip in a little while. hmm i wonder if he got devoured by him? that would suck.

 

[misterking]

I doubt he will have devoured him lol they're not that aggressive, just kinda like moody teenagers chasing everyone away as they grow!

 

[tropicalcrazy]

I doubt he will have devoured him lol they're not that aggressive, just kinda like moody teenagers chasing everyone away as they grow!

well ive had a couple fish die since ive owned the tank and ever since i had either chinese or gold they devoured them and they went missing. before i had them i always had to fish the dead one out. the way i found that out was when i had 2 rubber lip plecos and one went missing and about a month later i found a partial skeleton and then the next thing i know its gone. i tried to clean the tank but never found it. im not saying they kill them (which i shouldve been clear in the first place) but they sure do devour the remains.

 

[tropicalcrazy]

and yes they sure do chase a lot of fish. but since ive downsized my tank all of them get along really well, so ive noticed.

 

[homebunnyj]

i would say cut down the tetras to 5 each and 5 barbs.

You'll see more interesting behavior out of a larger school. I wouldn't reduce the size of the tetra schools. If it came down to such a decision I'd cut a species out instead of reducing the school size.

 

[Gabe988]

thank you for all your answers guys! they're really helpful. I agree with you, homebunny. I'd rather cut a species than reduce school size. I think the neon tetras won't make the cut. I read that they're more sensitive than other species. I thought about maybe getting a pleco that doesn't grow bigger than 6" like misterking suggested a pair of loaches ( yoyo or clown) and maybe 3 or 4 corys. so my new list would be


7 zebra danios

7 tiger barbs

7 black phantom tetras

1 clown pleco

2-4 corys

2 loaches ( which one would be better: clown or yoyo?)

2 blue rams

Gabe

 

[homebunnyj]

Clown loaches get to 16" and enjoy being in groups.

Yoyo's get to about 5". I have 3 in my 55 and they run around together a good bit of the time.

 

[tropicalcrazy]

You'll see more interesting behavior out of a larger school. I wouldn't reduce the size of the tetra schools. If it came down to such a decision I'd cut a species out instead of reducing the school size.

definitely agree with you there. good call

 

[Gabe988]

I have one more question: would it be a good idea to substitute the rams with a group of platys or mollys?

 

[misterking]

If you want to deal with hundreds of babies then yes. Otherwise no lol. Anyway, I think rams are more interesting than livebearers, make a better centrepiece fish because to me they have more complex behaviour than "breed breed breed breed breed".

It's up to you really, depends what you want to see in your tank. There are fish on that list that would take care of any fry they came across, but I used to have fry hide in my filter, there's always a surprisingly large amount that make the cut.

 

[Gabe988]

I do like the rams alot but I don't know how difficult it is to keep them b/c I just started keeping fish. Do local fish stores usually trade fish with customers? that would be a way to deal with the babies...

 

[misterking]

True it would be, but sometimes local stores have this happen quite often. Rams in my experience aren't that hard to keep but they like clean, mature water, so I wouldn't have them as your first fish after your tank's finished cycling. Bolivian rams are less fussy with water though.

 

[Gabe988]

I looked up the bolivian ram and it certainly has interesting colors. I also like the fact that they are not picky about the water quality. When would you recommend getting one? At least 2 months after the tank was set up? And are the bolivians readily available at the LFS?

 

[misterking]

I've seen them a couple of times at mine but that's probably not much help.

I'd say yes, about 1 to 2 months after your tank has finished cycling, and buy most of the other fish you plan on keeping gradually before you get the rams. You doing a fishless cycle? Also have you decided on your stocking?