Help me choose some fish for a 55!

[pat123123]

I bought and set up a 55 today. It's not as big as I'd like, since I have a little (soon to be monstrous I know) pleco BUT it's far better than the ten I did have set up & it's the biggest I can afford.Though it's not cycled, I moved fish in. Better in an uncycled 55 than in the uncycled ten they were in already. Obviously, I won't put any more fish in the 55 yet, BUT, I would like some ideas for later.

(Current residents in tanks are listed in my signature)

Soooooooooooo, toss me some ideas. I like color in a tank. I want a peaceful community tank. I also don't / won't feed live food. I love platies and gouramis & absolutely adore guppies, though I have never had any. (Will guppies mix with the assortment in the 55?). I prefer common/inexpensive fish over pricey/rare. I prefer no wild caught fish either. I would also like to actually SEE my fish, so would rather have fish that actually show up from time to time instead of hiding in the plants 23.95 hours a day.

Also, do you think the female bettas (after quarantine, of course) would be okay with that assortment? I am one of the odd one that likes them...I've never mixed female bettas with anything else so am not sure if I can even put the two together.

 

[Emg]

Well, instead of the usual guppy/platie tank.....how about a nice school of
rainbows, or some congos ?? They're certainly colorful, though I'm not sure about how much they cost. I don't believe they're some of the priciest fish around...but obviosly they'll cost you a bit more than guppies or platies will. SVContour has some nice pics of his congos on the bottom of page 48 of the "Post pics of your fish" thread here.

About the female bettas....not sure, you said you didn't want an aggressive tank, female bettas can be pretty aggressive. I had one chasing my blue rams all over the tank...so she was promplty removed. However, it might work out better if you did have a group of them in a tank rather than just one. They might just focus on each other, rather than bothering the other tankmates. You could give it a try..but just be ready to put them back in the 10 if it doesn't work out. You may have problems with guppies and bettas though, so if you go with guppies..be watchful.

If you prefer common, I guess I would do platies.....they're a bit larger and come in many different colorful varieties. I like the blue calico type ones myself, though I'll probably never purchase any...lol....I'm opposite of you...don't like common fish that everyone and thier brother has in their tanks at home.....I prefer unusual or out of the ordinary.

Have fun stocking that tank !!! Boy, wouldn't I like to have a 55 to ponder over !!!

 

[Roan Art]

Just a quick note: rainbowfish would be excellent for a 55 gallon, but do *not* cycle the tank with them. Cycled tank only, please.

Rainbows are very very sensitive to their water conditions and will develop fungus almost immediately if the tank conditions are not pristine. Once they get fungus, it's almost impossible to get rid of it and you will lose the fish.

Roan

 

[pat123123]

Thank you. I'm definitely not adding any more fish to the tank until it's ready for them.

I'll keep the betta girls where they are then, at least for now. I had nothing decided on for that tank and it's already decorated/invested in. (Plus I do have a spare 10 around...just have to get a filter unit.)

I'll look at rainbowfish, thanks.

Obviously, I can't add too many more fish cause I have to keep in mind the eventual size of the pleco. It will be fun to add a few more to dart around in the tank, though. (I have an 11 year old so it's nice to have active, colorful fish for him to watch, too.)