This is a discussion on Need help with 55g. within the Freshwater Aquarium forums, part of the Freshwater Fish and Aquariums category; -->
Originally Posted by okiemavis
The last option is to go for a more peaceful community tank, that's what I'd do. Two shoals of 6 ...
The last option is to go for a more peaceful community tank, that's what I'd do. Two shoals of 6 corys each would be really fun for the bottom. You could get one of a dark breed and one of panda cories, or another light colored species. They'll stick to their own groups and it's so fun to watch them interact!
I think I like this idea, would any breed of cory work? What about fish for the middle and top part of the tank?
Well, it's really up to you. There's lots of fun fish for the middle level- livebearers like guppies and platies, shoaling fish like tetras. As for the top, I absolutely love my honey gourami. They're very quiet, peaceful little fish with these adorable little feelers! There are a lot of cool gourami, but I got these guys because a lot of gourami males will pick on the females, honey's can be less aggressive. Really all gourami are pretty good though, so you could go with another kind. There's also some cool inverts to add to your tank that will keep it nice and clean. Ghost shrimp are the standard, but there's some other really colorful ones. Any shrimp will do just fine in a community tank.
I'd recommend browsing through the internet and seeing what catches your eye. Feel free to post a list of what you were thinking and we'll chime in on how well we think it will work.
I love rainbows, especially the Boesemani Rainbows. I have red iranians too. An awesome schooling fish, but harder to find and more $$, are the redline sharks.
The following with asterisks in quote are suitable. The rest are not. May I ask for the scientific name of the snakeskin barb.
Most barbs, danios and loaches will nip. With gouramis, stick to kuhli loaches. What species are these rainbowfish and plecos you are looking for? Most knifefish can outgrow a 55g. African brown knives are your best bets. The gobies mentioned are brackish water species thus these are not suitable for freshwater tanks.
The following with asterisks in quote are suitable. The rest are not. May I ask for the scientific name of the snakeskin barb.
Most barbs, danios and loaches will nip. With gouramis, stick to kuhli loaches. What species are these rainbowfish and plecos you are looking for? Most knifefish can outgrow a 55g. African brown knives are your best bets. The gobies mentioned are brackish water species thus these are not suitable for freshwater tanks.
For the snakeskin barb (Puntius rhombocellatus)
We were just looking for rainbows and plecos in general, our local pet shop has each but im not sure what breed they are.
i would get boesemani rainbows if i were you. they are so colorful! i would also think about kuhlis and corys for the bottom. i would get some kind of schooling fish for the middle as well.
