Are these species compatible in my new 55 gallon planted?

bassque

I have just finished planting my new 55 gallon and its beautiful, I'm ready to add some fish little by little. These are the species I'm thinking of adding. The Substrate is laterite directly in the planted areas, very fine black sand on the areas that are not planted, and lots of driftwood to hide in around and under. I want to make sure all of these fish will live somewhat peacefully together in their own territory in the tank. Any and All opinions are welcome.

1 or 2 Red-Tailed Silverside aka Madagascar Rainbowfish
1 African Knife

1 Green Puffer depending on the feedback I get on how these adapt to a freshwater tank rather than brackish, otherwise I'll get 1 South American Puffer

1 Peacock Eel
5 Skunk Loaches

fish_4_all

Well, the fish are pretty big boys already. The knife and ell will get to 12 inches and the rainbows to 6. This put a pretty big strain on a 55 already.

The loaches may be a totally different problem as they can be aggressive and become fin nippers in the long run.

Being it is a planted tank you can get away with a few more fish but the species are gonna put a huge limit on it. Small fish could be eaten by the knife and the others and be picked on by the loaches, especially bottom dwellers.

As for the puffer, I don not know about changing them over to fresh water. I have read a lot that says they do much better in brackish and fresh water tanks can be detrimental to their long term health.

bassque

I chose the african/brown Knife because most aquarium specimens will be 4 to 6 inches in length, although yes it is possible for them to grow up to 12 inches..I'd have to move it to a bigger tank if that happened. I'll be buying a smaller one to start in the tank or coarse. The african knife also likes alot of vegitation which will work well.

The size for the rainbows at time of purchase is 1-3/4" to 2-3/4". Again, if they get too big I'll have to move them.

This always gives me an excuse to start a bigger and better tank anyway :D

As far as the Skunk Loaches go, They are the most agressive loach. But I've heard if you have a few of them, I'm gonna move my number from 5 to 4, they keep eachothers attention and don't bother the other fish as much. I figured also the other fish are equal size if not bigger.

I'm still leaning towards the South American Puffer even though my girlfriend thinks the green puffer is so cute. I don't want to put the green puffer in an enviroment it won't do well in.

Lupin

Sorry but I will never recommend skunk loaches for community tanks. Even a few can still wreak havoc over the community. This is not worth it. There are plenty other botiine loaches available around the trade.

Falina

i agree with Lupin about the loachs, they're generally just too agressive, and they do get quite large too which is something to bear in mind since your other fish are also quite large.

I would also never recommend mixing a puffer of any sort with community fish and this is setting the brackish conditions aside, though it would be very detrimental to their health to try and kep them in freshwater long term from what I've read about them. They have a great tendancy to nip and kill any other tank mates regardless of size or speed. They're really only meant for species ony tanks.

bassque

Ok, well.....skunk loaches are out and green puffer is out. Any suggestions on replacements that will go well with the others?