[Quillfish]

I'm hoping to at some point get a 55 gallon tank, which I will turn into a community aquarium with small fish. I've created a stocking list of what I'm planning to put in it eventually, but I'm not sure if its acceptable.

8 black neon tetras
5 platies
6 guppies
5 cory cats
2 mollies
1 pearl gourami

Would all these fish work together in a 55 gallon? Is there too many, or is that a reasonable list? I'm not sure how the tetras and the gourami will get along. Are black neons nippy at all? I've read that they're more peaceful than most tetras, but still...also, will any of the larger fish eat the tetras? I'm not sure how big pearl gourami's mouths are, but I know that they grow to 5 inches, and mollies grow to 3 or 4. I'm planning on stocking only male livebearers to avoid fry, but are males aggressive to each other at all?

Is there enough of each schooling fish? I was also considering getting ember tetras instead of black neons, so I could have a larger school of say, 12, but they're so tiny that they could be eaten...

And another thing, I absolutely love Endler's livebearers, but I haven't been able to find them at my LFS so far. If I did, though, would I be able to put a few of those in as well? (Like, 3) They're pretty tiny, but I don't know if I'm at capacity with my list yet.



And some more info: I'll probably overfilter, maybe get two small-ish filters so that the current isn't too strong. I've read that Aquaclear makes good filters, but I'm not sure of any others. Using a heater (duh), will probably keep the tank at 78-ish. I'll try to keep the ph near 7 or 7.5, to satisfy the different types of fish. Weekly or bi-weekly water changes. I'm going to do a fish-in cycle with the platies, since they're fairly hardy, but use some Tetra Safestart, which gets good reviews, so must work at least to an extent, and (if I can get my hands on any), some used filter media, which should cut down the cycling time greatly.


Input, anyone?

 

[djembekah]

I don't know for certain, but i'd personally up my shoals of tetra and cories.

one thing i would recommend though, is try to find out whether your water is soft or hard. some of the fish you've chosen exist in naturally soft water in the wild, and some in hard. captive bred fish will have similar requirements. gh, kh, dgh (someone correct ne if I'm wrong) all are numbers to look for with hardness. higher numbers mean harder water. the fish profiles are a little tough to navigate, but check them out and see if yoi can discern the needs of the fish you want.
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[Austin]

Looking at it, it seems fine.

I'm not sure on the merits of this website, but:

Idk why the tank size is lower than 55g when I put 55g in.

Also,

I feel like the neons will be okay, but I don't have much experience with them. It seems to me like everything else would be fine!

What do you mean keep the pH at 7.0-7.5? I believe it is best to work with the pH of your tap water or use something like deionized water. If you adjust the pH a lot and don't keep the water consistent it will be very harmful to the fish.

 

[djembekah]

same thing goes for water hardness. Choose fish for your water. The neons, cories, and the gourami are, i believe, all softwater fish. the live bearers are hardwater fish.

 

[Quillfish]

Alright Thank you! I'll also try that site with slightly higher numbers of neons and cories to see if I could fit them.

As for hardness, I haven't actually tested my water, but there's a mineral buildup at the waterline of my current tank which makes me think that it's pretty hard. Is there anything you can add to the water to lower the hardness? Or should I not be messing with water chemistry.

And yeah, I probably wouldn't want to change the ph since I've read that can be bad for fish. But I better hope its around neutral, because if its something extreme like 8 or 6, I'll have to forget a few of those fish I listed xD

 

[djembekah]

It's a LOT easier to just leave hardness where it is, just like leaving pH where it is. Trust me, >.> i'm trying to harden my water for my snails and my plants and it's just really difficult u.u

 

[jaysee]

The reason it's not closer to 55 is because your measurements are not more exact. A 55 gallon is 48.25 x 12.75 x 21.

Pearl gouramis have small mouths - they aren't going to eat anything other than fry. I had kept 4 in the 45 I had. You could easily keep 4 or 5 in a 55. In my experience they are a group oriented fish that enjoys the company of their own kind. I would not recommend getting just one.

 

[Quillfish]

That's good that the pearls won't eat my fish...lol. However, I'll probably stick with just one, since I've read they sometimes fight with each other. Probably depends on the fish's personality though.

Does anyone know about mollies eating other fish though? I have one, and its mouth is enormous! Then again, they don't grow as big as pearl gouramis, especially the smaller species...

 

[jaysee]

Environment has a lot to do with it - from what I have seen people who have problems are either keeping them in too small of a tank, or are keeping too few, often both.

If you want just one, there are other species of gouramis that are much better suited to being kept singly.

Mollies can grow to 5 inches. Keeping 1 or 2 mollies is not such a great idea. They can get quite aggressive. They are a group oriented fish, just like guppies and platys (and pearl gouramis) - they should be kept the same way.

 

[Quillfish]

I changed my mind....I want to go with mostly livebearers. They are my absolute favourite fish and I just want as many as possible! Also I can't find a small schooling fish that I like, so I figured I'd just cut them out of my stocking for now.

Here's my updated list:

9 guppies
6 platies
4-5 mollies
1 bristlenose pleco

I would also like to keep a gourami (singly or a pair). Any species recommendations? I've looked at the pearl gourami, moonlight gourami, two spot and three spot gouramis, but I'm not sure if any of them are ideal for my tank. The requirements would be:

-Wouldn't eat the guppies
-Wouldn't be stressed by active fish
-6 inches or less
-Kept either singly or (if less than 4 inches) in a pair

Thanks!

 

[djembekah]

Maybe dwarf gourami? Idk much about them but i feel like a pair or trio would be a good addition. hopefully someone corrects me if I'm wrong about that
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[jaysee]

You ought to be over run with fish with that stocking list, even if you got some fish to eat the fry. But it's your tank.


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[Agent13]

Maybe dwarf gourami? Idk much about them but i feel like a pair or trio would be a good addition. hopefully someone corrects me if I'm wrong about that
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I find 3 when it comes to DGs is the magical number....however they are aggressive if not happy or enough plants and hiding spots. I've never attempted to keep DGs with smaller fish because their personality is so big. I'm not sure I'd recommend more then 1 for your tank if you decide to get a DG. I have mine with all fish the get 12inches or more. However that doesn't mean 1 will not work in your group. Trial and error sometimes is the way.

 

[Quillfish]

Oh haha I forgot to mention I'm keeping males only. So no even possibility of fry.

I've been researching the DG and I like it, but yes it seems to get mixed reviews. It seems like some specimens are just aggressive, so I might have to return it, but you never know, I might be lucky. I can't figure out what the "magic" number is for them though, single, pair, or trio? Of course most fish stores don't even stock females, so in that case I'd have to go with just one.

 

[Agent13]

I am in that same boat.. Most of the fish in my house are males. Don't want baybays lol. So I keep 3 males in a 75 and they do get along, I think your best bet is trying 1 to see how it does with the other fish...then if that works eventually another two(if you want to try 3). I wouldn't ever get just 2 males though...they would more likely to harass eachother.

 

[Quillfish]

Hey, what about a pair of Bolivian Rams? I'm kind of concerned about the gouramis because livebearers are middle-top dwelling fish, like them, so there would be competition...but rams are also another nice centrepiece fish, and they hang out near the bottom.

But how would they be compatible with my other planned fish? They would be with livebearers (males only), and I'm not sure if that's too boisterous for them? Also I wouldn't be salting the tank so there's hopefully no issue of different water requirements, unless my water turns out to have a really high or really low ph/hardness.

If I was to get Bolivian rams, would a male/female pair be the best way to go? I'm not concerned about fry too much with these guys since they aren't as prolific as livebearers, and also the parenting behaviour would be neat to see. I've heard that they're hard to sex though, so how would I be sure I don't have 2 males or 2 females? And if I did end up with 2 of one gender, would that be a problem?