Good Fish for 55 gallon soft water tank?

[animal_man1738]

Hi,
Im looking for some good fish for my 55-gallon freshwater tank, filtered and cycled. It is a soft water tank. I have some tetras and harlequins, a pleco, and some platies and mollies (ik they are hard water i got them without knowing). Do you know any good, relatively cheap fish that would do well in this tank? I dont want super small fish. Thanks!
ps if they breed easily that is a bonus

 

[Byron]

First thing is to remove the mollies and platy, as they will not be healthy in soft water; other aquarists or a store may be your best bet. Watching these fish slowly deteriorate and die isn't much fun, and they will. [I am assuming by "soft" you mean the GH is less than 10 dGH minimum.]

You have a number of options. What species of tetra and rasbora do you already have, and what numbers of each? This is very important, as some (most) of the larger fish that could do well will be sedate, and some of the tetras are notorious as fin nippers. New additions will have to suit what is already there.

 

[animal_man1738]

First thing is to remove the mollies and platy, as they will not be healthy in soft water; other aquarists or a store may be your best bet. Watching these fish slowly deteriorate and die isn't much fun, and they will. [I am assuming by "soft" you mean the GH is less than 10 dGH minimum.]

You have a number of options. What species of tetra and rasbora do you already have, and what numbers of each? This is very important, as some (most) of the larger fish that could do well will be sedate, and some of the tetras are notorious as fin nippers. New additions will have to suit what is already there.

ok, I will try to find a home for the platys and mollies (i was looking into this before). I have 5 tetras, (2 red eye 1 glowfish 2 penguin) and I have 2 harlequins. I also have 1 pleco. I have no crustacions or shrimp. Thanks!

 

[animal_man1738]

ok, I will try to find a home for the platys and mollies (i was looking into this before). I have 5 tetras, (2 red eye 1 glowfish 2 penguin) and I have 2 harlequins. I also have 1 pleco. I have no crustacions or shrimp. Thanks!

I also have 4 zebra danios

 

[Byron]

OK, first thing is to decide if you want to keep the tetras and rasbora and acquire more of each species. At least seven, but more is better, and you have the space. I mentioned "if you want to keep" these because there is no point buying more if you don't really want the species, and re-homing those you do not want would be needed if that is the case.

All of these, with the exception of the rasbora, are fairly active swimmers, so that is a major factor to keep in mind for additional species once these are increased. Gourami for example, which I would sometimes suggest for larger peaceful fish, are a no with active fish, it unsettles them which means stress and ill health. The Harlequin Rasbora are not quite as delicate/sensitive as most rasbora so this should be OK.

Corydoras for the substrate level are worth considering. Additional upper species depends upon the size of the increased groups of the species you keep.

 

[animal_man1738]

OK, first thing is to decide if you want to keep the tetras and rasbora and acquire more of each species. At least seven, but more is better, and you have the space. I mentioned "if you want to keep" these because there is no point buying more if you don't really want the species, and re-homing those you do not want would be needed if that is the case.

All of these, with the exception of the rasbora, are fairly active swimmers, so that is a major factor to keep in mind for additional species once these are increased. Gourami for example, which I would sometimes suggest for larger peaceful fish, are a no with active fish, it unsettles them which means stress and ill health. The Harlequin Rasbora are not quite as delicate/sensitive as most rasbora so this should be OK.

Corydoras for the substrate level are worth considering. Additional upper species depends upon the size of the increased groups of the species you keep.

ok, thank you for this info. Within Tetras, are there any that you think are exceptional? Or any really colorful Rasboras? I will look into Corydoras

 

[Byron]

ok, thank you for this info. Within Tetras, are there any that you think are exceptional? Or any really colorful Rasboras? I will look into Corydoras

The active swimming trait of the species here will as I mentioned previously be a factor in finding other species to work. One that comes to mind is the Diamond Tetra, Moenkhausia pittieri. This is quite an active swimming tetra, and the way the light reflects off what will seem a bland white fish in store tanks, truly justifies the name diamond.

You already have probably the most colourful of the rasbora; the other larger species are less so, if memory serves me.