Tank Stocking Suggestions

FishForums.net Pet of the Month
🐶 POTM Poll is Open! 🦎 Click here to Vote! 🐰

Tool13x

Fish Fanatic
Joined
Jan 30, 2018
Messages
61
Reaction score
4
Location
Cambria, NY
Hi everyone, I am looking for a couple suggestions on tankmates for my 55 gal setup.
I currently have:
1 Bristlenose Pleco
1 Bolivian Ram
7 Rosy Barbs
6 Corydoras Melini

This tank looks a little sparse, I was wondering if you think I have some room for additional fish and perhaps some suggestions on some species that will work with what I have. I have an awful lot of orange swimming around in that tank and I was looking to add a species to bring in a little color.

One of the few ideas I came up with is adding a shoal of Cardinal Tetras, from what Ive read they seem to work well with the Rosys and Bolivian Rams dont appear to bother them.

My water parameters are 112ppm Gh, 89 ppm Kh and 7.6pH @ 76F
I have a planted tank with Crypt Spiralis, Amazon Swords, and Anubias Nana.
 
Personally I prefer Glass bloodfin tetras but any smaller tetra should be fine.
 
Some other idea. If the tank is looking sparse it means you don't have enough fixtures inside (large roots and larger plants).

If you want some other interesting fish species, which could work with your setup and current take mates, have a look at Epiplatys dageti.
 
Some other idea. If the tank is looking sparse it means you don't have enough fixtures inside (large roots and larger plants).

True enough, I've been working on that this past week. I got some more bogwood, large rocks and some live plant s to fill it in a bit more.

If you want some other interesting fish species, which could work with your setup and current take mates, have a look at Epiplatys dageti.
killifish never crossed my mind, Ill take a look at the LFS and see what species they have. I really like that firemouth though, thanks for the suggestion.
 
Glass bloodfins are pretty cool but I rarely see them around at the LFS.

I just posted a comment on bloodfins in another thread, so I will cut/paste it here:

I would also caution on the bloodfins. The species is probably Aphyocharax rathbuni, which seems to be the usual one with the common name "bloodfin," though it might be Aphyocharax anisitsi. Both as you can see are in the same genus, Aphyocharax, and all the species in this genus are prone to nip fins; some species are much worse than others. But never combine them with any sedate or long-fin fish, as that is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. And have them in largish groups, 9+, which can sometimes keep them less likely to nip.
 
... killifish never crossed my mind...

Be aware, that many killifish will not work. I especially recommended this panchax, as it is very surface oriented and will hardly interfere with your other stocking.
 
Hi everyone, I am looking for a couple suggestions on tankmates for my 55 gal setup.
I currently have:
1 Bristlenose Pleco
1 Bolivian Ram
7 Rosy Barbs
6 Corydoras Melini

This tank looks a little sparse, I was wondering if you think I have some room for additional fish and perhaps some suggestions on some species that will work with what I have. I have an awful lot of orange swimming around in that tank and I was looking to add a species to bring in a little color.

One of the few ideas I came up with is adding a shoal of Cardinal Tetras, from what Ive read they seem to work well with the Rosys and Bolivian Rams dont appear to bother them.

My water parameters are 112ppm Gh, 89 ppm Kh and 7.6pH @ 76F
I have a planted tank with Crypt Spiralis, Amazon Swords, and Anubias Nana.


Can anyone help me.. Looking for some advice. I have had my tank for a couple of months now and all has been good. All of a sudden some of the fish started dying. I decided to remove the fish from the tank and do a water change. One of my convicts just laid at the bottom of the bucket. I have put the fish back into the tank and they are all fine apart from the convict. He/she is just laying at the bottom of the tank on its side. To start off he/she wasn’t breathing but he/she is now breathing but still not moving. Need some advice on how to get her better and wether anyone knows what could be wrong with him/her. ??
 
Can anyone help me.. Looking for some advice. I have had my tank for a couple of months now and all has been good. All of a sudden some of the fish started dying. I decided to remove the fish from the tank and do a water change. One of my convicts just laid at the bottom of the bucket. I have put the fish back into the tank and they are all fine apart from the convict. He/she is just laying at the bottom of the tank on its side. To start off he/she wasn’t breathing but he/she is now breathing but still not moving. Need some advice on how to get her better and wether anyone knows what could be wrong with him/her. ??

I see you have since posted this question in your own thread, which is better than in an unrelated thread as here. You might want to PM a moderator to remove this post from this thread.
 
Be aware, that many killifish will not work. I especially recommended this panchax, as it is very surface oriented and will hardly interfere with your other stocking.
I see, all I have found so far locally is Aplocheilus blockii. I am going to keep looking for Epiplatys dageti, I think they are great looking fish. If I do happen to find them is a mixed group of males and females ok? It looks like a half dozen is recemmended. Should I try to maintain a certain ratio of M to F?
 
I see, all I have found so far locally is Aplocheilus blockii. I am going to keep looking for Epiplatys dageti, I think they are great looking fish. If I do happen to find them is a mixed group of males and females ok? It looks like a half dozen is recemmended. Should I try to maintain a certain ratio of M to F?

When you can distinguish gender, I try to have both; some species are fine with an even ratio, others may be better with more females to males. Here if you are not specifically intending to breed them, a more even ratio should be OK. They will still spawn, but the eggs will in all likelihood be eaten by themselves and other fish in community tanks.
 
You were looking at the right fish :) A. blockii is also a surface oriented panchax which should work.

For any of the panchax, make sure you don't have an empty surface, but some floating plants, some large plants which reach the surface and/or some roots or twigs. Also they don't like too much current. There should be areas with less, better no current.

Concerning gender, what Byron said.
 
Update:

In a new turn of events I have recently re-homed my Bristlenose and replaced him with a team of 5 Oto catfish and I am very happy with the change. The bristlenose never seemed to leave underside of the bogwood (even at night) and I would never see him except when moving the wood to clean, plus I was getting minor algae buildup on my plants and rocks which he never touched. The Otos are amazing and they are vigorous cleaners, I have never had such a spotless tank, I think I may have to supplement them with some algae wafers to keep them happy.

This leaves my community with:

5 Otocinclus
7 Rosy Barbs
6 Corydoras Melini
1 Bolivian Ram

As was suggested earlier I have been looking for some killies locally that would be a good fit like the Epiplatys Dageti with no such luck and it seems that everywhere I go they say they dont really stock many varieties of killifish, so I am probably giving up on that.
I was still thinking about a shoal of cardinal tetras but their small size makes me a bit nervous, The rosy barbs arent really aggressive to any tankmates but they are quite active and very fun to watch. Plus I feel I may not have enough room in the tank to support adding like 10 cardinals to it, I was wondering if there was a single non-shoaling fish I could add instead?
LFS suggested a Trichogaster Lalius and in my research they seem to fit well with the rosys and dwarf cichlids like my Bolivian Ram. Or I was wondering about adding another Bolivian Ram? Ive been getting mixed info about that, I know keeping more than one cichlid is a bit iffy but Ive read that you can keep 2 males as long as there isnt a female for them to fight over, and ive heard keeping a mixed sex pair is usually ok too.
Any feedback on those 2 ideas or possibly another species I havent thought of?
 
I was still thinking about a shoal of cardinal tetras but their small size makes me a bit nervous, The rosy barbs arent really aggressive to any tankmates but they are quite active and very fun to watch. Plus I feel I may not have enough room in the tank to support adding like 10 cardinals to it, I was wondering if there was a single non-shoaling fish I could add instead?
LFS suggested a Trichogaster Lalius and in my research they seem to fit well with the rosys and dwarf cichlids like my Bolivian Ram. Or I was wondering about adding another Bolivian Ram? Ive been getting mixed info about that, I know keeping more than one cichlid is a bit iffy but Ive read that you can keep 2 males as long as there isnt a female for them to fight over, and ive heard keeping a mixed sex pair is usually ok too.
Any feedback on those 2 ideas or possibly another species I havent thought of?

Barbs in general are active fish, to somewhat varying degrees, but they do like to swim more than say cardinal tetra as an example. Active fish annoy sedate fish like gourami. I believe I mentioned this earlier in this thread, in relation to the Bolivian Ram, but as the Ram is close to the substrate and the barbs upper water, this might not bee problematic. But upper water fish like gourami would be stressed. Gourami need sedate tankmates.

On the Bolivian Ram, some of what you have been told is way off the mark. Except in very large (long) tanks, you cannot have two males. It has absolutely nothing to do with a female being present. Each male will consider the tank his territory, and the stronger of the two will prevail. I've even seen this in a 5-foot tank. Now, I will acknowledge that individual fish have slightly differing temperaments--sometimes--so one might luck out. But it is not fair or humane to risk fish just to satisfy what we might want; it may more likely not work out, and initial bullying can suddenly cause overnight death. Even among male/female pairs that have not bonded of their own accord. Mine did this. We cannot expect to change behaviours programmed into the species' DNA.

As for a male/female pair, only if they select each other from a group and appear to bond. This usually lasts, but sometimes not. The chances of any male and female tossed in together forming a bond is possible but again in the minority.

And with a male ram, that is it for cichlids in this tank given the size.

As for the cardinals, I would not put these with barbs. But more relevant, cardinals are lower level fish, and I think you want more upper level. Hatchetfish maybe, but depending upon the activeness of the barbs. There is one species of pencilfish that could work, Nannostomus beckfordi. This is the most commonly available species, and it is rather active and feisty especially for a pencilfish. I have had this species for years and years, and my current group of a dozen or more were moved twice before they were in a suitable tank. They are surface level fish, and males are territorial and will nip many other surface fish like hatchets, mercilessly. And this causes me to caution you...they can take annoyance at otos when the latter enter the pencilfish's space. Male interaction is beautiful to observe.
 
Active fish annoy sedate fish like gourami. I believe I mentioned this earlier in this thread, in relation to the Bolivian Ram, but as the Ram is close to the substrate and the barbs upper water, this might not bee problematic. But upper water fish like gourami would be stressed. Gourami need sedate tankmates.
Yes I do remember you mentioning that, and thats a good point with the Gourami probably being agitated by the barbs. The Bolivian does seem to be happy with its Barb tankmates, he stays down towards the substrate for the most part (as to be expected) and I will catch him every once in a while hanging out amongst the Barbs in the upper/mid level.


On the Bolivian Ram, some of what you have been told is way off the mark. Except in very large (long) tanks, you cannot have two males. It has absolutely nothing to do with a female being present. Each male will consider the tank his territory, and the stronger of the two will prevail. I've even seen this in a 5-foot tank. Now, I will acknowledge that individual fish have slightly differing temperaments--sometimes--so one might luck out. But it is not fair or humane to risk fish just to satisfy what we might want; it may more likely not work out, and initial bullying can suddenly cause overnight death. Even among male/female pairs that have not bonded of their own accord. Mine did this. We cannot expect to change behaviours programmed into the species' DNA.

Yeah I thought the recommendation to keep more than 1 was a bit suspect. And actually I should apologize, I just realized that you have set me straight on this once before in a previous thread. Ive been doing a lot of research lately and apparently I cant remember which info I was getting from what source. No more Cichlids, got it.

There is one species of pencilfish that could work, Nannostomus beckfordi. This is the most commonly available species, and it is rather active and feisty especially for a pencilfish. I have had this species for years and years, and my current group of a dozen or more were moved twice before they were in a suitable tank. They are surface level fish, and males are territorial and will nip many other surface fish like hatchets, mercilessly. And this causes me to caution you...they can take annoyance at otos when the latter enter the pencilfish's space. Male interaction is beautiful to observe.

Ill keep an eye out for that species of pencilfish, those could work. I havent seen the Otos spend much time at the surface but I have heard they will gulp some air from time to time, I dont know if the Nannos will take offense to that. If I can find them locally maybe I will give them a shot.
It seems I am pretty limited on what I can add to this tank, I guess I wont close the door on Epiplatys dageti after all, I found 1 at a LFS and it was in pretty poor condition, maybe I can talk them into ordering more. I also found some Aplocheilus blockii locally that seemed to be a good fit.

Thanks for the info and suggestions.
 

Most reactions

trending

Staff online

Back
Top