55 Gallon Stocking

[Man of fish]

So I'm planning on getting a 55 gallon tank in the near future, and this is my stocking list. Any more suggestions would be great or if these aren't compatible just tell me. Here's the list:
6-8 Pakistani (yo-yo) loaches
6-8 tiger barbs
Maybe a bala shark or 2
Suggestions on maybe a school of tetras and/or catfish
Need any suggestions.
Oscars- how many if any?
6-10 leopard/zebra danios
Live plants:
Some java moss
Java fern
Any suggestions on these to I know virtually nothing about plants. What type of sand should I put them in?

 

[Far2lively]

Bala sharks do get pretty big, not sure if you would be able to put two in there depends on the dimensions, a smaller pleco is a good idea as they clean your tank to a certain extent I'm unsure of plants really I have the same in my tank and there in a gravel substrate and dose the tank with ferts every week and there doing ok so far hope this helps, there are people on here that can probably give you more and better info though

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Bala sharks will be too big, especially for the grouping they prefer to be in. Tiger Barbs can be difficult to stock with as they are mean lil things. Even in large groups they may target other fish. Rather than doing tiger barbs, what about a large school of a smaller fish, like Harlequins. I think some bigger groups of schooling fish would look really nice in a large planted tank.

Maybe something like:
6-8 Yoyo's
15 Harlequins
15 other tetras (black widows, glolights, or of similar size)
6-8 cories

And this may be understock. You may even be able to have up to 3 school of varius schooling fish.

I would just be leary of the tigers. I have hear a lot of people say they tend to be really agressive.

 

[Man of fish]

Ok how about this:
6-8 yo-yos
8 Black widow tetras
8 bleeding heart tetras?
What type of corys do you suggest?
6-8 zebra/leopard danios
And I forgot to mention maybe some oscars? I'll edit that now.
Also how about plants?
Tank dimensions will be 48x14x20

My friend has a common pleco he wants to get rid of I could put in there.
Is there any fish that can clean the sand?

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Oscars will get to be 13+ inches long and eat everything else that you have on your stock list.

 

[onidrase]

So I'm planning on getting a 55 gallon tank in the near future, and this is my stocking list. Any more suggestions would be great or if these aren't compatible just tell me. Here's the list:
6-8 Pakistani (yo-yo) loaches
6-8 tiger barbs leave tiger barbs out. they like to nip a lot, even in bigger groups.
Maybe a bala shark or 2 bala sharks are too big. they also like to be in larger groups than one or two.
Suggestions on maybe a school of tetras and/or catfish
Need any suggestions.
Oscars- how many if any?None. Oscars need 75 gallons for a single.
6-10 leopard/zebra danios
Live plants:
Some java moss
Java fern
Any suggestions on these to I know virtually nothing about plants. What type of sand should I put them in?

 

[onidrase]

Ok how about this:
6-8 yo-yos
8 Black widow tetras
8 bleeding heart tetras?
What type of corys do you suggest?
6-8 zebra/leopard danios
And I forgot to mention maybe some oscars? I'll edit that now.
Also how about plants?
Tank dimensions will be 48x14x20

My friend has a common pleco he wants to get rid of I could put in there.
Is there any fish that can clean the sand?

No oscars. not only will they eat your stock, but they get too big for 55 gallons. They need the tank to be much wider than that. The tank is also too small for a common pleco.

 

[kittylover63]

Buenos Aires Tetra is also another good fish for schooling.

 

[Man of fish]

Alright here's what I got:
6-8 yo-yos these are my favorite on my list so these will be the only fish I won't change if need be.
8 black widow tetras
8 bleeding heart tetras
6-8 zebra/leopard danios
Corys- what kind?How many?
4 otos? Or 2 bristlenose plecos?
I like the buenos aires tetras but will these overstock the tank if I added 8 of those?

 

[onidrase]

Alright here's what I got:
6-8 yo-yos these are my favorite on my list so these will be the only fish I won't change if need be.
8 black widow tetras
8 bleeding heart tetras
6-8 zebra/leopard danios
Corys- what kind?How many?
4 otos? Or 2 bristlenose plecos?
I like the buenos aires tetras but will these overstock the tank if I added 8 of those?

I'd avoid buenos aires tetras. I had a school of those, and they were worse than my tiger barbs, their fins were always cut up from chasing each other so much, they ate all my live plants, and they nipped at all my tank mates all the time.

you could pretty much get any cory out there that suits your fancy. My favorites are peppered cories and julii cories. But given you'll already have a bunch of loaches on the bottom, I myself wouldn't get more bottom feeders.

 

[Man of fish]

6-8 yo-yos
8 bleeding heart tetras
8 black widow tetras
6-8 zebra/ leopard danios
3 bristlenose pleco (or should I go for the 4 otos?)
2 flame dwarf gourami
How's this list?

 

[This Old Spouse]

I agree. If you're set on having loaches, skip the cory idea. I'd do one or the other. And the BN plecos. Other than that it looks pretty good.

If you're just starting with plants, maybe a good idea to go online and get a "package" that's specifically for low maintenance.

 

[Man of fish]

Ok what types of plants should be in this package.

 

[biohazard156]

The otto's are lovely little fish (I have 4) but they should really be added when the tank is more mature and has more algae as they can be quiet sensitive to changes and can often starve in immature tanks. For the bristlenoses, I'd go for 1 unless you want babies! I started with a big male and he is awesome, but they like bogwood in their tank as they need it for digestion. Lovely fish though

Not sure about Gourami, as I have heard dwarfs can be very tempremental and are prone to illness. I have some sparkling gourami but they are tiny and not really a centerpiece fish!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I like your stocking list, although it is a bit high bioload. You are going to have to complete a fishless cycle on this tank before you add fish (and it is advised to wait until after that before you get your plants as well). I would scrap the flame dwarf gourami and go with honey gourami instead. They are hardier, less tempermental and also very lovely. They don't display their normal coloring while at a LFS. They will color up nicer when they are acclimated to a well-planted tank.


Plants will depend on your lighting set-up. Will you be dosing ferts and CO2, or are you going low-tech?