Help Me Stock My Tank?

[duplosion]

Hi!
 
I'm hoping that you can help me with some stocking suggestions.
 
I have a 55 gallon (208 liter) tank. It's been setup for a few months now, and all the current inhabitants seem happy and healthy. Here's what I have right now:
 
Glofish Tetra (3)
Zebra Danio (1)
Xray Tetra (2)
Red Head Tapajos (1)
Mexican Crayfish (1)
Albino Bristlenose Pleco (1)
Serpae Tetra (2)
Glolight Tetra (3)
Red Eye Tetra (3)
 
I'm thinking that I definitely want to get most of the Tetras to groups of 5, at least -- but I'm also open to building larger schools if that's preferable.
 
My favorite fish in the tank are the pleco and the tapajos -- they each have so much personality. If possible, I'd also like to add at least a couple more compatible fish with interesting personalities.

 

[Byron]

The Tapajos (Geophagus sp.) prefer to live in small groups, so you might want to increase this species and consider a basically biotope aquascape built around this lovely cichlid.  Numbers like 5 to 8 are often recommended.  Some say they may eat plants, especially soft ones, so the more hardy plants like Java Fern and Anubias though not botanically correct in their habitat might survive.  Or no lower plants but lots of wood and branches (which is authentic to their Amazonian habitat rivers, the Rio Tapajos and Rio Arapiuns) with a good cover of floating plants which grow so fast they would likely survive nibbling.  Some suggest that small fish may be eaten when the Tapajos get closer to their mature size of six inches.  Often the tank size and aquascape are factors in such behaviours.
 
Most of us here would not recommend crustaceans (crayfish, etc) in with fish, so I'll say no more on that.
 
The tetra species should be in larger groups (depending what you decide about the cichlid), and there are a couple cautions with the species mentioned.  Serpae Tetra (Hyphessobrycon eques) are notorious fin nippers, and should be in a large group (10+) to keep this within the group and at a minimum.  Sedate and long-fin fish (and here the cichlid is included) are not good tankmates as they become easy targets.  The Red Eye Tetra (Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenia) is also known to get a bit nippy, so a larger group (8+) would be best.  The other tetra mentioned are less likely to nip, but only if the groups are increased to 6+, and when space permits, the larger the group the better the fish will be.  With most of the tetra-type characins I tend to aim for 9+.  A few need more.
 
Byron.

 

[Wills]

I agree with Byron on all he said, things I wanted to add are that I think 208 liter tank is too small for the Geophagus, they are big fish when adult and as Byron said they are gregarious fish and want to be kept in groups.
 
Really you would want a bigger tank to be keeping this kind of tank - is that a possibility? Something around 120 gallons a 4x2x2 foot would be a good minimum.
 
I would also personally cut down the number of the species, I think the Glow fish and the Zebra Danios (essentially the same species) they need cooler temperatures than the other species and are also pretty nippy fish. I would also rehome the nippy species of nippy tetra that Byron mentioned and do has he suggested by upping the numbers of the other tetras.
 
An other option could be to rehome the Geophagus, and replace them with Cupid Cichlids, Cupids are a smaller relative of Geophagus and would be much more suited to this size tank as they only get to 3-4 inches.
 
Wills

 

[duplosion]

Thanks, guys -- I can't tell you how much I appreciate your input. I'm new to the hobby, and recognize I made some uninformed stocking decisions when I started out. Thanks for teaching me.
 
Here's where things stand now:
 
The crayfish had always been peaceful and hid in the plants (sometimes I wouldn't see it for days at a time), but it died yesterday. I guess that's good news for the long-term health of the tank, but I still hated to see him go. He was fun to watch.
 
After reading your responses, here's what I've done:
 
1. Re-homed the Serpae Tetra and Xray Tetra
 
2. Added 7 more Red Eye Tetra, so I now have a school of 10
 
3. Added 3 more Glolight Tetras, so I now have a school of 6
 
4.  The kids picked out the danio and Glowfish originally. I talked to them about it, and they'd like to leave them in the tank. So far, they've been in there for 3 months and seem very active and healthy. But if that changes, then they'll be re-homed as well.
 
I'm hoping to add a large (120 gallon+) tank to my home in the next year. Hopefully, the Geophagus  will be fine in this tank until then. I've fallen in love with this fish, and don't want to part with it unless / until absolutely necessary.

 

[Wills]

You should be ok, with the Geo in there for about a year they generally take 3 years to get to full adult size, first year and a half is length and then they grow up and out - I would always advise to get the tank, then the fish as life happens and you cant afford the tank, loose the space etc etc...
 
The only other thing is, the Geo does really need to be in a group... they are such social fish with their own kind. But Im not sure when the right time to add the others in would be, do you have any idea when the new tank could come? Is it a christmas present for example?
 
Wills