I have a plan

[Gabe]

Ok, as you may or may not know, I will soon be purchasing a 55 gallon tank. I am sorting out what fish I want to put in now, so I don't sit with an empty tank for to long lol. So here is my list of fish, any comments and/or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

6 Congo Tetras
6 Black Skirt Tetras (already have 4)
6 Cherry Barbs (already have 4)
1 Sailfin Pleco (already have him)

I figured at the max size of these fish, I will have 60 inches of fish in my 55 gallon tank. The filter I will be getting with the tank can handle up to 60 gallon tank, and if I add a second one that is currently running(handles up to 20 gal) will this take care of the over stocking? Plus a weekly water change of at least 10-20% of course. Also I would LOVE to get a couple of cories to add, but if it would be to much, I can put them in my 15 gal lol.I just really wanted them for my community tank is all. Thanks so much for any and all help!

Gabe

 

[Jamnog]

i think the filter will cope combined the average length of the fish your considering is small i think the equation can bend a little esp if your planning on water changes. others are more experienced at over stocking as i zellously understock my tanks normally. the bio load i think is covered by the extra filteration and tho some tetras can get a bit funny in shoels they have more than enough room to form groups. as they are so small it might be an idea to add plants that would provide coveroh and make shure the tank is well cycled introduce the fish over time dont put them all in at once like i did or you will end up with bacterial bloom and an unbalance water chemastry. anyways the others will have words to say on this i will leave it at that.
8)

 

[Alia]

If you get the corys, get at least three, cuz their chummy, and get one of the smaller varieties (like Pygmy?). Sorry, I don't have a fish encyclopaedia at hand, but I know there are some smaller varieties of corys. Then I think you should be ok.

Oh, and are you going to have live plants? Live plants, provided you keep them alive, will improve the water quality pretty dramatically, from what I have heard.

Sounds like a beautiful setup, Gabe. What are Congo tetras like?

 

[Gabe]

Thank you both for all the info. I was planning on having live plants, at least a few.

As for the Congo Tetras, I think they are a beautiful fish. Here is a link to a great pic:

http/www.twilightbridge.com/hobbies/aqua.../congotetra.htm

This is a pic of a male, I do believe. I like Serpae Tetras as well. Darn it!! Now I need another tank lol.

Alia, I had pygmy corys in mind, I'm just not sure if I can get them here. But I'm sure going to look around. They are so cute!!

Gabe

 

[Tropicalfishfn]

I am also making a plan it is not done yet. it will take a while though but i will get it done. it will be the best tank ever

 

[Tanked]

Gabe,

you should be able to add cory's with no problem. your filtration will be adequate and tetras are a fairly low bio load fish. that sailfin on the other hand is quite messy, but with mostly tetra's and your second filter adding 4-6 cory's should be fine


I would do a 25% weekly water change though not 10%

hth

Richard

 

[The_Budmaster]

you guys all know that the Congo tetras can get pretty big?...well alot bigger than other tetras anyway, about 3inches i think

 

[Gabe]

Thankyou for the advice Tanked! I usually do more than 10% water changes, but that would be the minimum amount that I would do. I think I will be keeping my eye out for some corys

Budmaster, I did take into consideration how big the Congos get when I calculated how many inches of fish I would have. But thanks for the concern!

Gabe

 

[Alia]

I had a look at that picture, Gabe, nice fish! That was a cute site, with the little nicknames for fish, like the Mysterious fish (a killifish, I'm guessing) and the Egg Protector. It sounds like you've got everything worked out.

Good luck finding those pygmy corys. You know, you probably should build up gradually anyway, so you can always start with the more readily available varieties while you wait for some to turn up somewhere!

Have fun with it!

 

[Gabe]

Thanks Alia! I thought that site was very cute too, it's for kids and makes fish very interesting to read about.

I will be building up my fish population slowly, being on a somewhat tight budget and all. The most I will be able to get is a few every two weeks. But that's ok, this way I won't rush and send my tank into a mini-cycle, so it works out good.

Gabe

 

[cichlidmaster]

OK, here is my 0.02 FWIW................

I HATE the 1" of fish per gallon of water theory!!! It just not hold any water with me!!!!

Say for instances you have a 20 gallon tank and you want to keep 2 fish that will grow to an adult size of 10" each.....do you think this size tank will be adequate

Same goes for the opposite.....you have several groups of small bodied fish such as tetra's and the like. These fish IMO do not produce the waste to warrent a rule of 1" per gallon!!!

IMO......with the fish you listed, the pleco will be your biggest waste producer...the congo's next.

IMO you could add more than just a few more cories to this tank....especially if you are adding a secondary filter. If you really want to add more fish, add a sponge filter like a hydro sponge #5. These are rated for up to a 100 gallon tank and will provide an emence amount of biological filtration.

I really wish the 1" per gallon would become non-existant as it is really an outdated method with todays filtration methods of recommending stocking levels!!!

JMO

CM

 

[Gabe]

Well then CM what would you suggest? I really would like to eventually get the max ammount of fish in my tank. I certainly won't be adding them all at once, so no worries there. So if you wouldn't mind, could you compile a list of fish including how many you would put in? Keep in mind the filters(one rated for up to 60gals and the other up to 20gals) and the fish I would like to have from my original post. Maybe include Serpae Tetras as I really like them as well.

If you don't have the time or just don't feel like doing it, it's ok. But I do value your opinion and would like to hear what you think. Thanks!

Gabe

 

[Gabe]

Bumping this for CM in case he hasn't seen it.

Gabe

 

[Tanked]

try PMing him if he misses this post.

 

[snotirl]

stick in a pleac there always nice to have