Need Ideas For Stocking 55g Tank

[electricsin]

I am new to the fish world and was hoping to get some ideas/suggestions on stocking my 55 gallon tank with a Penguin 350 power filter.
Tank has been up for about 3 months and currently fully cycled (finally). and looks terribly empty of fish even though we have fish in it.... I am open to any suggestions to make it looks more lively (with one exception- no more mollies as we had a few more than what is in the tank now but they all keep dying....
Stats (api master kit):
Temp:76
Ammonia:0
NitrIte:0
NitrAte: 20
PH: 6.6 (our water is very soft)
gravel substrate (would love to switch to sand in the future), only fake plants at the moment, but lots of them.
Current fish:
3 ghost shrimp
6 asst male guppies
1 male black molly
1 female dalmatian molly
1 black molly fry
2 ottos
3 albino cory catfish (all male I think)
1 peppered male cory catfish
2 peppered female cory catfish
1 cory catfish fry (could be more but have only saw this 1)
lots of cory catfish eggs in tank (between the 2 of them they have been spawning twice a week)

 

[Questions?]

well if you want to get rid of the fry you could try a German Blue Ram Cichlid, or Bolivian Ram cichlid, but you would have to raise the temp to 80 degrees farenheit, and you would have to check the compatibility with the other fish. It is a pretty peaceful fish, but during mating season they will be agressive if it is a pair, so i you do i would add 2 females maybe? I am not sure, havenever had higher then a 20gallon fish tank

 

[Ruskull]

Mollies like hard alkaline water, pH between 7-8 or even higher. They also prefer warmer water at around 75-85 degrees. That could explain some of the problems you're having with them.

It sounds like you have a good amount of bottom activity with the Corydoras, and the Guppies probably buzz around the top of the tank. Mollies usually go all over & have a tendency to hide sometimes.

I think your tank could use a nice size school of Tetras which shoal low to mid level in the tank, just don't get nippy ones because of the Guppies. Neons, Cardinals, Glowlights, Black Neons, etc. all fall into the "non-nippy" category. The Black Neons are kinda large and I'm not sure if they're nippy or not. Whichever you may choose, make sure you get a good size school, like a dozen or more.

 

[Murrayjane]

I agree with the first two responses. If you want to add more life that can take your tank to a 'new level' get bolivian rams. They are cichlids that should work for your tank setup. Cichlids are generally very active and expressive fish and although most are aggressive, the bolivian will be fine if given enough space.

If not a bolivian, I would stick with getting more brightly colored guppies.

You could also try getting a few dwarf Gouramis although im not sure if your ghost shrimp will work with it. They have a terrific personality and have a great elegance to them.

Another idea is if you don't mind re-homing some into a smaller tank, you could get a few Angelfish. These are pretty spectacular and a common freshwater favorite.

 

[electricsin]

Mollies like hard alkaline water, pH between 7-8 or even higher. They also prefer warmer water at around 75-85 degrees. That could explain some of the problems you're having with them.

It sounds like you have a good amount of bottom activity with the Corydoras, and the Guppies probably buzz around the top of the tank. Mollies usually go all over & have a tendency to hide sometimes.

I think your tank could use a nice size school of Tetras which shoal low to mid level in the tank, just don't get nippy ones because of the Guppies. Neons, Cardinals, Glowlights, Black Neons, etc. all fall into the "non-nippy" category. The Black Neons are kinda large and I'm not sure if they're nippy or not. Whichever you may choose, make sure you get a good size school, like a dozen or more.

Thanks for in the info on the mollies that would explain the problem more than likely.
Would love to have a large school of tetras but worried that it would being overstocking my tank??

 

[electricsin]

I agree with the first two responses. If you want to add more life that can take your tank to a 'new level' get bolivian rams. They are cichlids that should work for your tank setup. Cichlids are generally very active and expressive fish and although most are aggressive, the bolivian will be fine if given enough space.

If not a bolivian, I would stick with getting more brightly colored guppies.

You could also try getting a few dwarf Gouramis although im not sure if your ghost shrimp will work with it. They have a terrific personality and have a great elegance to them.

Another idea is if you don't mind re-homing some into a smaller tank, you could get a few Angelfish. These are pretty spectacular and a common freshwater favorite.

(Tip: Get a heater, should help tremendously)

I have a heater, should I bump the temp up a little?
How many Angelfish in a group is a good number?
A pair of Rams?
My mother was talking about getting a small 20 gallon tank, could rehome the guppies to her...

 

[Murrayjane]

I had 3 Angelfish in my 55 gallon. Everything was great until my Black Ghost Knifefish started assassinating them. The only problem you may face is that they may pair off and become very aggressive (if they mate). So maybe try and get 1 and find out which sex it is and stick with getting the same sex. They get pretty big too, 5-6".

Yeah if you removed the guppies and shrimp into the potential 20 it would definitely work.

Bolivian ram pair would be fine in a 55.

As for the heater, 80-82 would probably be ideal.

 

[Flute]

A pH of 6.6 would be ideal for other dwarf cichlid species too, especially apistogramma. Stunning fish with great personalities

 

[basboi85]

My tank temp is set at 25.c / 77.f and I've never had any issues with my mollies dieing.
Even the fry are thriving

 

[Daveo026]

If he bumped up his heat wouldn't he have to rehome the corys also aren't peppered low heat species?

 

[Ruskull]

My tank temp is set at 25.c / 77.f and I've never had any issues with my mollies dieing.
Even the fry are thriving

Yeah, I don't think it's the temp so much as the pH that might not be right for Mollies.