New 55 Gallon Aquarium

[djbrandon123]

im getting a new 55 gallon hexagon tall tank i need to know if this stock is a good idea


6 marbled hatchetfish
1 angelfish
2 bolivian rams
1 common pleco
and a group of 10 lemon tetras i already have the pleco,angelfish,3 glolight tetras and 1 rummynose tetra
i also need a group of six tetras any suggestions

my ph will be 6-6.5

temp 82f

dch 4-8 degrees

will all these fish eat flake food

 

[This Old Spouse]

You should rehome the common pleco who will grow to be a foot or more. Bring the tetras up to at least 6 each.

They'll all eat flake food, but you should do some research and supplement with various other foods.

 

[djbrandon123]

thanks i figured i would get more glolight and rummynoses and i only have that 1 tank so ill see if i can return the pleco and get a smaller type

and would fake plants be a good choice there not as good as real ones but i was gooing to get ones that looked like the real things also is sand or gravel better for an amazon biotope

 

[djbrandon123]

im also looking for a small amazonian pleco and another type of healthy food i can feed my other than flakes

 

[fluttermoth]

If you scroll down a bit on the main page and go to the 'Plecos Otos and other Loricariids' sub-forum (it's in the catfish section) there's a sticky in there that lists a whole load of plecs that get to less than 8".

Most LFS now sell frozen food which is very good as a treat for fish, but keep flake as your main, daily food as it's properly balanced.

 

[djbrandon123]

thanks and another thing are water changes absolutley nessecary and how of should i do them

how often should i do them

 

[This Old Spouse]

Yes, water changes are absolutely necessary, and so is getting a liquid test kit to test your water parameters.

Please, please click on the link under my sig photo labeled "New to Fishkeeping? Please click Here!" and read up on just what you need to be doing to start up your tank.

 

[djbrandon123]

thanks and im not new to fish keeping i have a ten gallon right now with a test kit and everything i just need to know more info cuz im getting a much larger tank i have about 2-3 years of expeirience

 

[djbrandon123]

is a 20% water change every other week good

 

[This Old Spouse]

I'd say a 50% water change every week is good.

 

[djbrandon123]

so about 25 u.s gallons and would a peat filter be good for an amazon root biotope

 

[djbrandon123]

i just started considering this i dont want any of my fish to breed cause i dont have the room so would it be ok to have 2 female or 2 male rams and are there any other ways to prevent the of types of fish from breeding

 

[djbrandon123]

would it be ok to have 4 rams

 

[fluttermoth]

It depends on the area of the base as to how many dwarf cichlids, like rams, you can stock as they're territorial and need their own space. What are the dimensiona of the tank?

You can certainly have two rams of the same sex, but they're not very likely to breed in a community tank anyway.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

thanks and another thing are water changes absolutley nessecary and how of should i do them

how often should i do them

thanks and im not new to fish keeping i have a ten gallon right now with a test kit and everything i just need to know more info cuz im getting a much larger tank i have about 2-3 years of expeirience

Conflicting information here... Yes, water changes are absolutely essential. A water change is the only way to reduce nitrates in the tank; a water change is the only way to remove other things that build up in the tank that we don't test for; a water change is the only way to replenish trace minerals that are used up by the plants, fish, bacteria, etc. in the tank.



As far as the breeding goes, generally, if you don't do anything to protect them, they will be eaten. I would suggest only 2 ram in your tank - competing breeding pairs can be a bad thing. However, 4 apistogramma would work - 1m, 3f.