New Addition Suggestions?

[IndeedAndi]

Hello, I had a quick question about adding new fish to my tank. I have a 55gal and wanted to add 2-4 new fish to my tank. I currently have dension barbs, angelfish, neon tetras, boeseman rainbowfish, and a pleco. They all love each other. But I went on vacation recently and some of my fish died in the care of my cousin, so my tank looks pretty bare to me and it makes me sad. I was thinking of getting one angel, since the one that died was my favorite one (Zebra angel). But I don't know what else would make a good addition to my tank. I wanted to get something that is an active swimmer as everything in my tank now swim from side to side all day long. I could sit and watch them for hours!

 

[Ch4rlie]

SIze of tank, dimensions may help with suggestions.
 
Also water hardness / softness and ph will be a factor in your choices too.

 

[Byron]

And, exactly what fish (species and number of each) are left?
 
Going from just the list of species, and knowing how many of each should have been present, you had serious problems with those mentioned, in a 55g.  So it will help to know what is now left.
 
Byron.

 

[Vethian]

what temperature do you keep the tank and can we get a specific list of fish that include numbers?

 

[IndeedAndi]

I have 10 dension barbs, 10 neons, two rainbows, one pleco, and two angels. I keep the temperature around 78. pH is 7.8. The water moderately hard. I don't know the exact measurements of my tank. It's about 3.5-4 feet long and a little less than two feet deep and maybe 14 inches wide. I have black sand substrate with driftwood and rock decorations. The decorations only come about half way up in the tank and the top of the tank is completely free for swimming. Lots of hiding places down below.
Oh! I also have a female Betta fish in there too... My nephew had her and never fed her So I stole her and she's been doing well... I had totally forgot she was in there.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Afraid need a little more info on the two rainbows? are they neons, threadfins, boesmanis... ?
 
One pleco is which specie?
 
But am afraid ther are a few issues regarding the stocking compatibility.
 
First off is the female betta, they tend not to do very well in larger tanks and generally speaking do not get on particulary well with any tankmates.
 
The denisons and neons will have a go at fin nipping to the betta as well as possibly the angels. Not to mention the fact that the angels may snack on the neons

 

[Byron]

Thanks for the data.  This tank is actually fully stocked now.  I would not recommend any additions, and it would be best to remove the angelfish and Betta as others have noted.  Barbs and angelfish are not a good mix, but having said that, if the fish you have accept their tankmates, leave well enough alone, though of course this may change as the fish develop and mature.
 
Byron.

 

[IndeedAndi]

As of right now, they all love each other. The only type of aggression I see at all is between the two angels, one is bigger than the other and it tends to nip at the smaller one every once in a while. Other than that, no type of aggression at all. I was afraid the beta was going to be aggressive with some of the fish, but its been in there for about two months and no fish have messed with her nor has she messed with any off the other fish. She pretty much keeps to herself except during feeding time, then she'll mingle till the food is gone. I don't know if I got lucky, but I have basically no aggression in my tank.

And the rainbows are Boesemani rainbows. The pleco is just a common pleco.
 
Byron, I was hoping to at least replace the angelfish I lost, what are your feelings on that? I really loved the Zebra angel I had. But I don't know if adding a single fish would be bad, like whether or not it would be accepted by the other two. I had great success introducing a single Discus to a group of other discus in the past (What I had originally had). So all my "knowledge" is on discus fish really. I don't know if I would have the same results with Angels as well. Thanks for your help!

 

[Ch4rlie]

The pleco is just a common pleco....
 
 
There are quite a few species of common plecos and most of them grow big, usually around 1 to 2 feet long.
 
So a tank of around 6 feet by 2 feet would be minimum to keep a common pleco long term.
Taking that into consideration, a tank of 72 x 24 x 24 inches, would be around 180 US Gals or 680 litres

 
And rainbowfish, boesmani, like to be in shoals of at least 6+ though 8+ imho is better.

 

[Byron]

Yes, the pleco is going to be a real concern as it grows.  It would be a very good idea to re-home it now before it starts having issues or impacting the biology.
 
I also agree on the rainbow fish, being shoaling species and thus needing more in the group.  However, as I noted previously, there is no space for adding fish.
 
Which brings me to your question of angelfish.  As I said previously, this is almost guaranteed to become an issue in time, and you may be seeing the beginnings now.  Angelfish also are shoaling fish, that should be in a group of five or more, except when maintained as a bonded breeding pair.  A lone angelfish can manage.  But two (male-female pair) that are not accepting each other as bonding is likely to cause trouble, as will two males, and possibly two females  One will be dominant, the other seriously harassed.  Adding a third is not going to improve matters, even adding two more would not.  The dominant fish esp if it is male will see the tank as "his" space, and any and all other angelfish will be regarded as intruders.  If I were you, I would re-home the one being picked on before it succumbs to serious stress.  The other again should not be combined with barbs, and I would expect this to become troublesome down the road.  One cannot foretell how any fish will behave as it matures in a tank with other fish; we can only understand what "should" or likely will occur, given the species involved, so any thing else is guesswork.
 
Byron.

 

[IndeedAndi]

I have arrangements with the place I bought all my fish that when my pleco gets too big, they take it and rehome it. When I kept discus fish, I had a small pleco that got bigger and ended up loving terrorizing my discus, so I let them know and they took him for me. I do have a 120gal freshwater tank as well though. I'm kinda sad that I can't have the angelfish. Besides discus, they were probably my favorite. I do love the way my rainbows swim though, so having more of those in the future would be something I'd look forward to someday. We are in the process of converting the 120gal tank from a cichlid tank to a discus tank. So I'll move the angelfish over to that tank after we get it going. You guys have been so helpful, thank you so much.

 

[Byron]

When the larger tank is running and you are ready to deal with angelfish, acquire the new fish at the same time, and they must be roughly the same size (age) as the one you now have.  Doing this, and adding the new fish then the existing into the larger tank, may work.  But it also may not.
 
On the pleco, I am not a fan of keeping a fish that will have to be re-homed, as this is not fair to the fish.  It also causes issues along the way.  Fish are living creatures that have requirements, behaviours, etc that are unique to the species.  Providing the best for each fish should be our goal.  Fish develop continually throughout their lives, and when the fish is at the point that it is lacking something it needs, or making more of an impact in the tank, it is not usually evident to us; but to the fish, damage is occurring.  It is always better to correct problems as soon as we are aware of them, rather than leaving the fish when this may cause problems for the fish, and/or the aquarium, that could otherwise be avoided.
 
Byron.