New Tank

[pcmthmes19]

Newbie - had a tank for 3 yrs, 30 yrs ago.

I just brought home my new 55 gal tank tonight, w/pearl white gravel and cannister filter. The fish I plan to get are the ones I remember fondly from before.

These are ones I definitely will get (in order of how important they are to me):
2 African Dwarf Frogs
4 Clown Loaches
1 Red Tailed Shark
4-6 Platys
6 Neon Tetras (or Cardinals)
4 Kuhlie Loaches
1 Albino Cat

Here are ones I "think" I will add:
2 Otocinculous or Siamese Algae Eaters
6 Gold/Silver Mollies OR White Clouds

Specific Questions:
Will the Otocinculous keep tank clean of normal amount of Algae, or will I have to get Plecostomus instead?
I'm thinking of the Mollies for movement and color, but my LFS says they need saltier water and I should get some kind of Barbs instead. I thought Barbs would be too aggressive for rest of tank?

Any suggestions or feedback?

 

[beux]

I'm pretty much a newbie myself but I have learnt a couple of things from this place and general research and fishkeeping over the last couple of months...

Firstly, don't overstock, the rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish (adult size) per gallon in your tank - so 55 in your case. The clown loaches can get to about 6 inches in an aquarium so four of them is 24 inches already. The platys are about 2" so thats another 12 = your at 36 just with those two alone.

Careful with the frogs - make sure you don't get the african clawed frog (a friend of mine bought two and they quickly grew and ate everything else in her tank).

The sharks can get quite big and may cause a bit of trouble to some smaller fish like the tetras, i guess that depends on the individual fish.

And the pleco can get pretty big pretty fast (12"+) - plus they are big waste producers so you'll need a good filter.

I think to stop you from overstocking you'd be better off with the Otto's rather than the Pleco, possibly the dwarf variety which only grows to about 1.5" and is pretty good at algae eating.

The Albino Cat can get pretty large too and will probably outgrow your tank pretty fast. I would probably drop the kuhlies and the cat and stick with the Otto's - even then I'd say you were pushing it with over-stocking, I wouldn't add the white clouds/mollies/barbs or trade them in for something else such as the tetras.

Anyway, just my two cents - still trying to get to grip with all the technicalities of stocking myself so if anyone thinks I'm wrong on any of this please correct me.

 

[Alex_]

No, clown loachs get up to 1' in Aquriams not 6'' and barbs are just as agressi as you rad tailed shark

so id say your tank can not hold any loachs im afraid, but every thing else shouold be ok. i would strongly

roccommed otto there one of the coolist fish to watch. and i would probly gett some more neons then you

have some more options. it's really up to you on the decions but the clown loachs will not work nor

would i think the red tail shark would.

-Alex

 

[bogwood]

You will be overstocked in that 55G...

...Ottos are great algae eaters - but only once the tank is well established... Make sure you go for a 'fat bellied' otto too... means it has been eating well (many are undernourished from transit to your lfs)...

 

[dwarfgourami]

2 African Dwarf Frogs
4 Clown Loaches
1 Red Tailed Shark
4-6 Platys
6 Neon Tetras (or Cardinals)
4 Kuhlie Loaches
1 Albino Cat

I feel this stocking would make a very overcrowded tank at the bottom+ some of them might not feel very safe/might not be very safe+ would get outcompeted for food. I really think I would keep the frogs, for one thing, for a smaller and less active tank.

You don't say what you mean by albino cat: if albino corydoras, it certainly won't outgrow the tank (they only grow to about 3 inches)- but they are schooling fish, so you'd need a nice big group. Not sure that they would be able to stand up to a red-tail shark though.

Eventually, 4 clown loaches would overstock your tank, I am not sure of their growth rate. I would certainly not add a common plec to this equation. A bristlenose though would do the same job but stays much smaller. Otos are suuposed to be very good at cleaning algae, but can be sensitive to water stats.

White Clouds want cool water, so are not compatible with warm water fish like clown loaches,khuulies or redtail sharks.
Mollies need hard water, neons prefer soft, so not really compatible.
Somebody suggested barbs are aggressive- but that depends on what type of barb. Cherry barbs are not like tiger barbs, but a lot gentler.

Again, somebody said the tank can't hold any loaches- there are several loaches that would be fine, not least khuulie loaches.

I would go for something like this:

4-6 platies (at least 2 females per males, or single sex group)

5-6 khuulie loaches

6 albino corydoras (if these were the cats you had in mind)

1 bristlenose

6-8 tetras

And either: a trio of cherry barbs (1 male, 2 females)

or: a single dwarf or honey gourami (to be added last, after the tank is nicely mature)

Just a suggestion, of course there are lots of possible variations on the theme you suggested. If you want to keep the shark in, you can take something else out.

 

[pcmthmes19]

I feel this stocking would make a very overcrowded tank at the bottom+ some of them might not feel very safe/might not be very safe+ would get outcompeted for food. I really think I would keep the frogs, for one thing, for a smaller and less active tank.

The ADF was my favorite from having this size tank many yrs ago. Is this a general rule that ADF's need smaller tanks? These would be the hardest for me to change out.

You don't say what you mean by albino cat: if albino corydoras, it certainly won't outgrow the tank (they only grow to about 3 inches)- but they are schooling fish, so you'd need a nice big group. Not sure that they would be able to stand up to a red-tail shark though.

I know what they look like, so I'll have to search out a pic to see, but this is combo that I had before. I had gotten the red-tail shark at less than an inch and it grew with the other fish and ended up being the policeman/protector of all the others when grown. If they are truly incompatible, of the two I will keep the shark.

Eventually, 4 clown loaches would overstock your tank, I am not sure of their growth rate. I would certainly not add a common plec to this equation. A bristlenose though would do the same job but stays much smaller. Otos are suuposed to be very good at cleaning algae, but can be sensitive to water stats.

I can see that the clown loaches will not work; I'm surprised that they never outgrew my earlier tank - I must've just been lucky. I'll look for some smaller loaches - maybe Queen.

I would go for something like this:
4-6 platies (at least 2 females per males, or single sex group)
5-6 khuulie loaches
6 albino corydoras (if these were the cats you had in mind)
1 bristlenose
6-8 tetras
And either: a trio of cherry barbs (1 male, 2 females)
or: a single dwarf or honey gourami (to be added last, after the tank is nicely mature)
Just a suggestion, of course there are lots of possible variations on the theme you suggested. If you want to keep the shark in, you can take something else out.

Thank you for the suggestions and pointing me towards a newer/better stocking mix. I will look further, but expect to go with some of what you have listed.

Am I the 1,349th person to learn to not base all decisions on what the LFS says?