Stocking A 55G Tank

[B.foo]

Hi,
I will be stocking my 55 gallon tank pretty soon. I want to have a planted tank with livebearers and tetras and such. What plants should I put in the aquarium? Also should I use sand, gravel or both? And any stocking ideas? I want to have alot of activity in the tank, some swimming on the top, some on the bottom and middle. Thanks!

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi there and to the forum!

It's bit difficult to recommend fish for you, as there are so many to choose from. Do you know the pH and hardness of your local water? That's always a good place to start, as it is much easier to pick fish that like your water than trying to change the water to suit the fish.

How are you cycling the tank, by the way?

 

[B.foo]

Well I had tiger oscars in it before but I plan on turning it into a planted tropical tank.

Here are some fish I am interested in:

Discus
Cory catfish
Tetras (variety)
Corydoras

I want to get discus forsure but what should I put with it?
Also what ph do discus like?

 

[B.foo]

Also I would want to add some cherry or ghost shrimp and possibly some snails

 

[onidrase]

Well I had tiger oscars in it before but I plan on turning it into a planted tropical tank.

Here are some fish I am interested in:

Discus
Cory catfish
Tetras (variety)
Corydoras

I want to get discus forsure but what should I put with it?
Also what ph do discus like?

Do a LOT of research on discus before you go out and buy them. They're not only expensive, but I'm not unfamiliar with stories of the lot of them dying over night. They're very sensitive fish.

 

[fluttermoth]

Cory cats and corydoras are the same thing.

The pH isn't too important for tank bred discus, but they do need soft water that's very low in nitrates. Wild caught ones need an acidic pH of around 6-6.5. They also need the water very warm (around 28°C/82°F), which limits your choice of tankmates somewhat; many cory species for instance can't survive at those temperatures.

If your tap water is very hard, or very alkaline, you might have to look at getting an RO unit if you want discus. You might be better off posting in the 'Old world cichlid' section of the forum, which is where the discus experts hang out

Oh, are you feeding your filter with an ammonia source? If not, you'll need to recycle the tank, as you may have lost most of your filter bacteria, depending on how long the tank has been fishless.

 

[B.foo]

Okay thanks !
Do you know any fish that might be a little easier to care for and look nice in an aquascaping tank?

 

[fluttermoth]

Oh, there are literally hundreds of species! Best thing to do is have a look around your LFS and see what kinds of fish you like the look of, then come home and research their needs; pH, adult size, aggressiveness etc, then you can draw yourself up a nice stocking list (and run it past us, so we can pick up any potential problems for you!).

finding out the pH and hardness of your water would help though; plus you may need to cycle the tank if it's been empty for more than a week or so.

 

[B.foo]

Okay will do
Do u know what lighting I need for plant growth? Can I buy plant and aquarium bulbs at home depot?
Thanks so much by the way fluttermouth you've helped alot

Aha fluttermouth I meant fluttermoth

 

[fluttermoth]

Okay will do
Do u know what lighting I need for plant growth? Can I buy plant and aquarium bulbs at home depot?
Thanks so much by the way fluttermouth you've helped alot

Aha fluttermouth I meant fluttermoth

lol, that's ok

It depends what kinds of plants you want to grow. I have a tank with heaps of plants (Java fern, anubias, cryptocorynes, vallis, Amazon swords, pygmy chain swords and some moss) that has only one T5 40W flourescent tube running in it; you just need to make sure you choose only low light plants.
If you want more 'interesting' or red plants, you'd need more light; probably two T8s.

I've never been to a home depot; I buy most of my plants online

 

[B.foo]

Okay, thanks
What website do you buy from?

 

[fluttermoth]

I've used two Ebay shops; Last Trading Post and Premier Aquarium Plants. I find it best to start out buying one of the collections; some plants won't do so well in your tank and water, but many will and will soon multiply. You'll also know then what sort of plants do well for you and then you can buy different varieties of those species

 

[B.foo]

So I've decided what I kind of want,

Discus
Cardinal tetras x 8
Clown loach x 4
Corydoras catfish x 2

Will this work? And if so how may discus can I put in? Also is there any other fish that I may want with them?
Thanks alot
I was wondering if you also email people for help fluttermoth? You are very helpful and I would like to learn more from you if that's okay

 

[fluttermoth]

Discus need to be kept in shoals of around six or eight, but you'd honestly be better off asking the discus specialists in the 'New World cichlids' section of the forum as you'll get better advice that way; I've never kept discus, and they are quite a specialist fish.

Clown loach grow far too big for your tank, I'm afraid, and cories do better in shoals of at least six too.

I have helped by email before, and am happy to do so, but I prefer posting publically on here; that way anyone looking for advice or lurking can benefit too

 

[eaglesaquarium]

+1 to everything fluttermoth said.


I beleive the only cory species that can handle that type of temp (required by discus) is sterbai.


Discus are lovely fish, but unless they match up to your local tap water, (meaning soft and zero nitrates) you are going to need to purchase a RO unit. Personally, I'd look into angelfish instead. They are far hardier than discus, but still have that size and shape that you seem to covet.



As far as the lighting goes, T5s actually put out more light than T8s, which put out more light than T12s. Just an FYI.

Traditional T12 and T8 fluorescent lighting is simply not powerful enough to light an area more than 8-10 inches below the bulb. With the recent introduction of the highly efficient T5 technology, T5 linear fluorescent lamps can now put out a respectable 92.6 lumens per watt. T12 lamps typically put out about 30 lumens per watt.

Have a read through this link for more information on T5 vs T8.