tank mates for my potentially semi-aggressive tank

ameliagb

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Hi there! I currently have a 55/60 gal tank (its rounded in the front so im not 100% sure on the size) but it has good floor space and lots of swim room. I have 2 small bichir polypterus that keep to themselves I only see them during water changes and occasionally when they're eating or darting to the top, a small pictus cat, and 3 convicts (2 blue 1 pink).

everything has its own hiding space and they all take full advantage of that loll. even the convicts chill out amongst the plants or swim through the decor just checking stuff out. im super glad my tank is calm and they all seem happy because i know the fish i have can be considered semi aggressive like how bichirs and pictus' will eat anything that fits in their mouth etc but now i have so much empty space ! I know the fish I do have get a pretty decent size to them and id hate to overcrowd a tank but theyve been growing very slowly and all have their own space so they leave eachother alone.

i was wondering if theres any smaller community type fish that could take up a little swim space so we atleast have a little something to look at sometimes?

i know it has to be bigger than the bichirs mouth... this might be stupid but i saw some decently hefty "candy corn" colored mollies at the same aquarium place ive gotten my other fish and wondered if since theyre larger than the mouths of all my big guys would they be okay? getting like 3 or something ? id add more plants if that were the case jic anything did get aggressive towards them and they needed to hide. I was also thinking like 2 angel fish but i think they might get their long fins nipped as something took a feeler off one of my mystery snails (not sure if it was a fish or the filter, he likes to put his face wayyy to close to the filter to catch debris), was also thinking tiger barbs but that might make everything stressed out. I'm opened to any and all suggestions! thankyouu
 
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sorry for the long post
TLDR:

2 bichir (senegal polypterus the smaller kind not the monster fish)
3 convict
1 pictus

they have lots of room to hide and swim but now theres wayyyy more room left over in my tank than i thought and I need to stock the top with something fun and colorful that doesnt get too huge but that the other fish wont eat

thinking large mollies? angelfish? tiger barbs?
 
Any idea what the general hardness (GH) and pH of your water is?

If the water is moderately hard and slightly alkaline you could look at archerfish and if the water is soft and slightly acid or neutral you could look at African butterfly fish. Both of these fish hang out by the surface and will be big enough not to get eaten. They both jump tho so you need a good cover.

If the water is moderately hard and neutral to slightly alkaline you could look at some of the bigger species of rainbowfish. There is more info on rainbows at the following link.
http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm
 
im gonna get my water tested today but i do have a cover because of the bichir my only problem is I dont want to overcrowd the tank it says butterfly fish get like 5 inches and the archer fish gets 6 , my tank is taller than it is long but still with nice floor space enough for each fish to have an area they can be by themselves once everything gets to be around full size I dont want them to not have adequate room ...

i guess like 2 two inch rainbows could be okay...
 

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