Will these fish work in a 55 gal

[Deleted member 137695]

Currently I have a 55 gallon cycling right now and I had fish in mind that I really wanted to have but I don't know if they'll work together. The ones that I really want are the rainbow shark and the angelfish
I was thinking:
2 Angelfish
1 Rainbow Shark
3 Rainbow Fish (not sure what kind I want yet)
6+? Harlequin Rasboras
1 Clown Pleco

Also I was wondering if it's overstocked and if I should even follow the gallon per inch rule anymore

 

[JuiceBox52]

Currently I have a 55 gallon cycling right now and I had fish in mind that I really wanted to have but I don't know if they'll work together. The ones that I really want are the rainbow shark and the angelfish
I was thinking:
2 Angelfish
1 Rainbow Shark
3 Rainbow Fish (not sure what kind I want yet)
6+? Harlequin Rasboras
1 Clown Pleco

Also I was wondering if it's overstocked and if I should even follow the gallon per inch rule anymore

You should definitely follow the one inch of fish per gallon rule. Two angel fish sound good, as well as the rainbow fish. If you do get a rainbow shark I wouldn't recommend getting a pleco too because the shark would likley be really aggressive towards other bottom dwellers. I really like rasboras, but when your Angels are full grown they may eat them, mine were fine with neons and then at them all overnight. Be sure to put a secure lid on the tank, rainbow sharks like to jump!

 

[QualityAquatics21]

Try aquadivisor . I put in your stocking. Please pay attention to the warnings and adjust your stock to them. Also reasearch these and make sure that they are good with each other’s water parameters.http://www.aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor....AqSpeciesWindowSize=short&AqSearchMode=simple

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

-------------------------​

Most rainbowfish do best in hard water with a GH above 200ppm and a pH above 7.0. Harlequin Rasboras come from soft water with a GH below 100ppm and a pH below 7.0. Most of the bigger species of rainbowfish will also stress the harlequins due to their size.

Some of the smaller rainbows like Iriatherina werneri will be fine with Harlequin Rasboras, but the angelfish might eat the small rainbows.

The following link has information about different rainbowfish.
http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm

 

[Deleted member 137695]

Hi and welcome to the forum

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

-------------------------​

Most rainbowfish do best in hard water with a GH above 200ppm and a pH above 7.0. Harlequin Rasboras come from soft water with a GH below 100ppm and a pH below 7.0. Most of the bigger species of rainbowfish will also stress the harlequins due to their size.

Some of the smaller rainbows like Iriatherina werneri will be fine with Harlequin Rasboras, but the angelfish might eat the small rainbows.

The following link has information about different rainbowfish.
http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm

Ok my ph is a little high for them at 7.4 and I am still waiting to find the GH and KH

 

[Colin_T]

A pH of 7.4 is fine for most fish, and unless the harlequins are wild caught (unlikely), they will be fine with a pH of 7.4.

 

[Kritastrophe]

If you do get a rainbow shark I would not get the clown pleco. When I was a child I had a rainbow shark and a pleco and the rainbow shark would not stop harassing my pleco. Rainbow sharks when they get older are territorial jerks. I ended up giving the rainbow shark to my dad because he had a larger tank at the time with zero bottom dwellers. Rainbow sharks don’t tend to get along with any bottom dwellers, and they can also be quite aggressive towards all fish during feeding time in my personal experience.

 

[Deleted member 137695]

If you do get a rainbow shark I would not get the clown pleco. When I was a child I had a rainbow shark and a pleco and the rainbow shark would not stop harassing my pleco. Rainbow sharks when they get older are territorial jerks. I ended up giving the rainbow shark to my dad because he had a larger tank at the time with zero bottom dwellers. Rainbow sharks don’t tend to get along with any bottom dwellers, and they can also be quite aggressive towards all fish during feeding time in my personal experience.

Ok I can move the clown pleco I have more room in my other tank but will the angelfish and rianbow shark be fine together

 

[Byron]

A few things to mention.

Rainbowfish are shoaling fish that require a group of the species. Minimum numbers are best increased when space permits, as it does here. When you have the species pinned down just keep in mind you will need a group of say 8 or more.

Harlequin Rasbora are also shoaling (all rasboras, barbs, danios, tetras, rainbowfish, cory catfish, loaches, and some others are shoaling fish) so a group of 9-10 would be better if you go with this species.

I agree to leave out the Rainbow shark; although usually (note, "usually") tending to be more peaceful than its cousin the Red Tail Shark, there is no guarantee with substrate-level fish, and sometimes with upper fish.

The angelfish pose a problem. This too is a shoaling species and should never be fewer than five or one will inevitably be dominant and literally hound the others to death in this small a space (to the angelfish a 55g tank is small, the dominant male will consider this his territory). The problem with having five is that a pair may form, and this brings its own issues. A "pair" only works if it involves a male and female that have selected each other and bonded; any male and female (and gender is not easy to tell with immature fish) will not necessarily bond and before long the female will be dead. A single angelfish obviously might work (temperament is not discernible until it is too late) but I do not like to recommend keeping any fish contrary to their natural expectations.

 

[Deleted member 137695]

A few things to mention.

Rainbowfish are shoaling fish that require a group of the species. Minimum numbers are best increased when space permits, as it does here. When you have the species pinned down just keep in mind you will need a group of say 8 or more.

Harlequin Rasbora are also shoaling (all rasboras, barbs, danios, tetras, rainbowfish, cory catfish, loaches, and some others are shoaling fish) so a group of 9-10 would be better if you go with this species.

I agree to leave out the Rainbow shark; although usually (note, "usually") tending to be more peaceful than its cousin the Red Tail Shark, there is no guarantee with substrate-level fish, and sometimes with upper fish.

The angelfish pose a problem. This too is a shoaling species and should never be fewer than five or one will inevitably be dominant and literally hound the others to death in this small a space (to the angelfish a 55g tank is small, the dominant male will consider this his territory). The problem with having five is that a pair may form, and this brings its own issues. A "pair" only works if it involves a male and female that have selected each other and bonded; any male and female (and gender is not easy to tell with immature fish) will not necessarily bond and before long the female will be dead. A single angelfish obviously might work (temperament is not discernible until it is too late) but I do not like to recommend keeping any fish contrary to their natural expectations.

Ok so lets act like this never happened and I just askes what good fish should i put in my community 55 gal. I still want the rainbow shark so what are some good fish that are cool and go with it well.

 

[Naughts]

Hi,
Colin asked for the GH and KH.
If you go to you water suppliers website they should have a water quality report with these in it. We need the units as well as the number. If you can't see what we need, post a link to the webpage so we can have a look.