View Full Version : What to put in a 55g?
TryinFishOut
09-05-2004, 2:32 PM
Alright, long story short, Im considering getting a 55g and making it a predator tank, with only 1 or 2 large fish in it. Some fish I have considered are:
-Fahaka puffer
-Bichirs
-Needle Nose Gar
-Texas Cichlid
-Jack Dempsey
-Red Tail Barracuda
Out of these suggestions, which would make the best/worst? Anyone have any experience with these kinda setups? ALL comments and suggestion are greatly appreciated.
55 gallon tanks arent deep enuf for any big fish unless you yourself would like to be stuck in a hallway your hole life runing back and forth, get a 75 at least aight? cool special wtih a gar tey get longer than most nets can handle! need a trout net hehe
i suggest all grey sand and rocks then a healthy populaton of colorul africans! they never get sick, dont have to run to the store and get them feeders, and cant beat the color, but if you do wanna throw some goldfish in there, they will rip them to shreads you can be sure it willl impress your friends
Texas Cichlid is a cool fish but really big, 30cm or so!
Jack Dempsey is the fish i would personally go for! it is a huge fish 30cm but really good looking. Quite easy to breed from if you are intrested in that :)
StreetCypher
09-05-2004, 2:50 PM
The smaller species of bichirs would live happily in a 55g. But, keep in mind, if you decorate the tank, you need to give each of them their own space. Or, you can make it a bare tank, so they all share the emptiness.
TryinFishOut
09-05-2004, 2:59 PM
@ hans: Thanks for the advice. However I personally dont like africans. As for the feeders, I have a 10g and am planning to breed my own feeder guppies.
@ 31337: Yea the 2 cichlids I mentioned are pretty nice. Do they eat live food, or standard pellets?
@ Spartan: Bichirs seem neat. The only bichirs my LFS sells though are Cuviers. Are those too big? Also do bichirs need live food, or can live off pellets?
Thanks so far guys. Keep the suggestions/info coming.
N8DOGG
09-05-2004, 3:04 PM
one or 2 dempsyes would work get about 9in. some green terrors they are not as large as a dempsey but they are great fish. I think the rest of the fish will get too large for a 55. convicts are fun and easy to breed. stay with and small to medium cichlids.
TryinFishOut
09-05-2004, 3:35 PM
hm ok, lemme you ask a question then: what would you put into that tank out of that list shown on the beginning post?
StreetCypher
09-05-2004, 3:45 PM
Polypterus senegalus does not get too big for a 55g. Although, thats the smallest tank i'd keep them in (unless its a growout). Dead foods are better for their health than feeders are. They will accept a variety of pellets and other frozen foods.
I would deff go with the Jack Dempsey. Eats anything you give it ;) lol they eat live fish and vegetable based flakes.(partial to the odd goldie here and there!) It also one of the nicest lookin fish around!
With you 55g tank you can really only have one!
They are also really funny fish, it will dig up all your plants and move them around for you! in fact they will prob rearange your whole tank for you!
good luck!
how about just one neon tetra? they are wicked mean and can easily eat feeders
TryinFishOut
09-05-2004, 4:43 PM
@ Spartan: Nice.. few questions bout the bichir though. First off, is it an active fish or like a lazy bottom dweller? Next, could I have 2 bichirs or just 1 in a 55g? Lastly, what their average max size?
@ 31337: If I got a Jack Dempsey in my 55g what other stuff should I put in it? Cuz just 1 fish in a 55g would be pretty bare...
@ Hans: ...eh dont mock those neons.. once my neon tetra + Great White shark crossbreeding experiment is finished we'll see who's laughing :bowing: :bowing: :mad2
Alright keep up the help people :)
You really need a bigger tank for any of theres dudes(if you want more than 1)!
Bichir, i think they get really huge, like 2ft, also i think they only eat live food!
Jack's, you can keep them with pacu, green terrors and ornate bichirs. But you will have to get a huge tank :(
Mabey just mabey, not to sure about this, but oscars, you could try them. Somone might know more about this!
Quick quiz
Without looking up..where did jack d's get there name?
N8DOGG
09-05-2004, 5:17 PM
you COULD NOT put a dempsey and a Pacu in a 55 gallon. You could not put the pacu in there for long it will destroy the tank and will out grow it in a few months.
How about a Blue Dempsey they don't get as large as a regular dempsey.
Oscar WOULD NOT work in a 55 gallon for long either.
Like I said you would be fine with a Dempsey the don't get much bigger than 10" . 2 would work at MAX.
If you want one a Green Terror can hold its own and it won't get that big.
Hard Question From the Boxer Jack Dempsey the have the same temperment
lol, thats correct! :D
http://www.aquahobby.com/dempsey.html
will tell you about blue D's.
Terror's are about the same size as a blue D, so you might just be able to have one of each?! not to sure about that though?!
PumaWard
09-05-2004, 5:57 PM
What about something like a salvini? They get around 8'' and you could have a breeding pair or something in a 55g.
http://aquariacentral.com/species/db.cgi?db=fresh&uid=default&ID=0309&view_records=1
You might even be able to have a sole salvini and something like a pair of jewels or convicts (which would provide "in-tank" feeders ;) ).
daveedka
09-05-2004, 6:13 PM
I'd second a blue dempsey or maybe a regular dempsey. the convict idea was good as well. Oscars get 12+ " far too often. in a 55 you really don't want anything bigger than 9 as a rule. As far as other things in the tank. a Dympsey with a pictus or similar sized cat would go good, or maybe one of the smaller Pleco's.
Spartan, Why is it that dead food are better for a fishes health? There are a lot of natural instincts taht come out in fish when given live foods, as well as the fact that most foods lose something while being killed/ processed. I would agree that poorly chosen, poory handled feeders can introduce disease but that doesn't make the feeders less nutritious, nor is it the fault of the fish. Someone raising guppies in a clean tank to be used as treats has already considered the problems associated with feeders. I personally have kept large cichlids with and without using live foods, and find the fish to just as healthy, and far more active when using live foods of all kinds.
dave
Philbe
09-05-2004, 7:47 PM
What about a salvini and a pair of firemouths. Might not be as entertaining as a JD or GT but you could have more than one fish in the tank. If you tried to put a JD and other fish in the tank, I have read that the JD allmost allways does away with it's room mates.
daveedka
09-05-2004, 11:22 PM
FM's would work, and I find them quite entertaining. The FM I have is a ferocious hunter of anything that moves except guppies (fish in general) but I imagine if the dempsey and oscar weren't so quick on the draw the firemouth would eat the feeders as well. He is especially brutal with snails, and is a great hunter and fun to watch.
Dave
StreetCypher
09-06-2004, 3:26 AM
@ Spartan: Nice.. few questions bout the bichir though. First off, is it an active fish or like a lazy bottom dweller? Next, could I have 2 bichirs or just 1 in a 55g? Lastly, what their average max size?
Overall they are pretty lazy. They do swim around, but mostly lay on their butts all day. Yes, you could keep more than 1 bichir in a 55g. A senegalus may reach 15inches in a tank. Because they are slim and flexible they don't need as much room to be able to turn around in a tank. If you had a 15 inch gar compared to a 15 inch bichir, the gar (being relatively stiff) would need a much larger tank.
Spartan, Why is it that dead food are better for a fishes health? There are a lot of natural instincts taht come out in fish when given live foods, as well as the fact that most foods lose something while being killed/ processed. I would agree that poorly chosen, poory handled feeders can introduce disease but that doesn't make the feeders less nutritious, nor is it the fault of the fish. Someone raising guppies in a clean tank to be used as treats has already considered the problems associated with feeders. I personally have kept large cichlids with and without using live foods, and find the fish to just as healthy, and far more active when using live foods of all kinds.
Well, the dead food and pellets i give them have additives added to them. I think they are made to be as nutritious as possible (although too much junk added could be bad, ex. preservatives). In the case of feeders, i'm under the assumption that goldfish are mostly cartiledge, and in the case of LFS feeders, may contain disease. They are also really oily and contain growth inhibitors. All this info is from other fishkeepers and not sure of the source. I think what i meant to say was to not feed them an exclusive diet of feeders, but mix it up a little.
Bichir, i think they get really huge, like 2ft, also i think they only eat live food!
There are some species that do reach that length and some that don't. They will happily accept live or dead food.
TryinFishOut
09-06-2004, 7:28 AM
SoOoOo seems I like the bichir idea the most :)
They are pretty sweet, and having like 2 species in a 55g wouldbe really nice; then all I'd need is like a small school of top dwellers and im set
p.s. @ Spartan: Are bichirs peaceful towards other bichirs of same species?
StreetCypher
09-06-2004, 4:39 PM
They are pretty sweet, and having like 2 species in a 55g wouldbe really nice; then all I'd need is like a small school of top dwellers and im set
p.s. @ Spartan: Are bichirs peaceful towards other bichirs of same species?
In general, they can coexist. Sometimes they do snap at each other, but it causes no damage. Be careful with their tankmates though. I know of someone who had a 15 inch bichir eat a 10 inch gar. Boy, was the owner surprised and ticked that his beloved gar was eaten. He said the gar was bent in half in the stomach of the bichir making it look pregnant. Many things, even if it doesn't fit in their mouths, will get eaten. In a 55g i would recommend a P. senegal and P. delhezi (IMO the best looking). There are many small species (around 1 foot length) out there, some harder to find than others.
This is IMO the best site to get bichir information
http://aquaticpredators.com/forums/index.php?showforum=42
Heres a good look at some of the awesome species there are.
http://aquaticpredators.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=643
StreetCypher
09-07-2004, 10:17 PM
Also do bichirs need live food, or can live off pellets?
I feed my bichirs earthworms, frozen bloodworms, hikari sinking carnivore pellets, shrimp pellets, bugs from the house (and outside) and recently frozen silversides. Frozen Mysis shrimp, clams and krill or shrimp are soon to be added to the menu. Feeder white cloud minnows may be added as well (as a treat).