55 Gallon Stocking :D

[DefJ123]

Hey all! Im back at it with another tank haha. I decided I wanted to go big this time so I purchased a 55g.

Plan is to make a lightly planted tank and have a community of fish in it. Sand substrate.

So here is my idea for stocking, just want to check its gonna be alright.

Fauna:

2 Angelfish
1 GBR
1 Pleco (not sure which yet, looking for an interesting one. Love plecos).
10 Corydoras (probably julii or bronze)
15-20 Galaxy Rasbora (Cpd)
Ghost shrimp (have 5 currently)

Potentially a betta too. Want to have a back up tank jic before I try adding him.

Flora (just root plants, nothing like java fern or anubias):
Amazon swords
Vals
Crypts
Hornwort

My question is will galaxy rasboras (cpd) be big enough to not be eaten by the angel fish? Im hoping to move my existing galaxies from my 10g over to the new tank and make the 10g dedicated shrimp/plants. If not a good idea, any suggestions for a school fish? Not personally into rummys and want to do something different then neons or cardinals. Not a live bearer fan either.

Thanks in advance

 

[fishorama]

I'd think CPDs would be angel food, neons are & they're bigger.

I like BN plecos, just 1 or you might be sorry if they breed or fight.

I'm a fan of rasboras, harlequins or redtails (rasbora petensis) are too big for angel snacks as adults. Both are very hardy & quite pretty, check them out.

I'd skip the hornwort, it's a PITA.

 

[tanker]

Ditto to everything "Fishorama" said. If you are looking for one different pleco, how about a Zebra Pleco?

 

[DefJ123]

I'd think CPDs would be angel food, neons are & they're bigger.

I like BN plecos, just 1 or you might be sorry if they breed or fight.

I'm a fan of rasboras, harlequins or redtails (rasbora petensis) are too big for angel snacks as adults. Both are very hardy & quite pretty, check them out.

I'd skip the hornwort, it's a PITA.

I kind of figured as much. I like the harlequins, they look nice! Thanks for the suggestions!

Whats the deal with hornwort? Just looking to try different plants in this tank and thought it looked nice.

Ditto to everything "Fishorama" said. If you are looking for one different pleco, how about a Zebra Pleco?

Wow thats a cool one! Have to see if I can find one somewhere.

 

[fishorama]

Hornwort stems are pretty fragile & it doesn't grow enough roots (if any) to hold it down. It's often grown floating where, if it's happy, it can block light. If not happy it'll shed those fine leaves all over the place.

Rotala "indica" or repens x arcuata are easy stem plants, leaves get reddish toward the tops. Juncus is nice too. If you live in the southeast you might find it in ditches, I think that's where mine came from originally.

 

[DefJ123]

Hornwort stems are pretty fragile & it doesn't grow enough roots (if any) to hold it down. It's often grown floating where, if it's happy, it can block light. If not happy it'll shed those fine leaves all over the place.

Rotala "indica" or repens x arcuata are easy stem plants, leaves get reddish toward the tops. Juncus is nice too. If you live in the southeast you might find it in ditches, I think that's where mine came from originally.

Great info , thank you. Scratch hornwort then!

 

[DefJ123]

Sorry for double post, but I had a question I meant to ask. Could I do multiple gbr and say 4 or 5 angels? Or best to stick with single gbr and 2 angels?

 

[fishorama]

2 male angels will fight, a 4ft tank might be big enough with plants to break up their lines of sight. A group of 4 or 5 will likely have at least 1 pair form & take over most of the take to breed. So if you're lucky your 2 will either be M & F or 2 F. Try for the same size so a smaller 1 doesn't get bullied, color doesn't matter either. Skip the betta, the angels will harass it.

You could have a M & F pair of rams. Wait until they're big enough to sex, you don't want 2 males. Females have pink (ish when younger) bellies; males a longer dorsal fin (top fin). F have more rounded dorsal ends just to the beginning of the tail or so, M pointed & at least to mid-tail or more. They need to be at least an inch of body length not including the tail to sex. If your lfs says they can tell, ask about a later trade if they're wrong.

You'll also need at least 3 caves of wood &/or smooth rocks, 1 for the pleco & a choice for the rams. Beware! Many "cool" smaller plecos hide all the time & some can cost $$$. If I wasn't an insomniac I'd never had seen my clown or scribble plecs. Be very careful to know what species you buy, some huge 1s grow to a foot or more but are sold as inch or 2 babies; even as an only fish a 55g won't be big enough for long & they poop like crazy.

Back to plants, have you looked at cryptocorynes? I love them all & have several kinds. The maroon color of "Mi Oya" is very pretty & a nice contrast to green, as are wendtii bronze & brown. They & swords would like a root tab near the roots especially in sand.

Sorry to ramble on & on. We're going to need pics!!

 

[DefJ123]

Regarding the angelfish, sounds good on just 2 of them. I wondered but figured 2 would be safest. Is there anyway to sex them so I can aim for a m-f or f-f pair and avoid problems? Also sounds smart on the betta. Great excuse for another tank

On the rams, awesome to hear! I think a pair would be great. Just to get some more fish in the tank. Ill have a good look at the lfs when they get them in. Thanks for the sexing info!

I actually got a large milk crate full of slate rock with the tank, so Ill be able to make lots of caves. I also have some flower pots im gonna stick in as well. My lfs has albino bristle nose plecos and they were really cool looking, think Im going to do just a single of them.

On plants, I am definitely thinking crypts for the list. I have a green crypt in my planted 10g and its beautiful. Well was, my plants are recovering after a tank blackout in my fight with cyano bacteria (a fight im winning). Anyways, yes contrasting crypts will be nice. Amazon sword for sure, they will fill the back in nicely. I met a new friend through a local aquarium group and he has vals hes gonna sell me for it as well.

Dont worry about pics, as soon as I make some progress Ill make a build thread for it! I love making build threads to track my progress just saving funds currently for a new eheim , power heads, satellite led bar and some other odds and ends and the fun will begin !

 

[fishorama]

No, there isn't a good way to sex angels, sorry. I was very wrong with my group of 5 "gift" angels. I was "sure" I knew which was a male by behavior, they had fry so I had both sexes. But as the others died off, my loner "male" laid eggs all by herself, twice! My loaches enjoyed the snacks as did the angel. She died just a couple weeks ago, RIP. She outlived her other angel friends by ~3 years. You can also keep just 1 angel as a "focal point" if you get 2 males that fight too much & can return 1.

Years ago we inherited a "pair" of female angels that laid eggs in alternate turns. We got what turned out to be a young male but the girls were set in their egg laying ways & chased him off no matter how he flirted with them.

Some swords get very big, you might want to start with just 1 slightly off center & see how it grows for you. Slate is good! Make sure it can't tip over.