55 gallon stocking question

X

xiaosong

AC Members
May 12, 2006
66
0
0
I just got a 55 gallon tank and wooden stand for 85 dollars off of craigslist so now I need to figure out a stocking plan for it.

I want to do it as an active tank with a group of schooling fish and a centerpiece fish and have this idea in mind.

12 Tiger barbs (mix of regular, green and albino)
4 or 5 Rainbows (Boeseman or Banded)
1 Red Tailed Shark

I figured this would give my tank plenty of activity and color.

As for decor, I read that the tiger barbs don't really care about territories so I would basically just need to plant and add caves and stuff for the red tailed shark.

What do you guys think about this stocking plan? I figured the red tail shark would stick to the bottow and the Tiger barbs and rainbows can occupy the rest of the tank.
Would the red tailed shark work well as the centerpiece fish (is it active during the day?) and will everybody get along?

Thanks for your help!
 
I would exclude either the rainbows or the barbs, as it has been my expierience that schoolng fish always do best when there's only one species of schooling fish per tank.
 
Last edited:
might want to consider getting a pleco, to help with algae/scraps.

A gourami of some type may add a little bit of size without adding aggression to your tank. There are some pretty nice looking gouramis out there.

but if you are looking for lots of activity... go with danios... they just don't quit swimming.

Good luck!
 
Be careful about Gouramis with barbs. I have no problems with mine (3 Opaline males with 9 tiger barbs) but barbs can be nippy and the "feelers" on gouramis are a little enticing. Like I said, I don't have a problem with mine, and the keeping barbs in a good sized school minimizes the harassment of other fish. I also have an albino rainbow shark in with my barbs and have no problems with them all getting along.
 
I aggree, if you go with Tiger Barbs, you do not want to get a Gourami. You could mix a couple different types of Tiger Barbs. Mix in some green ones with regular ones.
 
Pallen81 said:
might want to consider getting a pleco, to help with algae/scraps.

A gourami of some type may add a little bit of size without adding aggression to your tank. There are some pretty nice looking gouramis out there.

but if you are looking for lots of activity... go with danios... they just don't quit swimming.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

do not add a pleco unless you like plecos. sorry, but it is a HUGE pet peeve of mine when people feel they *have* to have a pleco to eat algae. there are many other ways to get rid of algae, including good old fashioned elbow grease. the main cause of algae is an imbalance of nutrients. if the nutrients in your tank are balanced, then you shouldn't have an algae problem in the first place. besides that, plecos add to the bioload. a lot. they probably produce more waste than almost any other tropical fish of the same mass. that will decrease the number of other fish you can have in the tank. plus, not all plecos eat all kinds of algae. and many of them turn to a more carniverous diet as they get bigger, AND you have to suppliment their diet no matter how big they are with blanched veggies, sinking pellets, and algae wafers, and some species need to munch on driftwood to help their digestion.

so go ahead and add one of the smaller species of pleco if you LIKE them and want one in your tank, but by no means feel obligated to add one for algae control. they are just not worth it if that's all you want one for.
 
Yeah, that was the plan. I actually have a dwarf gourami pair that i am giving my girlfriend because i don't want to risk anything happening to the gouramis. Has anyone had a problem with tiger barbs with a red tailed shark? What if I get the shark when it is like 2 inches and then have it grow together with the barbs. Will it still pick on them?

Speaking of which Joylynn, how big is your albino shark?
 
Last edited:
dorkfish said:
I would exclude either the rainbows or the barbs, as it has been my expierience that schoolng fish always do best when there's only one species of schooling fish per tank.
Click to expand...


:huh:


in my 55 i have 14 bosemani rainbows, 6 australian rainbows, 6 yellow-tailed congo tetras, 8 black neon tetras, 5 giant danios, and 9 gold barbs.

they are all doing very well and behave very normally. maybe mixing schools of very different fish is bad, like piranhas and neons, but with peaceful community fish mixing schooling fish is fine, IME. i have never heard anyone except for you say otherwise. what schools did you mix?


my 2 cents on tiger barbs:

tiger barbs are questionable at best for a community tank. rumor has it that when kept in large groups they keep to themselves but in my experience this is not true. Everyone ive talked to who actually has tried keeping a large school of mature tiger barbs (your 2 inch barbs are not fully mature, people. Tigers will get to be a full 3 inches) with other delicate, slow, or small fish has told me that their barbs are vicious.
 
My albino shark is currently about 3.5" he and the gouramis will be moving to a new tank tomorrow :)
 
Travis, probalby a good point about the Tiger barbs, mine are only 1.5-2" right now and they behave well so far (my gouramis actually swim with them sometimes) but I just had all the fish together temporarily until my 75G was ready. I wanted to get the barb tank essentially empty of other inhabitants for when they do get bigger.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom