Centerpeice Fish

add something like a canister so there isnt much surface agitation for the plants.

i had one otto clean the entire back of my 55 in about a month or so. i wiped the other sides down and wish i hadnt because then i had to move him to another tank or else he would have starved. it depends on the type of algae and how fast its growing back.

they will eat prepared foods. otherwise it would be hard to keep them in a pet shop because most pet shops wont let much algae build up in their tanks (bad for business). the ones at my work love zucchini and algae wafers.

how much water do you change every week? as far as plants helping, it depends on how many you have. a few live plants in a tank like yours wont make much of a difference in water quality. you still need to monitor your nitrates to ensure you are doing big enough and frequent enough water changes.
 
A pair of gourami would be nice and occupy the center of the tank. Be careful about what species if you look into the option, some get too large for a 55 (like kissing gouramis). With the stocking level maybe even dwarf gourami would be a better option.
 
A couple of Montezuma Sword would look pretty cool in your planted tank or a pair of Apisto Cacatuoides.
 
I currently have 10 cardinals, 10 serpaes, 5 hatchets, 6 4-line golden cats, and a blue ram in my 55. Without plants I can go 3 weeks without hitting over 20 ppm nitrate. In a planted tank you can definatly go longer than that, though I won't recomend skipping weekly changes. So I dont think you are overstocked at all. As for filtration, you could always go bigger or add an additional filter as recomended, but I dont think its crucial so long as you dont run into any problems. I find my ram to be a bit shy, I like that people have to look beyond the common fish to see the interesting one, but that doesnt make for much of a "centerpiece". I would say the same for most of the dwarf cichlids. Something that would stank out more like a pair of dwarf guoramis. Something I have no experience with, but sounds interesting is the badis, http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1074 .
I would not get one of those unless some folks here told you they wouldnt eat your other fish, but the profile says they are peaceful in community setups.
 
you could try German Blue Rams, for they have a really nice blue sheen, but they are more delicate than the bolivians mentioned above.

as for the filter, try adding a secondary internal filter, like a stingray internal filter rated for 15 gallons, or a Water Wonder Filter (a whisper internal filter inside), for they are part of the decor, filter the watwer, and they all have air stones attached so you can aerate too
 
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reptileguy2727 said:
add something like a canister so there isnt much surface agitation for the plants.

i had one otto clean the entire back of my 55 in about a month or so. i wiped the other sides down and wish i hadnt because then i had to move him to another tank or else he would have starved. it depends on the type of algae and how fast its growing back.

they will eat prepared foods. otherwise it would be hard to keep them in a pet shop because most pet shops wont let much algae build up in their tanks (bad for business). the ones at my work love zucchini and algae wafers.

how much water do you change every week? as far as plants helping, it depends on how many you have. a few live plants in a tank like yours wont make much of a difference in water quality. you still need to monitor your nitrates to ensure you are doing big enough and frequent enough water changes.
Click to expand...

I change about 25% every week. I take out about 4 gallons on each side of the tank (for a total of 8), so i can equally clean the whole tank. I have a number of plants in my tank including:

- 3 bunches of dwarf hairgrass

- 6 Amazon Swords

- 3 bunches of Kyoto grass

- 1 Bunch of Anacharis

And also the following plants I am not sure of (See Pictures):

- A number of bunches of Green Cabomba

- 1 Large Crypt

- 1 Bunch of an Unidentified Plant

Here are some pictures of the tank:

LeftSideof55Gal2-1.jpg


This is the left side of the aquarium and in the background are the Amazon Swords, just in front of them to the right are the Kyoto grass, and in the foreground are the bunches of dwarf hairgrass. Also on the right is a bunch of cabomba. The unknown plant is in the middle, with the deep red coloring.

RightSideof55Gal2.jpg


This is the right side of the tank, with the same bunch of cabomba visible to the left. To the right of the cabomba is a small bunch of anacharis, and directly right of the anacharis is another unidentified plant, probobly a type of crypt. To the right of the unidentified plant is the largest bunch of cabomba in the tank.

Thanks to everyone for all the help, and if anyone could try to identify the types of plants in the tank, that would be great. Also, an extra canister filter would probobly be the best, since it can be placed outside of the tank, so what kind would you guys reccomend? Thanks again for all the help.
 
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