"Cool" fish to put in a 55G

N

Nottingham

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Mar 22, 2007
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My boyfriend and I recently acquired a 55 gallon tank and are in the process of cycling it. He has a 10G with two tiger barbs, a silver dollar and an opaline gourami - totally overstocked which is why we're upgrading. We plan on using the tigers to cycle the tank (gonna get more, probably up to 5) and then after introducing the remaining fish he wants to get a few "cool" fish to add to it. No mollies or platys for him, he want's a 'man's tank'. Any particular suggestions as to what would be suitable "cool" fish?

One's that I've been considering:

Convict cichlid
Angelicus Borias? (plaid looking catfish)
Elephant nose
Butterfly fish
Perhaps a shrimp of some sort

He has his heart set on a shark of some sort. I understand that Balas and IDs are out of the question but are there any other options? I've heard that Red Tails get really aggressive, what about Rainbows? Anything sharklike?

Any and all suggestions/comments/advice is GREATLY appreciated. We are fairly new at this.
 
My wife and I had 3 iridescents in a community tank and they were just fine with everythign from our guppies to our cories, at least until their size became an issue, then we found a good home for them. :) In my experience, Red Tails can go either way. I've had quite civil and friendly ones, and a few there were more aggressive than a pair of male Bettas. ;) Personally, I really like upside down catfish, just for appearance, and their own brand of cool factor. :)
 
A rainbow shark will likely be fine if he is the only torpedo shaped fish in the tank. If there are any fish remotely shaped the same, he will harrass them. Another option for cool looking fish is loaches. Yoyo and zebra loaches are torpedo shaped and in a group they are great to watch!

Also, you can cycle your tank without putting your fish at risk for ammonia poisoning. There are articles all over that will tell you how.
 
Butterfly fish are cool, maybe a FW eel of some sort, like a tire-track or zig zag? Those are "manly" fish i guess. Elephant noses are cool and so are smaller plecos.
 
Truth, I didn't even think about loaches. On a side note, do you think a kuhli or yoyo loach would get along with cories? I know that the kuhli's can be kind of shy, but I wonder if the cories might be enough to make one more social. We've already got a Raphael that we only see about once every other month when he pokes his head out of his rock to see if if's light or dark. He was a waste of money, lol.
 
Our raphael does the same thing. I think your cories would be fine with some loaches. As long as you have a good group of cories. The loaches are pretty rambunctious and might scare them a little bit. You're correct about the kuhlis they will hide....
 
There are some really cool Apistos out there and they are still cichlids.
 
the convict and red tailed balck shark will beat the stuffing out of the elephant noze. red tails get aggressive with other bottom feeders as they age, and cons are just aggressive. this also leads to another problem; the con and red tail will probably be battling alot of the time.

the elephant nose will just gobble up most kinds of shrimp you put in the tank.
 
Thanks for all the great suggestions. I think he only wants one "school" of fish and the tiger barbs are gonna be it. I guess that knocks out loaches and such. How would a 55G config work:

5 tiger barbs
1 silver dollar
1 opaline gourami
1 Red tail shark
2 blue rams
1 African butterfly fish
3 yoyo loaches
2 cory cats
3 ottos (the algea eaters)
 
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