Need help stocking 55 Gallon

Cribbinator

Cribbinator

Fish are Friends, Not Food
May 26, 2004
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0
0
Alpharetta, GA
www.thecribbs.com
Hello,

I need your advice on stocking my 55 gallon tank. I know for sure I am going to get 5 tiger barbs and 1 red tail shark. What other semi-aggressive fish can I mix with the tiger barbs and red tail ? Also, I am thinking of getting some ladder loaches (2) as well for the tank. Would they be ok to keep with the above fish ? Any other recommendations would be helpful.

Thanks,

James
 
I have a 55G with tiger barbs.

I have a pictus catfish (didn't buy it, someone gave it to me) they're very active, but eat small fish (ate all my neon tetra's...), and doesn't eat algea.

I have Serpae Tetra's, which I think are a great mix for tiger barbs personality wise, the only real problem I have with it is that they both look very similar, orange. So especially from a distane, its hard to tell them apart. I have some scissor (sp?) tail rasaboras and they mix well, and get fairly big.

Anything bigger than 2'' or so, that doesn't have big, long fins should be fine.

You should maybe consider black skirt tetra's, or gourami's. swordtails and mollies should mix fine also.
 
Thanks for the reply. I really like gourami's but I thought that they would be too peaceful to mix with the Tiger Barbs and that the Barbs might nip at thier tentacles. I'm definitely going to get 1 Red Tail Shark to go with it but I want another group of fish to put in with the Barbs. How many Barbs do you have in your 55 gal ? How many more fish do you have besides your Barbs in the tank ? Thanks again.

- James
 
I have never had a peaceful gourami--especially the 3 spotted ones. My gourami more than holds its own with my tiger barbs. I also have bleeding heart tetras, cories, and pristella tetras with no problems.

Jackie
 
They don't carry them. I asked them why but didn't get a very helpful answer :P

Here are the different variations of the dollars:

Metynnis argenteus, Metynnis hypsauchen, Metynnis lippincottianus, Myleus rubripinnis, and Mylossoma aureum.

The Metynnis argenteus is the one with the spots and the most common one found in the pet trade. I have two of those and one with no dots at all.

Few pics:
Mylossoma aureum
Myleus rubripinnis (scroll down the page a bit)
Metynnis argenteus

This place has them, I've never ordered from them but I'm going to:

http://www.****************/catalog_pages/wild/wild_imported_fish.htm#silverdollars
They are relatives of the piranha and can grow to 4-6"+. Supposed to be herbivores, but will eat anything. Have had mine for about 3 months and they have at least doubled their size. Good reason why I'm upgrading their tank size :)

It's one of the more common fish found in pet shops, but they don't seem to be common online. Here's a couple more links to places that sell them:

http://www.petsolutions.com/Silver+Dollar-I-66700-I-.aspx
http://www.thatpetplace.com/LiveFis...er,dollar/Class//T1/F90+0022+2080/Detail.aspx

Hope this helps . . OH! reminds me -- they WILL eat some plants. I've found that they leave dark green broad-leaved plants alone (ozelot swords, radican swords) and aren't too fond of anacharis. They will eat amazon sword and anything else with light green or red "delicate" leaves, however I've found that if I stick a veggie clip with romain or iceberg lettuce in the tank they will eat that instead.

Roan
 
Doitsu said:
silver dollars can get to 8", the red tailed variant will hit 12".

http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/redhook.xml i wouldnt put this silver dollar in that tank
Click to expand...
Sorry, but that's incorrect. You provided a link to a site -- I assumed it would verify what you said? Did you read it?

Under Myletes hypsauchen, which it has listed as a Silver Dollar, it says: Potential Size: 15cm (5.9").
That's six inches, which is what I said they grow to.

The other variant, Myletes rubripinnis, *may* grow to 11.8 inches, but you really have to read all of it:

"Peat filtered water is recommended for maximum growth."
"Closely related to the Silver Dollar. Maximum size will only be attained in a very large aquarium."

The sizes listed are for maximum or potential growth, not probable growth.

Metynnis argenteus is far more common in the pet trade, with Myletes hypsauchen secondary. I have two argentus and one hypsauchen. The hypsauchen is far smaller than the argentus, but it's catching up. The site you referenced doesn't even have Metynnis argenteus listed. Or any of the other variants I cited.

Roan
 
nice tone... and the link i gave was to the 12" Myleus rubripinnis, sorry im in the school of thought that if a fish is capable of growing to 12"s
(and all fish can reach and exceed their potential size as listed in a online profile) it should be kept in an enviroment allowing it, not one that will stunt it and thereby make it fit your tank...
 
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