Needing help with choosing fish.

mr_bentley78

mr_bentley78

Stupid Fish Store Guy
Aug 9, 2006
77
0
0
New to the hobby, but have some experience.
Been working at a LFS for almost 3 months. Know about fish from what my co-workers have explained, and have researched a few outside of work. I was interested in getting some.

Currently, I have a 55 gallon (already cycled) FW tank. It currently houses 2 Angels, 1 albino RB shark, and 2 trapdoor snails. Had 2 tiger barbs and a green spotted puffer in there for a few days, but had to take them back to the store due to me liking the angels over the tiger barbs, and the puffer isn't something I want to manage, much less have it kill my wife's 2 trapdoor snails =p.

Any suggestions on what other fishes I should get for the tank? All my fish are currently very young and small. Biggest being 2" long.
 
Man, I really love your 55 gal setup. Wish I had thought about going with a "theme" like all cichlids and whatnot. Don't get me wrong, I like the few fish i currently have, but I'm not really into the danty small community fish types.

I like cichlids, but I don't think they'd go well with my current selection. Not to mention, I have no flat rock surfaces and only a few "caves" or hiding places. I may redo my tank all-together (not fish-wise, but with the decorations and such).

You seem to be a cichlid man, so I will ask you. Are there any colorful, 4-6" cichlids that would go with my current fish? (see sig.) I know I may have to change the items in the tank to be suitable, but I'd really like to try.
 
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Im not too much of an expert on the medium sized south american species which is what you would be looking at. Africans aren't really a good option because you have angels(S.American) and a rainbow shark(Thailand) so the Ph of the water needs to be pretty low, around 6.5-7.0. They can survive in higher Phs but they're from soft water. The shark also loves to hide so you may want to make a few caves for him. For some smaller S. American cichlids you could do a Keyhole cichlid(Cleithracara maronii), Redbreast Acara(Laetacara dorsigera), I would also say some Apistos(Apistogramma) but I dont know about their compatability with angels. There are a few Apisto gurus on here though.....
 
The advice is appreciated, guess I may opt for a second tank for cichlids if I ever go that route. Like I said, I am happy with my current selection. Just rather play it safe. Thanks again man.
 
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