starting completely over with a 55 gallon tank.

An Asian Biotope would be spectacular!

I would start with 3 Pearl Gouramis (1 male and 2 females), 20 Schooling fish (Harlequin Rasboras, Gold Ring Danios, Rasboras Agilis, Hengeli Rasbora, Cherry Barbs and a few more) and some Loaches (Dwarf Chain Loaches, Kuhli Loaches, Zebra Loaches and a bunch more. The numbers can be interchanged.

Most Cryptocorynes would be well suited for that tank, especially if you have a low light setup. There are probably a bunch of other plants that you can look up by region on : http://plantgeek.net/plantguide_cat.php?category=6
 
I'm working on my 55g Asian Themed tank, Glass Catfish are on my list, beautiful fish!
I'd do a few 10-15 fish schools depending on the fish size, harlequins are a MUST in any Asian themed tank. This wouldn't be a real biotope since a biotope is a specific location in a country, like streams and rivers, or backwater swamps, Sri Lanka is also a popular one.
 
hmm an asian themed tank wood look nice can any of you gents and ladies post pictures?
 
I had a 20 long Asian setup a few years ago. It had a pearl gourami and some espei rasboras. The plants are java ferns, java moss, and various crypts
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o wow well i think my white sand will throw the theme off, maybe ill just do a regular planted tank, will the plants grow good in play sand?
 
I like the Asian biotope suggestion. I actually set up an Asian biotope just a few days ago, has a group of kuhlis, donno what to put in next though...
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And a brown/dark substrate isn't neccessary. Some parts of rivers have sand as a substrate, some have gravel, etc., so you could still use sand. As for the plants, some might work in sand (my crypts & vals are in a sand/gravel mix), though I'm not sure. If you don't want to risk it, you can always buy a small bag of another substrate and just dump some of it where you want to plant. It's important to have some nutrient rich substrate (or at least root tabs) under the sand/gravel though. Another option is to just leave your substrate as sand and get lots of java ferns and attach them to various decor.
 
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i might just buy some flourite and use it as the substrate. i thought about having a school of tiger barbs. i love their color and they reach a nice size for schoolong fish. will they tear up the plants? what kind of other fish can i put in there with them?
 
Tiger barbs are great fish, albeit with a temper. I think they'll leave most plants alone, although some softer leaved ones might get nibbled at. As for the tankmates, avoid ones with long and/or flowing fins, though there's little of those in Asia. Most bottom dwellers will work, if you go with the Asian biotope theme, you could get some loaches. Continuing with the Asian theme, a school danios, a single red-tail or rainbow shark, and other active barbs will be just fine. The bigger gouramis (pearl, blue, gold, opaline) usually work as well. The barbs might nip at their pelvic fins, but this shouldn't occur much if they're kept in big groups (around 10 or more) and if the tank's big enough (which it is). Good luck with your tank!
 
Tiger Barbs shouldn't bother your plants. You could put another school of barbs (like Gold or Snakeskin Barbs) or, if you keep the Tiger Barbs in a group of 7+ you should be able to keep them with nearly anything that doesn't have long fins, or move exceptionally slowly. Tetras (the "nippier" ones like Serpaes and redeyes I find do well with Tiger Barbs), you could do the Harly Rasboras. Cory cats (those are SA though not asian). Loaches as discussed (kuhli, sidthmunki, yoyo), Tiger Babs + loaches is popular because it's a blast of activity! :lol:

IMO keep Tiger Barbs in a group of 7+, and also have them outnumbered by smaller fish. So if you keep Tigers with Tetras, outnumber the Tiger Barbs. With larger fish like loaches and cichlids, the Tiger Barbs should know who's boss ;)

I have 9 Tiger Barbs in my QT right now and they're awesome. Great, active, tight schooling and it's always fun to pick out which one is "in charge". In fact, my juvies range from 1.5-3cm, with most around 2 cm. The smallest one, who I have nicknamed Napoleon, has the darkest color and is only happy when half of the tank is his.
 
ok guys tiger barbs it is then :) maybe some blue gouramis with some loaches or rainbows i might go with a darker subsrate though is there a way to darken the sand?
 
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