What to put in a 55g?

@ Spartan: Nice.. few questions bout the bichir though. First off, is it an active fish or like a lazy bottom dweller? Next, could I have 2 bichirs or just 1 in a 55g? Lastly, what their average max size?

@ 31337: If I got a Jack Dempsey in my 55g what other stuff should I put in it? Cuz just 1 fish in a 55g would be pretty bare...

@ Hans: ...eh dont mock those neons.. once my neon tetra + Great White shark crossbreeding experiment is finished we'll see who's laughing :bowing: :bowing: :mad2

Alright keep up the help people :)
 
You really need a bigger tank for any of theres dudes(if you want more than 1)!
Bichir, i think they get really huge, like 2ft, also i think they only eat live food!
Jack's, you can keep them with pacu, green terrors and ornate bichirs. But you will have to get a huge tank :(

Mabey just mabey, not to sure about this, but oscars, you could try them. Somone might know more about this!

Quick quiz
Without looking up..where did jack d's get there name?
 
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you COULD NOT put a dempsey and a Pacu in a 55 gallon. You could not put the pacu in there for long it will destroy the tank and will out grow it in a few months.
How about a Blue Dempsey they don't get as large as a regular dempsey.
Oscar WOULD NOT work in a 55 gallon for long either.

Like I said you would be fine with a Dempsey the don't get much bigger than 10" . 2 would work at MAX.
If you want one a Green Terror can hold its own and it won't get that big.

Hard Question From the Boxer Jack Dempsey the have the same temperment
 
I'd second a blue dempsey or maybe a regular dempsey. the convict idea was good as well. Oscars get 12+ " far too often. in a 55 you really don't want anything bigger than 9 as a rule. As far as other things in the tank. a Dympsey with a pictus or similar sized cat would go good, or maybe one of the smaller Pleco's.

Spartan, Why is it that dead food are better for a fishes health? There are a lot of natural instincts taht come out in fish when given live foods, as well as the fact that most foods lose something while being killed/ processed. I would agree that poorly chosen, poory handled feeders can introduce disease but that doesn't make the feeders less nutritious, nor is it the fault of the fish. Someone raising guppies in a clean tank to be used as treats has already considered the problems associated with feeders. I personally have kept large cichlids with and without using live foods, and find the fish to just as healthy, and far more active when using live foods of all kinds.
dave
 
What about a salvini and a pair of firemouths. Might not be as entertaining as a JD or GT but you could have more than one fish in the tank. If you tried to put a JD and other fish in the tank, I have read that the JD allmost allways does away with it's room mates.
 
FM's would work, and I find them quite entertaining. The FM I have is a ferocious hunter of anything that moves except guppies (fish in general) but I imagine if the dempsey and oscar weren't so quick on the draw the firemouth would eat the feeders as well. He is especially brutal with snails, and is a great hunter and fun to watch.
Dave
 
@ Spartan: Nice.. few questions bout the bichir though. First off, is it an active fish or like a lazy bottom dweller? Next, could I have 2 bichirs or just 1 in a 55g? Lastly, what their average max size?
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Overall they are pretty lazy. They do swim around, but mostly lay on their butts all day. Yes, you could keep more than 1 bichir in a 55g. A senegalus may reach 15inches in a tank. Because they are slim and flexible they don't need as much room to be able to turn around in a tank. If you had a 15 inch gar compared to a 15 inch bichir, the gar (being relatively stiff) would need a much larger tank.

Spartan, Why is it that dead food are better for a fishes health? There are a lot of natural instincts taht come out in fish when given live foods, as well as the fact that most foods lose something while being killed/ processed. I would agree that poorly chosen, poory handled feeders can introduce disease but that doesn't make the feeders less nutritious, nor is it the fault of the fish. Someone raising guppies in a clean tank to be used as treats has already considered the problems associated with feeders. I personally have kept large cichlids with and without using live foods, and find the fish to just as healthy, and far more active when using live foods of all kinds.
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Well, the dead food and pellets i give them have additives added to them. I think they are made to be as nutritious as possible (although too much junk added could be bad, ex. preservatives). In the case of feeders, i'm under the assumption that goldfish are mostly cartiledge, and in the case of LFS feeders, may contain disease. They are also really oily and contain growth inhibitors. All this info is from other fishkeepers and not sure of the source. I think what i meant to say was to not feed them an exclusive diet of feeders, but mix it up a little.

Bichir, i think they get really huge, like 2ft, also i think they only eat live food!
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There are some species that do reach that length and some that don't. They will happily accept live or dead food.
 
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hmm

SoOoOo seems I like the bichir idea the most :)

They are pretty sweet, and having like 2 species in a 55g wouldbe really nice; then all I'd need is like a small school of top dwellers and im set

p.s. @ Spartan: Are bichirs peaceful towards other bichirs of same species?
 
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