Fish for the new 55-gal

[Suzie-Q]

Okay. I've been looking at fish and trying to figure out what to
put in my 55-gallon tank (which is sort of still in the design
process). I'll start with a layer of Laterite covered by regular
aquarium gravel. I'll also have at least 20 plants before the fish
go in (see the 55-gal hard water pack here:
http://www.thatpetplace.com/LivePlants/Pages/PlantPacks.aspx# ).
I have a large fake tree stump for the pl*co to hide when he goes
in (he's about six inches long now), and a nice bit of driftwood
for him to suck on. I'll put other things for the fish to swim around
if there's room.

Besides my pl*co, I'd also like to put my three betta females in there,
unless that's a bad idea.

I've looked at putting a small school (5 fish?) of each of the following
in the tank: danios, tiger barbs, upside-down catfish and corydoras. This
is partially based on what's available in my local area. For fish that
aren't sold here, I'd have a one-hour drive home from the fish store.

I would rather have several small fish than a few big ones.

Opinions?
--
8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~
"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/

[Suzie-Q]

In article >,
Suzie-Q > wrote:

-> Okay. I've been looking at fish and trying to figure out what to
-> put in my 55-gallon tank (which is sort of still in the design
-> process). I'll start with a layer of Laterite covered by regular
-> aquarium gravel. I'll also have at least 20 plants before the fish
-> go in (see the 55-gal hard water pack here:
-> http://www.thatpetplace.com/LivePlants/Pages/PlantPacks.aspx# ).
-> I have a large fake tree stump for the pl*co to hide when he goes
-> in (he's about six inches long now), and a nice bit of driftwood
-> for him to suck on. I'll put other things for the fish to swim around
-> if there's room.
->
-> Besides my pl*co, I'd also like to put my three betta females in there,
-> unless that's a bad idea.
->
-> I've looked at putting a small school (5 fish?) of each of the following
-> in the tank: danios, tiger barbs, upside-down catfish and corydoras. This
-> is partially based on what's available in my local area. For fish that
-> aren't sold here, I'd have a one-hour drive home from the fish store.
->
-> I would rather have several small fish than a few big ones.
->
-> Opinions?

I forgot to ask: In relation to the other fish, should the female bettas
go in last, or when?
--
8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~
"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/

[Altum]

Suzie-Q wrote:
> Okay. I've been looking at fish and trying to figure out what to
> put in my 55-gallon tank (which is sort of still in the design
> process). I'll start with a layer of Laterite covered by regular
> aquarium gravel. I'll also have at least 20 plants before the fish
> go in (see the 55-gal hard water pack here:
> http://www.thatpetplace.com/LivePlants/Pages/PlantPacks.aspx# ).
> I have a large fake tree stump for the pl*co to hide when he goes
> in (he's about six inches long now), and a nice bit of driftwood
> for him to suck on. I'll put other things for the fish to swim around
> if there's room.
>
> Besides my pl*co, I'd also like to put my three betta females in there,
> unless that's a bad idea.
>
> I've looked at putting a small school (5 fish?) of each of the following
> in the tank: danios, tiger barbs, upside-down catfish and corydoras. This
> is partially based on what's available in my local area. For fish that
> aren't sold here, I'd have a one-hour drive home from the fish store.
>
> I would rather have several small fish than a few big ones.
>
> Opinions?

Laterite is good. You need finer gravel than the typical pea sized
epoxy-coated stuff for the plants to root. Consider 2-3 mm gravel.
Sometimes garden centers or hardware stores have fine gravel in bulk.

Lose the tiger barbs. They're nippy little things. Sometimes they'll
pick on each other if you get a big shoal, but sometimes they never
leave your other fish alone. If you like barbs, gold barbs or cherry
barbs are very peaceful and will leave your plants and other fish alone.
Rosy barbs are great fish too, although they sometimes snack on soft
plants. The larger tetras are also a good choice for planted tanks.

The rest of the fish should be compatible. Your female bettas can go in
the tank too, especially if you have lots of plants for cover.

--
Put the word aquaria in the subject to reply.
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[sew crazy]

Hehehe if I was setting up a 55 now i would seriously shove it full of Neons
.....
They are on special at the local petshop around $0.50 each ... :)
They call it an easter special ..
stock is nice was there when the shipment arrived ...
only few deaths

[[email protected]]

I have enjoyed green barbs. Mine seem to be slightly less aggressive
than Tigers from what I have heard. I do have a red finned shark that
keeps them in line (by 'in line' I mean constantly harasses them, I
really need to find a place to move the).

The idea of rosy barbs sounds kind of nice. I have heard that they will
eat various types of algae, not sure if that has been an issue for any
of your tanks in the past.

Maybe black skirt tetras with the long flowing tails? quite pretty IMO.
Could be easy fodder for nippy barbs though.

[Jay Kaner]

"Suzie-Q" > wrote

> pl*co

Is that a naughty word? ;o)

[Mister Gardener]

On Thu, 13 Apr 2006 19:50:03 GMT, "Jay Kaner" > wrote:

>
>"Suzie-Q" > wrote
>
>> pl*co
>
>Is that a naughty word? ;o)
>
It's a very good word when spelled correctly, as you have. Replacing
the * with, say, a certain vowel, however, can bring unexpected and
unwanted events to pass in the life of the fish or the fish's keeper.
Be forewarned. It took the Boston Red Sox 86 years to break the curse
that they were under. The Pl*co curse was only cast a couple of
decades ago; I am not ready test it just yet.

-- Mister Gardener

Everything Aquaria & Tropical Fish at The Krib:
http://www.thekrib.com/
For Killfile FAQs visit
http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk/killfile/killfilefaq.htm

[Jay Kaner]

"Mister Gardener" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 13 Apr 2006 19:50:03 GMT, "Jay Kaner" > wrote:
>
>>
>>"Suzie-Q" > wrote
>>
>>> pl*co
>>
>>Is that a naughty word? ;o)
>>
> It's a very good word when spelled correctly, as you have. Replacing
> the * with, say, a certain vowel, however, can bring unexpected and
> unwanted events to pass in the life of the fish or the fish's keeper.
> Be forewarned. It took the Boston Red Sox 86 years to break the curse
> that they were under. The Pl*co curse was only cast a couple of
> decades ago; I am not ready test it just yet.

So is this something along the lines of the actor/actress and the Hamlet
thing?

[2pods]

>>>> pl*co
>>>
>>>Is that a naughty word? ;o)
>>>
>> It's a very good word when spelled correctly, as you have. Replacing
>> the * with, say, a certain vowel, however, can bring unexpected and
>> unwanted events to pass in the life of the fish or the fish's keeper.
>> Be forewarned. It took the Boston Red Sox 86 years to break the curse
>> that they were under. The Pl*co curse was only cast a couple of
>> decades ago; I am not ready test it just yet.
>
> So is this something along the lines of the actor/actress and the Hamlet
> thing?
>
You mean Macbeth, usually referred to as "The Scottish Play" :-)

Peter

[Jay Kaner]

"2pods" > wrote in message
...
>>>>> pl*co
>>>>
>>>>Is that a naughty word? ;o)
>>>>
>>> It's a very good word when spelled correctly, as you have. Replacing
>>> the * with, say, a certain vowel, however, can bring unexpected and
>>> unwanted events to pass in the life of the fish or the fish's keeper.
>>> Be forewarned. It took the Boston Red Sox 86 years to break the curse
>>> that they were under. The Pl*co curse was only cast a couple of
>>> decades ago; I am not ready test it just yet.
>>
>> So is this something along the lines of the actor/actress and the Hamlet
>> thing?
>>
> You mean Macbeth, usually referred to as "The Scottish Play" :-)

LOL yeah!! That's what i meant!!!

[Altum]

2pods wrote:

> You mean Macbeth, usually referred to as "The Scottish Play" :-)

Owwww, my nose!

--
Put the word aquaria in the subject to reply.
Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com

[Gill Passman]

Altum wrote:
> 2pods wrote:
>
>> You mean Macbeth, usually referred to as "The Scottish Play" :-)
>
>
> Owwww, my nose!
>

Surely you mean leg?

[Altum]

Gill Passman wrote:
> Altum wrote:
>> 2pods wrote:
>>
>>> You mean Macbeth, usually referred to as "The Scottish Play" :-)
>>
>> Owwww, my nose!
>
> Surely you mean leg?

Guess you haven't seen that episode of Black Adder. :-)

--
Put the word aquaria in the subject to reply.
Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com

[Marco Schwarz]

Hi..

[55g hard-water plant pack]

Okay but I can't see any fast growing plants like Elodea,
Hornward, Hygrophila, others. Yours are decorative but no
good water cleaners and some of them wish to be implanted -
the other to be tied on wood or stones but 20 of them won't
fill that tank.

> Besides my pl*co, I'd also like to put my three betta
> females in there, unless that's a bad idea.

Adult Bettas love hiding in the plant-rich zone near the
surface. They are no typical open water fish or flowing
water swimmers. One more reason for adding floating or
swimming plants..

> I've looked at putting a small school (5 fish?) of each of
> the following in the tank: danios, tiger barbs,
> upside-down catfish and corydoras.

Choosing right tank mates is mostly a "challenge" (water,
temperature, temperament, territorial (y/n), hiding-places,
plants, food:feeding, others).

Tiger Barbs are fast open water swimmers, nosy, playful,
restless. What kind of Danio?

Tiger Barbs are intrusive too and sometimes "hyaena-like" or
"vulture-like" fish. This is why I would recommend keeping
them in a separate tank.

> This is partially based
> on what's available in my local area.

Hmm.., do they sell cherry barbs (Puntius titteya), too?
Small, colourful, relaxed, not restless, social, lovely. In
small tanks possibly better kept in harem (1m/xf). A problem
is that they might prefer soft(er) water.
--
cu
Marco