55 gallon stocking

[Kriblvr]

Hi, I'm new to this board! Sorry, I wasn't really sure where to post this question.

I'm not a total begginer. I know about cycling and water parameters and all of that good stuff. I got my first tank back in january....I've learned so much, I have 4 aquariums set up rangind from 5 to 20 gals. Well I thought I'd try one a little bigger....like a 55 gal tank. So, here is my question (finally) lol.
I need some help figuring out some fish for my 55.
I was wonndering if my tank is big enough to have two seperate schools of mid-top water fish.

I was thinking

6 tiger barbs
8 emperor tetras
5 panda corydoras
and maybe a bulldog pleco?

how does that list look? I also need a bigger focal point fish, I was thinking maybe a 5 or 6 inch fish, I can't think of any, that was my main question, are there any big fish that stay out in the middle most of the time that are compatible with my other fish?
thanks in advance for your help!

 

[J_acon]

Sounds nice, but i tend to avoid Tiger Bards, they are famous nippers.

Go for some rasboras or white clouds, great school fish too.

for something big, maybe dwarf gouramis, they are only agreesive towards each other.

 

[bshockstubb]

Hey, look at my fish below in my sig. I have two blood parrots with tiny little danios. they are man-made hybrids and have alot of problems so they cant swallow little fish....maybe a pair of dwarf groumais(maybe 1 red and the other blue neon) would do real nice in that tank.

 

[tstenback]

I would add a few more tiger barbs that way they will be so concerned with each other they shouldnt bother the other fish much at all. Sounds like a good setup. what are you planning to use as plants/decor

 

[Kriblvr]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I really like the tiger barbs, so I think I'll just add a few more like tstenback suggested.
What about for the big fish I add 2 kissing gouramis? I read that it gets along with all the fish I'm going to be getting.

 

[Kriblvr]

Oh, and my tank setup is going to be mostly fake plants with a few real java ferns and maybe a aponogeton bulb here or there. I want to get one of those big root decorations to go in there as well (the kind you get at petsmart). I really like making my aquariums look natural, but I use fake plants because I can't keep the real ones alive, lol.

 

[Nina7777]

Kissing guoramis would go nicely in your tank. They get pretty big and are pretty peaceful towards other fish, the only thing is that they aren't very pretty.

The rest of the fish look good, but I agree that a few more barbs would do more good than harm.

Dwarf guoramis are very pretty but don't get very big.

The parrot cichlids are cool but like already mentioned they are mutes and have a ton of problems.

Or maybe you could get 3 clown loaches. They are awesome little fish that get pretty big in time. Mine just light up my whole tank and make it so much more interesting!

 

[Kriblvr]

Sorry, I keep changing my mind but, what about a firemouth cichlid instead of the gourami? I read that they are mostly territorial when they are spawning, so if I just got one would he get along with the other tankmates?