55 gallon stocking

[Oli]

Pretty happy with my tank at the moment but it’s always fun to try new fish. Curious what people might add (if anything.) Recently got rid of all my cichlids and now have a very simple, heavily planted tank consisting the following…

-1 Male Pearl Gourami
-50ish Cardinal Tetras.

 

[Oli]

I loved my all black angelfish up against the green plants. Thinking maybe some black mollies and/or a rainbow shark?

People may however think I am fully stocked

 

[Slaphppy7]

Cardinals are one of my favorites, especially in LARGE groups like this one...just lovely

What size tank, again, and do you have soft water (tetras do best in soft water)?...mollies do better in hard water

 

[Oli]

Tanks is 220L (approx 55 us gallons).
Water if I remember is around 7 GH

 

[StripySnailGirl04]

Wow that's A LOT of cardinal tetras! The tank looks amazing

 

[Oli]

Wow that's A LOT of cardinal tetras! The tank looks amazing

Thanks they’ve always been my favourite fish and I got tired of them “disappearing” to other larger fish (as well as the destruction of my plants). So I got rid of everything and got a load more cardinals!

 

[Glenn407]

A load of tiny ember tetras might contrast well with those if they like the same type of water.

 

[Byron]

What is the substrate (tried to find this in other threads but couldn't)? A GH of 7 (ppm? or dH?) is on the soft side whichever unit, and mollies will not last. But you have many options among soft water fish species.

 

[Oli]

Substrate is black gravel. Ah okay, would something like a Rainbow Shark be a risk to the cardinals (as this is the reason I got rid of my angelfish)

 

[Byron]

Substrate is black gravel. Ah okay, would something like a Rainbow Shark be a risk to the cardinals (as this is the reason I got rid of my angelfish)

The Rainbow Shark, Epalzeorhynchos frenatum, is sometimes less of a problem than its cousin E. bicolor (Red Tail Black Shark), but they are in the same genus which means they have close similarities and nothing can be guaranteed. Substrate fish are more likely to be targeted than upper fish, though E. bicolor especially is prone to going after any upper fish that has vertical stripes, for some reason.

Gravel eliminates cories (too bad), but some loaches are OK with this...?

 

[Beastije]

If you add some covers on the ground, a pygmy corydoras would be lovely in a 15 piece shoal. Btw I have 50 or so ember tetras and it is like nothing, such a small fish, doesnt seem like the numbers match what you are seeing but the red is a nice splash of color

 

[Oli]

What about something like a boesemani Rainbowfish? Would this be okay with so many cardinals?

 

[Byron]

What about something like a boesemani Rainbowfish? Would this be okay with so many cardinals?

Melanotaenia boesemani is not a small fish at 3 inches (females) and 4 inches (males), and it does not do well in soft acidic water as here. It is also very active swimming, which would stress out the gourami, and possibly the cardinals too.

 

[Oli]

Ah okay, do you have any recommendations?
Thinking something peaceful and a little bit larger than the cardinals? If I could have a few more Pearl gourami, I would, but my male has proven that that isn’t an option.

 

[Byron]

Ah okay, do you have any recommendations?
Thinking something peaceful and a little bit larger than the cardinals? If I could have a few more Pearl gourami, I would, but my male has proven that that isn’t an option.

Sorry to hear about the gourami, what happened to the female?

As for fish species suited here...I almost don't know where to begin, there are so many. Rummynose Tetras (Petitella bleheri, though may still be seen under the former name Hemigrammus bleheri) do very well with cardinals, with their silver/white body and flaming red head and black/white caudal fin. They remain in the lower half, as do the cardinals generally.

For the upper half, there are surface fish--hatchetfish (may depend on the gourami territory though...). The larger species Thoracocharax stellatus is a lovely fish and this species interacts much more than most of the other hatchets. If you don't like these, the "penguin" tetras are primarily surface dwellers. Again, if the gourami has shown troublesome behaviour, none of these are good ideas.

Mid-tank is more difficult, but one species I had a cople times always pleased me, Hemigrammus pulcher. It is similar to H. ocellifer (common Head & Tail Light) but much more noticeable with its bright "light."