55g Stocking

[williamc]

Could I get some black neon tetras,neon tetras,corys and a rubberlip pleco and a convict
How many of each should I get?

 

[Corleone]

Quite a few, until the convict gets near full grown, the small tetras would be eaten in short order. Get big robust tetras, like black widows, serpae, or Buenos Ares and they'll probably fare better. With the convict and pleco, you'd have room for a pretty good sized shoal of them. 12+ easily.

 

[williamc]

could the convict be by its self in a 20g
Without the convict could I have more of each fish

 

[Corleone]

Convict should be ok in a 20 alone - 30 is the recommended minimum for a pair, and that's accounting for spawning.

Without the convict, you've really got infinite options with the 55. If you wanted lots of neon or black neon tetras, you could probably have well upwards of 50 of them in a mature tank.

 

[williamc]

Does this sound good to you?
10-neons
10-black neons
1-2- rubberlip pleco
4 corys
6 tiger barbs
2-bolivian rams

 

[Corleone]

Does this sound good to you?
10-neons
10-black neons
1-2- rubberlip pleco
4 corys
6 tiger barbs
2-bolivian rams

I'd bump it up to 6 corys. Should be fine then. Leave the neons and rams until the tank is mature (bolivians aren't as sensitive as german blue rams, but the stock is a bit heavy for a new tank, and these are the two most sensitive species on the list), at which point you should even have a little bit of growth space beyond this.

I'd recommend bristlenose plecs over rubberlips, but that's personal preference more than suitability.

 

[LauraFrog]

Sounds great but if you can it might be a good idea to bump up the barb count a bit. A big school of barbs is less aggressive, a small school might decide that the ram's fins look like a snack.

 

[williamc]

ok so no neons or rams till the tank is matured?how long?
6 corys
6 tiger barbs
2 bristlenose pleco

Once tank is matured___ I will add 10 neons and 10 black neons

 

[Corleone]

Black neons should be ok too - they're hardier than neons (which have lost the durability they used to be known for from commercial overbreeding). I'd wait at least 2-3 months before adding the neons and 5-6 for the tank to bet well matured before adding the rams.

 

[williamc]

thanks