community question

[noelberg]

I'm planning on a making a large community tank eventually - probably 55 US gal.

I want to transfer my existing pristella tetras into it and get some more. I also like Von Rio tetras or maybe cardinals (though probably not).

Some other inhabitants I'm considering for the community are cherry barbs, clown loaches, and either dwarf gouramis or kribs (not both together) ... maybe some blue zebra danios. I don't know much about keeping gouramis and kribs, so I was wondering how they would go with the group. Same with the danios.
Would there be problems with this setup?

Thanks

 

[Auratus]

The only thing about cherry barbs is that they don't like being in large groups and in a 55 with only 3-5 you might never see them.

Dwarf gourami are a good choice some are more timid then others. If you want large groups of gourami you could always do the one male and a bunch of females thing. But ummmm banded gourami, giant gourami, and honey gourami are more timid then most other ones. Maybe you could try a mix, I dont know how well it would work though.

Kribs are a nice choice but they take over the tank when breeding and harrass the other fish. And I don't know how many you could keep in a 55 because of the way they pair off, maybe someone else around here knows.

Edit:

I have some von rio tetras... VERY COOL. They look great in groups. When you get them in the lfs they are usually grey and boring but males color up into a great redish orange gold color. They are very nice fish. I would suggest getting at least 10 in a 55. It would add a lot of color to the tank.

Danios also like to be in groups of 6 or more and would stay at the top of the tank. Their care is the same as the zebra danio.

 

[BigSteve]

I agree with all of auratus's comments. I would add that you probably don't want
the cardinals due to lack of hardiness, and I would have some floating live
plants for the gouramis.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Cardinal tetra should not be added for about 6 months but I find them a very nice addtion to any tank.



I have kribs in a community set-up at the moment and they are fine with other fish, but then again they haven't bred.

I also have a lone male krib in another community tank and he is totally fine with the other fish, which includes a kissing gourami.

 

[noelberg]

Yup I have riccia (I think) in my tank right now and I really like it. Was planning on putting it in this future tank too. I was also thinking of cabomba, amazon swords, and perhaps micro swords for plants. Maybe some ludwigia.

I do like the honey gouramis Auratus, so hopefully my lfs can order some in for me. And thanks for the info on the Von Rios.