stocking a 55 gallon advice

[Vanessa]

Hi! I have a 55 gallon tank that has cycled and been up and running for about 3 mos. now. I currently have the following in my tank:

1 large Angel
3 dwarf male gouramis
3 balloon mollies
1 dalmatian molly
1 swordtail
3 male guppies
1 zebra danio
1 large danio
1 pleco

First of all, do you think I'm over stocked?

I actually think it looks too chaotic in there and thinking about getting rid of the guppies and danios. Would that be better?

If I do have room after getting rid of those, any suggestions?

I appreciate any advice! ThANKs!

 

[Tanked]

I would not say overstocked 1inch per gallon is a general rule of thumb. how big is the pleco? he may out grow the tank. IMO I would get rid of the pleco and get 2 cory's get rid of Daino's (i don't like them much "personal opinion") and maybe add a buddy for the dalmation molly and the swordtail. be careful though mollies like salt (brackish water) and angels like lower ph softwater. if the angels are tank raised (before your purchase) and not wild caugt they are more adaptable though, same goes for mollies.

 

[bodyshop20]

Try these fish
Guppies (tuxedos)
Dutch rams
Mountaim Minnows
Cribensis
Siemesse figter (male)
Harlaquinns
White tip tetras
Rummie nose tetras
Cardinal tetras
Penguin fish
Phantom tetras
Stop and tail tetras

 

[Vanessa]

Thanks for the advice/opions, Tanked! I appreciate it! I have since added rainbow fish and have gotten rid of the danios and will be getting rid of the dalmatian molly and guppies. I plan to add a sword to keep my one company. My pleco is only about an inch and 1/2 and I got him with the intent of giving him back to the store once he got too big. However, upon your suggestion for the cory's, I looked into those and saw some at the pet store last week: those are great (and stay small!), so I may be trading the pleco in sooner than I expected.

I've had Angels and mollies together in the past (and now) without any problems. I do try not to add too much salt though as my gourami's aren't big fans of it either (from what I've read??).

My tank is starting to look good.

 

[Tanked]

that sounds like a very nice setup. glad I could help. do you have any pics to post?

 

[Alia]

I do try not to add too much salt though as my gourami's aren't big fans of it either

Remember, no salt with corys -- they're scaleless.

 

[Vanessa]

No salt at all, really? I've seen several posts that they are commonly in community tanks with Mollies, etc.? Hmm......

Well, I haven't purchased anything. I have other fishie problems to deal with first, so I'll do some more research.

Thanks for the alert. I appreciate it!

 

[Alia]

I'm sure that someone will come along and say they've used salt with corys for years without a hitch , but . . . the prevailing wisdom on these forums is the same as is expressed here, on an excellent FAQ site for aquarists (IMO) : Water Chemistry

On the other hand, some species of fish do not tolerate ANY salt well. Scaleless fish (in general) and some Corydoras catfish are far more sensitive to salt than most freshwater fish. Add salt only if you are certain that all of your tank's inhabitants prefer it or can at least tolerate it.

It is also worthy of note that corys are sensitive to malachite green, as are tetras:

Also, with malachite green based meds such as QuickCure, be extra careful and halve the dosage for Catfish and Tetras, which are extra sensitive to the ingredients (and can easily die before they are cured).

I have used ich medication successfully with black skirt tetras at half the normal dosage, as instructed on the bottle, and with corys in the tank. I only mention it because it isn't uncommon for new fish or newly moved fish to exhibit symptoms of ich, due to the stress.

Have you looked into getting a different type of pleco that stays small? I know they are not nearly as readily available, but they are neat looking.

I just noticed someone said get two corys and I think three is reckoned to be a bare minimum with that species. They really do seem to take comfort in one another's presence, almost snuggling together. They're worth getting, if you can work it out.

How is the tank and your "other fishy problems" going? Not badly, I hope! Good luck with everything!

 

[LesGerber]

All I can say is in all the posts reffering to salt and corys I dont ever recall ever reading salt and corys dont mix!!!! Not saying that its not out there, just that I have never seen it. I have had salt in my 55 gallon community tank from its second week running and I have had corys in the tank from day one. Granted I am not one to follow what the label says blindly so I started them out at about 1/2 the recommended dose......You have to use common sence when using things that are not usually in your tank.
As far as product using Malachite Green I would have to see some info on this. If fish like corys and other scaleless fish cant be treated with it then companies like Kordon the manufacturer of Rid Ich would claim to be safer for scaless fish and loaches.
My last bout of Ich I treated daily for 10 days and then every other day for 4 more days and I had no ill effect to my fish. This treatment was in the same water in which salt was added to so I guess I have been very fortunate.....


Les

 

[Tanked]

Les,

the lsf that is one of two places I will buy fish has 1 tbs salt per every 5 gallons in all tanks except the snail tank. all of their scaleless fish are kept this way and they have the best fish that I have seen anywhere around here...I konow you have always said you have used salt with no problems. maybe there really is some merit to that.