Stocking Ideas?

[allydawn17]

Okay, so my 55 gallon is finally cycled, and I'm looking for some new fish!

i went to the LFS today, got a few more cories and a BN pleco

I saw a few fish i like and I'm wondering if any of them are compatible. So, 55 gallon, 73 degrees ish (my heater is cruddy, I've got it set at 78 but I can't seem to get it as high as I'd like), 7.0/7.5 pH, moderately planted, and stocking: 1 angelfish, 6 cories, 1 bn pleco. Okay, so here are my ideas:
 
electric blue jack dempsey
nimbochromis venustus (giraffe cichlid)
columbian shark
upside down catfish
pictus catfish 
dragon fish
starry night dubios
longfin serpea
gold gourami
pearl gourami
scissortail rasbora
Blue rams/ or bolivian rams
 
i would also like to have a medium sized school of rummynose in this tank, if possible. Any info about compatibility is appreciated! (obv i dont expect to keep every fish I listed in this tank lol, just possible ideas)

 

[RRaquariums]

I'm not sure about the others but I can tell you that the electric blue jack Dempsey and the
nimbochromis venustus (giraffe cichlid) can't be added to any community tank and they would make a snack out of all the fish you already have sorry

 

[kiwi210]

I'm not sure about the others but I can tell you that the electric blue jack Dempsey and the
nimbochromis venustus (giraffe cichlid) can't be added to any community tank and they would make a snack out of all the fish you already have sorry

I second that! Those cichlids will definitely will the other fish. They are aggressive but semi-aggressive fish like the angelfish will be better off in your tank.

 

[Brahmza]

I would definitely recommend the Pearl Gouramis, they are very peaceful and fun to watch . The Blue Rams would work well, too. I had a similar(ish) community with 3 Pearl Gouramis, 3 pairs of German Rams (2 pairs of Blue, 1 pair of Electric Blue), a school of leopard danios and a school of tiger barbs. Everything ran smoothly, other than the male rams constantly sparring. I don't have much experience when it comes to keeping Angels, but if he's big enough, he'll suck your rummynose tetras down in a heartbeat heh. I've heard good things about Bolivian Rams, though they're not as 'flashy' as the blues, they are much easier to keep than blues(German rams thrive in acidic conditions 6.0-6.5). As far as serape tetras go, they seem to be hit-or-miss when it comes to being nippy. I know Tiger Barbs have a terrible stigma to their name for nipping fins, but when kept in large schools (8+) they won't even notice other fish in the tank because they're too busy zipping around after each other. But I also just really like tiger barbs . Anywho, hope that helps! Best of luck!

 

[Ninjouzata]

Agreed with what has been said so far in regards to the JD and Giraffe Cichlid.
 
Columbian shark gets too big for this tank, and eventually needs to transition to brackish and then to marine, if I'm remembering correctly.
 
Dragon fish I'm not sure what you're referring to, do you mean THIS? If so, not suitable for this tank either.
If you mean a bichir, it'd depend on what type, though I wouldn't feel comfortable keeping even the smallest ones in less than 75g.
 
I don't know what a starry night dubios is..the only thing I can come up with is the starry night cichlid (Paratilapia bleekeri), and if that is the case this tank is too small for that as well.
 
Sorry for knocking off a portion of your list :c
 
I think the gourami sound great, I have a golden one, she's my princess I also have rummynose tetras.
Havn't had Rams myself, though would like to some day.
 
I've heard that serpae tetras can be nippy so not sure if you'd want to do those or not, especially if you go with gourami, imagine their feelers would be tempting for the serpaes.

 

[allydawn17]

Thanks everyone! Sorry some of the names are not right, i just wrote down what it said at the store :s 
 
Okay, so it's looking like this right now:
 
electric blue jack dempsey
nimbochromis venustus (giraffe cichlid)
columbian shark
upside down catfish
pictus catfish 
dragon fish   (yes, this is the one in your photo ninjouzata!)
starry night dubios ??? yeah, ive been having trouble finding this one myself. 
longfin serpea
gold gourami
pearl gourami
scissortail rasbora
Blue rams/ or bolivian rams
 
So I am going to assume all the ones i didn't cross out will be ok for my tank?

 

[Ninjouzata]

I'm not 100% sure on pictus cats, but the others should be fine. I don't think you want all of them though.
 
HERE is some info on the pictus, which according to that the tank is too small. It's best to check multiple sources, though I really like SF.
And HERE is some on the scissortail rasbora, which again according to that the tank is still too small
 
Does your LFS have/do you like Leopard ctenopoma? That and the upside down cats would look nice, imo.

 

[allydawn17]

OH, no I wasn't planning on having all of them, just wanted a selection to choose from when I stock About the pictus cats, the measurement recommended is close to mine,(mine being 48" x 13" x 21", recommended is 48″ x 18″ x 18″) but the litre rec is around 64 gals, i think, which is larger than mine, but anyway I wouldn't want to keep him/her in a tank that is questionable on size. I also agree that the scissortail rasboras would be too large, i didn't know how big they got! Oops. As for the Leopard ctenopoma, I believe the LFS does have them, but I thought they would be too aggressive for a community tank. What about khuli loaches? On SF it said tanks 30 x 60 cm, and my tank is larger than that, but i don't know if they are referring to a single kuhli or multiple, because i've heard they like to be in groups of 5? Thanks for all the help!

 

[Brahmza]

You would be perfectly fine with a group of khuli loaches

 

[Ninjouzata]

Ah no I know you didn't mean the whole list, but since we cut it in like half I wasn't sure
 
Yeah I don't feel quite comfortable either so it is really up to you on the pictus cats.
I didn't know about the scissortails for a while, was a surprise to me!
 
Leopard ctenopoma it will depend what sort of fish you have in with them. They are ambush predators, so anything that can fit in their mouth..will likely go in their mouth
 
Khuli loaches would be fine, and they should definitely be kept in groups. I have 7 in my 55g. Super cute!

 

[allydawn17]

Okay, thanks! I don't currently have a lid on my tank, would that be a serious concern? I know they are notorious jumpers. I could probably get a lid, but I have this led light right now that kind of clips on to the sides of the tank so it may be a bit of trouble to find a proper lid, but I could probably work something out.

 

[Ninjouzata]

I can't say for sure as I have a lid.
 
Perhaps get THIS sort of lid? I don't think it'd get in the way of your light but am not 100% sure what you mean by it clipping on to the sides.

 

[sawickib]

Pictus cats like to be in groups of 4 or below, usually with a sandy bottem, thats all i can add.

 

[allydawn17]

Yes, that lid looks it would work! Thanks If i do end up getting them before i can get around to buying the lid, I'll probably just put a towel or something over the top until i can work something out.
 
Okay, so I'm thinking:
 
1x angelfish
6x Cory cats
1x BN pleco
2x german blue rams
~10x Rummynose Tetra OR Longfin White clouds
5x Kuhli Loaches
1x Pearl gourami
 
I think all these fish would be alright together, but am i overstocked? :s

 

[Ninjouzata]

You can also use cling wrap, might be easier to use as the towel might fall in
 
I'd bump the khulis to 6, maybe I'm just weird about that though since I always hear 6+.
And I'd do the rummynose tetras as white clouds are subtropical so don't fit in with the temp requirements of the other fish.
 
Other than that..I think it sounds about right?
 
To help give you an idea, and I'd say I am well stocked..I have 2 aqua-tech 30-60 filters & do minimum of 25% weekly water changes.
I could be wrong though and maybe I'm overstocked. I'm not the best with numbers unfortunately.
My 55g has 1 Golden gourami, 15 rummynose tetras, 7 khuli loaches, 7 cories, 1 bn pleco, 1 female guppy, 1 bamboo shrimp, 1 mystery snail.
 
Hopefully someone with more experience comes along & can help you more on that list