Jack's will rapidly out grow a firemouth- so a better choice would be a Texas cichlid, chocolate,green terror, or if you research a bit, any mid-level aggressive South or Central american cichlid of similar size. (i.e. NOT a red devil or black belt!) these fish reach 10 to 12 inches within the first couple of years of life, so you really can't get many in a 55g. However, if you only have two, one will beat up the other, so odd numbers work best.
If you want firemouths, you have the chance to have much more of an active community tank. Convicts, red jewels, green terrors, some of the large Geophagus, etc, will all get along and in a 55g you have room for maybe 3-5, depending on their adult size.
Plus, I love "mixing" other types of fish- it gives you a much more diverse and interesting tank. An African black knife, or a clown knife is a good match. Pike cichlids, bichirs, ctenopomas, severums, parrot cichlids if you like hybrids, silver dollars, and even some of ther larger gourami and barb types would work.
Catfish and plecos do fine in 55g- but like Mr.Aquarium pointed out, common plecos get HUGE. Bristle nose, chocolates, Rhinos, and many other types of plecos not only are very interesting to look at, but don't grow as huge. Some great catfish would be dwarf giraffe cats, pimledelos(sp?), if you have a more aggressive tank an Asian redtail is a gorgeous catfish- mean as you-know-what tho.
Fish to be wary of- pacus, SA red tail cats, and channel cats get beyond ridiculous enormous. they are SOOOOO cute in the pet stores as babies, but stay away from them!
Also, don't misunderstand me. I am not recommeding that you get one of each fish listed. FW tropical tanks should be an average of one inch of fish per gallon of water, with adequate filtration. This is the ADULT size of the fish, not the size from the pet store. also, some of the fish listed will gladly EAT other fish on the list. Make sure when adding fish you take into account size and compatiblity.
|