55 gal. tank options

[DavidZ]

i am looking to get a 55 gal. tank and for sure want a JD and was wanting to know what fish could live with it.

[Fishfirst]

JD = jack dempsey? South american cichlids go with jacks, as well as some catfish, loaches, and plecos. But remember jacks get large and are a huge mess on the bioload, I'd stick with only a few more fish that don't get 12 inches long like the jack.

[Mr Aquarium]

I wouldn;t go with a pleco either, the common plecos you get at walmart of the LFS will reach 2', I had two that was 2' ec in my 75g and was bought at the size of about 2 1/2'', took a few years but they got that big.
And you aint seen poop pile up tell you had a common pleco.
Catfish may not be a good idea untell you research the ones of interst, allot of them can be quite large also, corys prolly not a good idea, unless you get a small jack and the corys at the same time, he shouldn't be able to eat them and may grow up to know they are not food.
Ive seen way weirder with JDs before.

[DavidZ]

would firemouths work?

[Fishfirst]

yes I believe so, but I'm not the cichlid expert here. But there are plenty of catfish that would work such as pictus catfish (8"), ornate pimelodus catfish (7.5"), synodontis eupterus catfish (8") would all work in a 55 gallon if you keep the number of fish down

[starrfish71]

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.

[fishboy]

in a 55 you could get alot of small fish

[euRasian32]

Well, I've personally seen JD's reach 18, but that's 2 in a 125.

Personally after all of my cichlid drama, just choose ONE more species that is fairly equal in size for the 55.
My personal suggestions:
Pike cichlid; nicaraguense, buttekoferi, or a pair of severums, or an oscar only if plans for a 75+ are in the mix for the future.
Stay away from the managuense, green terror, and the red devil. Stress and drama.

[DavidZ]

i think im just gonna forget the jack and go for a cichlid community tank thanks for all the information

[fishfreaks]

no problem, although i was just going to suggest a blue acara. that should do well in a community tank, just keep in mind that they are territorial.