55 galon questions

[BumbleinGrey]

Hello after browsing here a bit yesterday i thought perhaps this would be the place to ask a few questions. Just recently me and my wife have purchased a 55 gallon tank which has has its problems already, although we have resolved each one so far.

The first problem was that it leaked , that was really a non-issue , sense we have had to silicone another tank before (this to add branches and food trays for our crested gecko tank). So i got the aquarium grade silicone , striped the old silcone and frankly re-did the entire tank. (not a leak now)

The next problem was finding pure ammonia , although that too is resolved. actually all of the problems really are resolved aside form one our debating what to stock inside of the tank.

Let me list what we would like to put in there , and perhaps you people could tell us if there is any problems with the selection , and perhaps suggest alternatives if you think one is a problem species.

Bottom layer
1 weather loach
1 pleco (i am thinking perhaps a zebra pleco L046, L098, L173 and dont ask me why they have three diffent L numbers for the same fish. or a Butterfly pleco L168)

the pleco for this layer is one of the question marks , we are not sure what species to get at all. We are thinking small though to avoid having a huge monster especially when the weather loach can get large.

Middle layer
10-15 Harlequins (heard they are a awesome schooler , plus we like the way they look)
1-2 show pieces (we are thinking perhaps some long fined angle fish , but we are wanting something to be a bit larger of a fish eventually for the mid of the tank. But not a monstrous huge fish that will dine on all the others.)

Top Layer
1-2 african butterfly fish (we really liked the look of these guys when we saw them at the LFS but we have debated weither or not to have a top layer at all)

Me and my wife are used to fish that take a bit of work as well , we have a 30 gallon brackish tank which has two figure 8 puffer fish. So we are not complete newbs to fish that require non flake food to eat (they wont touch the stuff , they eat blood worms , brine shrimp , and snails mostly that we gut load with algae flakes , veggies , and other foods in there own breeding tank)

thank you in advance for any suggestions we might get here . also this link has a photo of our 55 being cycled so you can see our setup

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...shie/55gal.jpg

[Ichthius]

Wow, I was expecting the tank to be a bit more bare for a newly cycled tank

Bottom layer:
Weather Loaches are great. My SO has one in his 120g; they're fun fish to have. While they'd be fine in that size tank, they do much better in cold water aquaria. Supposedly, according to some profiles, they're fine in warmer water, but I wouldn't keep it too warm for them.

L046 can be quite pricey. I think they appreciate a smaller substrate as well, like sand, but my knowledge on them is limited.

Royal Pleco on the other hand are one of my favourite plecos. They have an interesting look to them, and are a bit expensive, but not nearly as expensive as L046. They'd be a bit smaller than the Weather Loach too.

Middle Layer:
Harlequins are a great choice. Fun to watch, peaceful, interesting behaviour, nice colour; they should be fine.

Angelfish aren't a bad choice. They do get relatively big, so I'm not sure what size of fish exactly you had in mind.

Top Layer:
I wouldn't go with butterfly fish, if you're set on having a smaller fish like harlequins. They are predators after all.

Hatchetfish, marbled or silver, are interesting top dwellers. They're not that big, the marbled being the smaller type, and they like to school. I'd recommend them, since they're more peaceful and not predatory.

[Ghost Knife]

Weather Loaches/Golden Dojo Loaches do indeed do much better in cold water tanks. I have had my three Golden Dojos in my cold water goldfish tank for over 8 months and I they have really thrived in that tank.

[BumbleinGrey]

we may have to consider something other then a weather loach then , to bad as i am fond of the ones in the LFS. Although some of the online profiles i have read stated they can tolerate upwards of 77 F. Though Tolerate and thrive are very different words and i would not like to stick a animal into a environment they would not thrive in.

Perhaps there is some other serpentine fish that would be better suited for the environment ?

Also as for the Pleco , those are just two species we enjoyed the looks of so far, though there is alot of species and i am still doing research.

The size is not as important to me along as they will not devour all of the other fish within the tank , or grow to big for the tank itself. I am not sure exactly what to say here , other then i would like something that draws your eyes right away to it wile its in the tank.

Our experiences with tanks are a one species brackish tank , and our goal is to have a community within this 55 g freshwater one

[Ghost Knife]

Originally Posted by BumbleinGrey

we may have to consider something other then a weather loach then , to bad as i am fond of the ones in the LFS. Although some of the online profiles i have read stated they can tolerate upwards of 77 F. Though Tolerate and thrive are very different words and i would not like to stick a animal into a environment they would not thrive in.

Perhaps there is some other serpentine fish that would be better suited for the environment ?

Also as for the Pleco , those are just two species we enjoyed the looks of so far, though there is alot of species and i am still doing research.

The size is not as important to me along as they will not devour all of the other fish within the tank , or grow to big for the tank itself. I am not sure exactly what to say here , other then i would like something that draws your eyes right away to it wile its in the tank.

Our experiences with tanks are a one species brackish tank , and our goal is to have a community within this 55 g freshwater one

I have done an extensive amount of research on Golden Dojo/Weather Loaches and they seem to prefer the colder waters for spawning purposes, but even outside of the breeding aspect they like cooler than tropical temperatures. Generally, they can handle a range from 60 degrees farenheit to close to 80 degrees farenheit.

[trashion]

Just want to add, you need a very tight-fitting lid for hatchetfish, as they are very good jumpers!