I guess every thing is good.
Suggestions on fish
I have a 55 gallon tank which is 20 inches high, 12 inches deep, and 48 inches long. I have a 30 gallon hob filter, and three moving bed filters. The tank is lightly planted and has a rock, a few PVC pipes, and a log for decoration. I have 3 dwarf gouramis, 4 red platys (one of them is a baby), 1 rubber lipped pleco, 5 blood fin tetra, 5 hatchet fish, 5 rummy nose tetra, 2 German blue rams, 1 bristle nose pleco, and 2 angelicus botia. I am wondering if there is anything wrong with the setup. I also have a few specific questions, should I just get 2 German blue rams? And will the dwarf gouramis be compatible with the German blue rams? Or if there is an over stocking problem. Feel free to make any suggestions. Thanks!
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what's a "moving bed filter"? that might be an important thing to know if we are to say if you are overstocked or not.
I would maybe up the number of rams, but I'm no expert in ram keeping. I just know that if it ends up being two males it could get dicey, and at the very least if you start off with more rams then if you get a pair you can just get ride of the other rams later.
I also hear that dwarf goramis can be dicey in tempermant, but I'd guess that you'd be fine with them in a 55 gallon tank. Try and get one male and two females I'd say.
I'm not sure about the botia, that you'd have to have someone else chime in on, but I will say with the tetras that maybe you might want to up the numbers to 8 each? Or, get ride of one tetra school and get more of the other two schools instead, since most schooling fish prefer larger numbers anyways, especially in a larger tank.
I would maybe up the number of rams, but I'm no expert in ram keeping. I just know that if it ends up being two males it could get dicey, and at the very least if you start off with more rams then if you get a pair you can just get ride of the other rams later.
I also hear that dwarf goramis can be dicey in tempermant, but I'd guess that you'd be fine with them in a 55 gallon tank. Try and get one male and two females I'd say.
I'm not sure about the botia, that you'd have to have someone else chime in on, but I will say with the tetras that maybe you might want to up the numbers to 8 each? Or, get ride of one tetra school and get more of the other two schools instead, since most schooling fish prefer larger numbers anyways, especially in a larger tank.
3 dwarf gouramis, Territorial fish. Tank is large enough they might work something out, but if they attack each other remove the most aggressive. Rare but not unknown for them to attack fish that swim lower. Again, if you can remove the one that does this, the other 2 might be less aggressive. watch out for the Hatchets. If the Gouramis think they are invading the Gourami's territory the Hatchets can get chased and escape by flying out of any small opening in the lid.
4 red platys (one of them is a baby), I would remove these and get more of the schooling fish or Botias.
1 rubber lipped pleco,
5 blood fin tetra, Schooling fish, better with more. (see comment at Rummy nose)
5 hatchet fish, Schooling fish, better with more. Swim in the same area as the Gouramis. I like Hatchets better. If trouble develops I would keep the Hatchets and get rid of the Gouramis.
5 rummy nose tetra, Schooling fish, better with more. I would omit either these or the blood fins, and get more of the one you want to keep.
2 German blue rams, Fine if it is a male + female, and they like each other. If they are 2 males the tank is big enough that may work, but do they know that?
1 bristle nose pleco,
2 angelicus botia, Social fish, better with more, but not all that bad in smaller groups, even as few as 2.
4 red platys (one of them is a baby), I would remove these and get more of the schooling fish or Botias.
1 rubber lipped pleco,
5 blood fin tetra, Schooling fish, better with more. (see comment at Rummy nose)
5 hatchet fish, Schooling fish, better with more. Swim in the same area as the Gouramis. I like Hatchets better. If trouble develops I would keep the Hatchets and get rid of the Gouramis.
5 rummy nose tetra, Schooling fish, better with more. I would omit either these or the blood fins, and get more of the one you want to keep.
2 German blue rams, Fine if it is a male + female, and they like each other. If they are 2 males the tank is big enough that may work, but do they know that?
1 bristle nose pleco,
2 angelicus botia, Social fish, better with more, but not all that bad in smaller groups, even as few as 2.
A moving bed filter is just a bottle with media in it (I use straws) with air going through it. Here's a video about it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl_vxg7ytys Thanks!
I see nothing wrong with your initial setup. As I view all tanks as a work in progress, I would have to wait and see how thing work out. First question for me might be the rubber lipped pleco. Is that the common pleco who gets large? Likely to overgrow the tank?
Compatibility and stocking many times gets down to how we each operate our tanks. What works for some can be overstocked for others. It takes a few weeks looking at the tank to really see what is going on.
Compatibility and stocking many times gets down to how we each operate our tanks. What works for some can be overstocked for others. It takes a few weeks looking at the tank to really see what is going on.
Rubberlip plecos rarely top 3 inches.
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