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Yo. Help me stock :)

1K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  Elsewhere 
#1 ·
(This is not a question for novice keepers). So we recently decided to switch our 55 gal from salt to fresh because of cost, and we want to start stocking. It's my fiance's tank, and he really loves the color and variety of saltwater fish, so what we are trying to do is basically make him a faux saltwater setup (salt decor but with very colorful freshwater species). We don't have a lot to spend, so getting extra equipment is not an option. So far there is just a crowntail in it. We want tons of color in all regions of the tank, and we tend to prefer bigger fish (but not cichlids unless they are nonaggressive).

We know that we can't get everything we are looking for, but since our focus is color, what are some stocking ideas?

Specs: 55 gallons, slightly hard water, HOB filter that is slightly aggressive but could be stuffed with sponge if needed, sand, 1 betta, LED lighting
 
#2 ·
You could do a Betta sorority an have some type of Apistogramma thrown in for funsies, but that would allow you lots of different colors. Of course you'd need lots of plant cover so that kind of makes it not feel like saltwater.
 
#4 ·
Let's see, you could have a very colorful tank with activity all over. The betta may not fit well with some of the fish though.

My number one choice for color and activity are rosy barbs. The males are bright red. I would not get the long finned though - just my tastes. You could also get gold barbs - a pretty active fish that has red trim that goes well with the rosy barbs (or cherry barbs). They'll be for the middle of the tank. I would get dwarf neon rainbows for the top portion of the tank. They flash a brilliant blue when the light hits them just right. A really nice fish perfectly suited to your tank sizzle. Many of the melanotaenia species get fairly large, but not them. With those fish, if you wanted to, you could get an electric blue crayfish. Barbs make excellent tank mates for crayfish, in my experience, and the rainbows will do fine since they like the top half of the tank. Black neons would bring out a lot of the colors, and they stay high in the water so they should be okay with a cray, even though tetras in general are at significant risk for being eaten.
 
#5 ·
Since platys come in a variety of colors, you could put together a platy colony =)
If you don't want a lot of fry in your tank, you could opt for male guppies as they are very colorful, too.

I agree with lilnaugrim in a sorority. You could fit 20+ females in there, right?
 
#6 ·
I agree with lilnaugrim in a sorority. You could fit 20+ females in there, right?
Technically she could fit 55 females in her 55 gallon if that's the only fish she's got, but it's not very ideal. If there's only females in there, 40 would fit very comfortably but that's quite an amount of fish! lol

I would do something like 25 and a nice big shoal of some kind of cories with a pleco of sorts, probably a BN just because I like them.
 
#9 ·
I back up the Gold Barbs! I love them! They're such a hoot! Just don't get any snails, they tend to try and eat them. You could do a school of Gold Barbs with some Glass Catfish or really colourful tetras, and a centerpiece fish like a Gourami or keep the Betta. You could put in a Pleco as a bottom feeder and get a school of Cories, too. Oh how I wish I had your tank! XD
 
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