# 55g stocking plan-need advice and consultation please



## Alex Koch (10 mo ago)

Hello all, 
I have a 55g tank that I am taking my sweet time in researching and constructing. I have flip-flopped 100 times on what kind of tank I want (because I honestly want every fish I've ever seen lol) but I believe that I have landed on a stocking plan. I would love some advice and consultation so I make sure this is a good idea. The plan is this:
1 Angelfish
1 Electric Blue Acara
2 Kribensis
4-6 Denison Barbs 

I think this would work in a planted 55g; the concerns I might have are the denisons stressing out the angels and the kribensis getting aggressive. As far as I'm concerned the barbs shouldn't fin nip the angels but they're so fast and active that I'm worried that that might be an issue? I hope not because my LFS had a tank with a school of healthy adult denisons and after that visual I don't think I can not get them lol. As for the kribensis, I'll make sure to add lots of hides and plants and crevices, and everything else in the tank should be bigger than they are so I doubt that would be an issue. However, I am far from the most experienced authority on this, which is why I am seeking advice. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thank you


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## PlecostomusPlaysCoz2Much (10 mo ago)

Hello
I couldn’t help noticing you’ve forgotten a cleaning crew. You’re going to want those! Angels are messy eaters. As soon as you can get them off flake and onto floating pellets, do it. 
My favorites are a featherfin (fast growing, docile), a rainbow shark (looks aggressive, but can’t hurt anything), lots of khuli loaches, and corys.
I’ve heard you can only have 1 rainbow shark bcz they fight 🤷🏼‍♂️. 
Transversely, loaches and corys get lonely and need others.
Khuli loaches aren’t pretty, but they are cuddly clowns and fun to watch.
Corys look kinda boring, but if you get 5-10, they’ll school around on the bottom interestingly. 
My bottom feeders didn’t survive the last time I moved and I struggled with algae constantly until I replaced them. I haven’t had a spot of algae since. (Don’t hope for any help from ANY kind of algae-eaters. That’s entirely mythological!)
I haven’t had any denison barbs yet, but if they become a problem, you’ll know soon enough. You can always find a store that will take them in for store credit. Just ask. 
Same with kribensis, but rams are a nice choice if you’re looking for small cichlids that live with angels. They live in low plant growth, so they don’t compete for territory with the angels. They also mate in pairs and trios (thrupples), so 3-5 is best, if you go that route. 
The acaras are an excellent choice. You’ll probably be surprised by how big they get, since you rarely see adults in stores. They’ll get about as big as a female Jack Dempsey, eventually. Takes a long time though, probably 2-3yrs. 
Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful about the kribs & denisons.
Good Luck! 
P.S. As far as plants go, don’t waste any time getting anubias. They‘re expensive and take forever to grow, but once they’re big, they are beautiful! 😎 (They’ll grow anywhere.)


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## Alex Koch (10 mo ago)

PlecostomusPlaysCoz2Much said:


> Hello
> I couldn’t help noticing you’ve forgotten a cleaning crew. You’re going to want those! Angels are messy eaters. As soon as you can get them off flake and onto floating pellets, do it.
> My favorites are a featherfin (fast growing, docile), a rainbow shark (looks aggressive, but can’t hurt anything), lots of khuli loaches, and corys.
> I’ve heard you can only have 1 rainbow shark bcz they fight 🤷🏼‍♂️.
> ...


Thanks for the advice, I would love to add a cleaning crew (specifically corys as I have had good experiences with them in the past) but I figured my stocking was full already. On a different forum I have been advised against the denisons; their large size, high activity, and schooling nature more or less demands that a school of 8+ has the 55g all to themselves, which would be cool but I want to have a community tank ideally. I have also been warned off the kribensis due to their aggression. So I could swap out the denisons for some other kind of schooling fish, maybe rainbows? I've heard they make good tankmates for angelfish. So tentatively I now have this:
1 angel
1 electric blue acara
6-8 corydoras
6-8 rainbowfish of some kind?


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## PlecostomusPlaysCoz2Much (10 mo ago)

Alex Koch said:


> Thanks for the advice, I would love to add a cleaning crew (specifically corys as I have had good experiences with them in the past) but I figured my stocking was full already. On a different forum I have been advised against the denisons; their large size, high activity, and schooling nature more or less demands that a school of 8+ has the 55g all to themselves, which would be cool but I want to have a community tank ideally. I have also been warned off the kribensis due to their aggression. So I could swap out the denisons for some other kind of schooling fish, maybe rainbows? I've heard they make good tankmates for angelfish. So tentatively I now have this:
> 1 angel
> 1 electric blue acara
> 6-8 corydoras
> 6-8 rainbowfish of some kind?


The old rule of thumb about having so many inches of fish per gallon isn’t really set in stone. It’s sort of a beginner’s guide. A well planted tank with rocks and wood can provide more "comfort spots" for fish to tuck into and avoid each other. Also, different fish sometimes occupy different depths. Angelfish prefer the top half and will rarely cross paths with bottom feeders. Rams like to stay low too, but they wouldn’t be bothered by most bottom feeders unless they had eggs. Even then, corys are so harmless, they’d go completely unnoticed by rams, like an away team in a Borg cube. 
So there’s wiggle room. Just watch their behavior and you’ll see when the tank is too crowded. Frenetic non-stop swimming and squabbling is a clear sign of overcrowding. They should swim curiously, not like they stole something.
Be careful with the Rainbows. I hear they’re surprisingly interesting, but they prefer to be kept in numbers of 6 or more, and the prettiest most popular ones get 4-6 inches long. 
Good Luck and keep us posted. I’m curious to know what you come up with. Take pictures!


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## Alex Koch (10 mo ago)

PlecostomusPlaysCoz2Much said:


> The old rule of thumb about having so many inches of fish per gallon isn’t really set in stone. It’s sort of a beginner’s guide. A well planted tank with rocks and wood can provide more "comfort spots" for fish to tuck into and avoid each other. Also, different fish sometimes occupy different depths. Angelfish prefer the top half and will rarely cross paths with bottom feeders. Rams like to stay low too, but they wouldn’t be bothered by most bottom feeders unless they had eggs. Even then, corys are so harmless, they’d go completely unnoticed by rams, like an away team in a Borg cube.
> So there’s wiggle room. Just watch their behavior and you’ll see when the tank is too crowded. Frenetic non-stop swimming and squabbling is a clear sign of overcrowding. They should swim curiously, not like they stole something.
> Be careful with the Rainbows. I hear they’re surprisingly interesting, but they prefer to be kept in numbers of 6 or more, and the prettiest most popular ones get 4-6 inches long.
> Good Luck and keep us posted. I’m curious to know what you come up with. Take pictures!


All great info, thank you for the advice!


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