# 55 gal w/ african fish ADVICE



## ElChef194 (Dec 25, 2011)

i am acquiring a 55 gal with oak cabinet stand that was abandoned recently (free of charge!!), and i want to turn it into an african fish tank. i do not plan pon planting it as i have little experience with plants and the fish i have on the plan are semi high maintenance. 

here is my tank plan:

sand substrate
mopani wood
faux root structures and plants

air pump with stone to add current and oxygen

2 leopard ctenopoma
1 black ghost knife fish
12 congo tetras



what i am looking for is a good bottom feeder that stays relatively medium sized (4-8 in) and can thrive either solo or in a pair.

after doing some research i have seen either kribensis or african dwarf frogs as recommendations but i do not want the frogs and am not really looking for fish breeding. any suggestions would be helpful!


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

some of the smaller plecos would probably suit your needs just fine.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

I'm not sure that a 55 is large enough for a ghost knife fish, they get REALLY big.


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## ElChef194 (Dec 25, 2011)

@summer: yea i know some sites say 55 and bigger, but seriously fish says 680L (180g). i have been tossing that idea for a fish around. it is at the top of my wishlist, i guess i just really want one. i may also get a butterfly fish.

@jbrown: i am def getting a small pleco either a bristlenose or a clown. neither of which are african species but ya can win em all. i am also thinking of putting my weather loach in there and giving it a few buddies to fill my bottom feeder needs


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

55 might be okay as a starter tank for a black knife but only if you can get the big tank in a year or so when it needs it, I wouldn't recommend it unless you are sure about your plans. Look into other species of knife fish, some of them don't get as big I think.


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

You might be able to get away with a brown knife fish, I did some reading and found out that their maximum potential size is 12", but most get to be around 8" if tank raised.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

You can get away with the 55 for a couple of years with a ghost knife. I had one that did fine in a 75 for almost 5 years and was 14 inches when I gave him to the local zoo.

With that being said, for bottom dwellers you can look into smaller species of plecos or the possiblity of a pictus cat.


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