Stocking a 55gal need help
I'm going to be buying a 55gal tank in a few months to be the centerpiece of my room which I'm currently redoing. I'm also going to keep my 29gal running too (multi tank syndrome has kicked in). I would like the centerpiece of the 55 to be a BGK. As far as stocking goes I have a rough idea of what I want but I'm not sure if what I have in mind would work.Here's the list I have so far
1 BGK
1 tire track (i've read they can live in a 50 for life if thats false please tell me)
1 or 2 plecos
assorted dwarf cichlids I really like the way apistogramma cacatoides and blue rams look.
Thats really all I would like in the tank. I'm just unsure of putting dwarfs in a tank with a BGK since the BGK would get much bigger than the dwarfs. I don't want missing fish. Would this mix work? Any stocking suggestions are welcomed.
Congratulations on your new tank, and I am so pleased that you want to build it around a BGK, which happens to be one of my favorite fish!
The problem that I see with your plan is too many large fish and too many bottom-strata fish in particular.
Putting aside the cichlids for a moment, the eel will grow to over two feet, and the BGK and pleco will each grow to at least 1 foot (unless you are planning on using a smaller, exotic species of pleco).
Both the BGK and the tire track eel will prefer the bottom of the tank, and as they get larger there will probably be quot;turf warsquot; between them. The pleco will want to spend a good amount of time on the bottom also. I have heard of tire track living in a 55, but I can't say if it's ideal. Also, be careful, many vendors have confused tire tracks with zig zag eels (and a zig zag grows a full foot longer).
I think the BGK would be fine with dwarf cichlids as long as you grow them out together so the cichlids stay larger than BGK's mouth (i.e. don't get a fully-grown BGK and juvenile rams and put them together).
get some fish for the middle portion of the tank, maybe an active cichlid like a blue acara or rainbow cichlids. Or a school of rainbowfish
I have a 55 with a BGK, two ropefish, and 8 turquoise rainbows. Very nicely balanced IMHO
thanks for the input everyone. The eel isn't a deal breaker so I can cross it off the stocking list. As far as the plecos goes I was thinking of getting some more bristlenose plecos since they don't get too big. A blue acara is on my radar but I don't know how well that mix would do
ever heard of a glass knife fish..
look at a pic of them they are rediculous
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