I'm very excited....it is like Christmas in February! I got a brand new rectangular, 4 foot long, 55 gallon tank....my biggest yet. I haven't set it up yet...I can't decide what to stock it with! I'm replacing a 20 gallon tank, but in researching potential stocking ideas, it looks like all of the larger fish are semi-aggressive to aggressive, which may spell trouble for some of my existing fish --- 9 female bettas, 2 dwarf gourami, and 3 panda corydora.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Z

you could always do a nice schooling fish like neons or white clouds, more corys you could also try some inverts.... cherry red shrimp or even ghost shrimp.......rasboras would be nice too

I have Rummy Nose Tetras, they are so cute!! Their noses are bright red and their tails have a wonderful checker board design. They look awesome swimming around. They are also a medium sized Tetra, so you can actually see them most of the time LOL.

You could go with a pair of south American cichlids, like Bolivian Rams. They leave everyone alone unless they spawn. South Americans tend to be bottom dwellers, so they leave all the tetras alone. And your Gouramis and Betta, since they tend to hang at the top. My Bolivians leave my Cories alone. They will just chase them away if they get in the way, but they have never inflicted any damage to another fish, even while protecting a spawn. I have a mated pair of Bolivian Rams in a 29 gallon and they don't bother the Tetra groups, cories or the Angles. Even ignore the frogs. :-) The only time they will show aggression towards anyone other than each other is after a spawn, but I usually put a divider in if I want the eggs to hatch/grow.

Can anyone think of any bigger fish that will co-habitate with what I already have? It seems like such a waste to have a 4 foot long tank and have all these tiny fish (neons, rasboras). I'm looking for something with visual impact. Pearl Gourami, Red-Tailed Black Shark, Bosemani Rainbow, etc., but it seems that the larger I go, the more aggressive the fish, and I have to think of my existing female bettas and dwarf gourami. I also have existing a Dragon Goby, but he isn't likely to be bothered by anyone, or likely to bother.

Thanks,
Z

Hey bones -- I was considering Tiger Barbs, they seem really cool. You don't think they'd bother my dwarf gourami or female bettas? I know it's really just a guess. Maybe if I got more than two dwarf gourami....would that help or hurt, you think? And you read my mind with the German Rams, too.

Who do you have in with your Tigers?

thanks, Z

a1k8t3 -- the female bettas don't have flowing fins like the males, their fins are more compressed like a platy...do you think will the tiger barbs still nip? Hmmmm....maybe the German Rams are too shy for Tiger Barbs.

thanks!
Z