My 55 gallon After-school Program Tank

[frank_zappa]

i am starting an after school program at the school where i teach. i had initially planned to use a couple 20 gallon tanks, but i discovered that there is a complete 55 gallon setup in storage that i am able to use. so, i now have to wait and see how many kids sign up, though i think it will be popular.

right now, i am just thinking about what exactly i want to do with it, substrate, fish, plants, etc.

what i am considering to start with is maybe 6 or 7 kuhlis, and a school of white cloud mountain minnows. if i do that, i will want to use some fine sand. i am going to hunt for a piece of driftwood this weekend, and i want to attach some java fern to it and scatter the bottom with some of the upcoming fall foliage leaves.

i am going to use a large amount of used filter media...i have been getting some ready.

does 6-7 kuhli loaches and a school of white clouds sound like a good match?
what would some options be to go with them? any suggestions for some low-light plants? i do not know yet what kind of light it has, but i can always upgrade if need be. i will be posting photos of the tank during the entire process.

i think i also want to grow moss on the back wall.

[Amazon]

anubias, java moss, amazon sword, and java ferns are good low-light plants.
I think some other kind of tetra would be a nice addition to, maybe some hardy cardinals.

[Lab_Rat]

Kuhlis and white clouds prefer more temperate temperatures, I would not be putting cardinals in with them as they prefer tropical temps. Hillstream loaches are a temperate fish that go nicely with white clouds, they like a lot of flow though seeing as they're stream fish.

[frank_zappa]

i suppose i need to get myself to the fish store and have a look at their stock first, before i go planning too much. im headed there pretty soon to see what theyve got.