55 Gallon Stocking Help

[fball521]

Good Morning Everyone,

I appreciate you taking the time to read my post. I am currently in the process of stocking my 55G heavily planted tank and have a couple questions that I'm hoping to address.

After going to my LFS, I found myself fascinated by what was labeled as a Silver Gar. I do a fair amount of fishing and am familiar with how aggressive gar in the wild can be so naturally I went home and did some reading. After doing some research, my understanding is that while it is not a true gar, they do share similar characteristics.

Below is the stock list that I'd like fill the tank with. I have not taken any action yet, so please let me know if you think this is a bad idea.

1 Silver Gar
1 Pike Cichlid
1 Jack Dempsey

I'd like to potentially add a school of tiger barbs as well to act as dither fish but wasn't sure if it'd be foolish with the stock list above.

A couple questions/concerns that I have
-Is a 55G large enough for the stock list above
-What would a good supplement for food be outside of feeders/rosies
-Any recommendations for a clean up crew (catfish/pleco's etc)

I've done a fair amount of research on my own but always like to get the advice of those with more experienced than myself. Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.

[Cermet]

Gar fish appear to get rather big from my research on them so a 55 gal would appear to not be big enough-others may know more.

[gm72]

You would need a tank probably at least 4x the size of a 55 gallon for the gar alone.

[ScottishFish]

Well done on not just buying it there and then! Too many people would have had an 'impulse buy' and be left dissapointed. Coming here to seek advice was the best thing to do

[davidsrego]

If by "Silver Gar" you mean Ctenolucius hujeta, then a 50 gallon tank is not unreasonable. According to seriouslyfish.com, C. hujeta grows to about 8 inches and requires a tank 5 feet long.

Link: http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species...lucius-hujeta/

I think most of the posters saw "gar" and got nervous. I know I did.

There are a variety of pike cichlids. Most of them get too large for all but the largest of tanks. Although it looks like Crenicichla compressiceps (the dwarf variety) reaches only 3 inches.

The Jack Dempsey also grows to 8 inches, requiring a 48 inch footprint.

Summary: The Dempsey is fine, but very territorial once it gets to be an adult. The gar might be okay depending on the tank footprint. The pike cichlid would probably be way too big and the dwarf would be in eaten by the gar.

[Demjor19]

Hujeta gar are very skittish and will not do well with the JD and Pike Cichlid. Hujetas also share NO similarities w/ true gar besides having an elongated body w/ a bill type mouth.

They do great in planted tanks, so you are good there. I would go with more peaceful tank mates that are large enough to not be considered a prey item. They can also be tricky to get off of live foods at times. I did eventually get mine eating pellets and krill, but it took some work.

Good on you for doing some research!

[fball521]

The pike is a "Belly-Crawler". I'm told it should range between 4-6 inches. After watching it for an extended period of time it doesn't do much but hide out in the rocks/woodwork.

I'll try and get the scientific name for the pike this afternoon. The gar is indeed a hujeta gar and is not a true gar.

I like the idea of a predator tank and would really like the pike and hujeta or something with similar characteristics. The dempsey I can live without. If the pike and hujeta won't work would anyone have any suggestions for a interesting predator that would work in a 55G? I've seen the "Leaf Fish" and "archer fish" seem pretty cool.

Thanks for all the advice guys, its real easy to look at fish when they are smaller and think things will work. Just want to make sure its set properly the first time.

I do have plans for a 125G up-grade in the future but that wont be till a year from now.

[fball521]

http://pikecichlid.com/bellycrawlerpage.html

I believe this to be the fish in discussion. Anyone have any personal experience?

[Demjor19]

Take a look at African Butterfly Fish...I love them as a smaller predator. Maybe a Ropefish or something similar?

In my experience, most Pike Cichlids are pretty aggro. With the Hujeta being very skittish, they can easily end up hurting themselves. Feel free to try it, but keep a close eye on them.

[fball521]

Thanks for your help. I can only imagine what you're 20" tank looks like!