55 native fish stocking ideas?

**MasterJW** · 03-09-2013, 01:19 AM

hello, I currently have a 55 gallon tank and would like to go native. preferably pickeral or gar.(compatible with bull heads) any ideas or suggestions would be helpful.

**genocidex** · 03-09-2013, 07:20 AM

i dont think any of those would fit a 55 at all... i know gars useually get very large like pond large... same with pickeral. you need to stick to fish that stay under 6 or so inches. a decent guide (not fool proof) is take the width of the tank (useually the smallest measurement) and divide that by 2. of course that doesnt account for how active the fish is. a slower more calm fish can probably be fudged to 7-8 inches MAX. but smaller super busy fish (ie rainbows) are more suited to bigger tanks for swimming distance.
but those fish are also very high on the bio load meter... another thing about fish stock.

unless you are willing to upgrade to a pond or a bigger sized tank... then i think gars and pickeral are out of your reach...

**Limming** · 03-09-2013, 02:24 PM

I don't think you'll have much luck finding native fish to stock. Even the smallest sunfish would get to big and active for a 55 gallon.

**stealthy hunter** · 03-09-2013, 07:49 PM

Here is a pic of my native tank. It has been running for two years. It is a 220g and is a bit small for these fish ( 1 channel cat,1 green sunfish and 1bluegill)

If you are set on natives then I would suggest maybe some darters,or dace....possibly even some shiners or even some other type of minnows.......if you have any questions I am here and will be happy to help on getting you started I even have some sources for the fish I mentioned above.....I hope this helps

**stealthy hunter** · 03-09-2013, 08:10 PM

Here is a pic of my native tank. It has been running for two years. It is a 220g and is a bit small for these fish ( 1 channel cat,1 green sunfish and 1bluegill)

If you are set on natives then I would suggest maybe some darters,or dace....possibly even some shiners or even some other type of minnows.......if you have any questions I am here and will be happy to help on getting you started I even have some sources for the fish I mentioned above.....I hope this helps

**stealthy hunter** · 03-09-2013, 08:11 PM

Sorry for the double post

**genocidex** · 03-09-2013, 09:17 PM

What part of the world are you considering native?

**stealthy hunter** · 03-09-2013, 09:34 PM

My guess is north America by the fish he mentioned in the original post....

**genocidex** · 03-10-2013, 06:02 AM

Ya but texas native would have more choice than mass native like myself... Ya know? Plus im not 100% on this but arent flag fish floridian natives?

**genocidex** · 03-10-2013, 07:02 AM

i just looked into it and it seems florida and the lower states seems to have a fair number of killifish (flag fish being one) that are native and in a 55g would be a great habitat for them.... and they arent hard on the eyes either