Small-ish prehistoric looking fish for a 55 gallon

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Can I keep a Malawi eye biter in a 55 gallon? If not I like the idea of the exodon tetras (if the Bichir doesn’t eat them, but they seem large enough for it to not, but I don’t know) or the eel.


I also did a bit of research into red bellied piranhas, since I’ve loved them ever since I was like 5 years old and first saw them. I found out I could get one if I have a permit, which I probably could get. Is it possible to keep one in such a small tank and it still be happy? I know they aren’t very active if not in a school, and apparently they only get about a foot long! For some reason I was thinking they got much larger. Though I’m still kind of hesitant about the idea of one, just since they can be so aggressive, I would literally be scared to ever stick my hand in the aquarium lol, but I also i
kinda like the idea, I’m very torn lol

In case I can’t get a permit or I decide against a piranha I will probably do the school of exodon tetras (unless the Bichir eats them of course), a medium sized puffer (suggestions for types?), or an eel.
Eyebiter is a bit of a squeeze, they aren’t as huge as others, but they are active, so a 75 is probably a better tank size for them.
Good puffers are a school of Amazon puffers or schoutodini puffers (both are somewhat peaceful and tolerant of tankmates), dragon puffers, arrowhead puffers, and hairy puffers, just to name a few.
Exodons generally should not be mixed with other fish. They are aggressive scale and fin eaters and will likely harass all of their tankmates. Only things with high success are large loaches or armored catfish. Look into congo tetras if you want to keep a bichir with them.
In nature, the biggest threat to red bellied piranhas are other piranhas, they do fine on their own. Solo reds will be a bit less active as they do not feel as secure, but once established will frequently patrol the tank. They are not as aggressive as you would think. They are voracious predators to smaller animals, but will only attack larger prey if starved (look up Roosevelt piranha myth). When I cleaned my tank it did the same thing every time: play dead underneath a log, it even let me pet it. They are extremely skittish, which I believe to be the cause of death for mine (I kept it with a banded leporinus, extremely aggressive, he must have nipped the piranha from behind overnight causing it to bolt straight into the wall, concussing and killing the piranha). You can attempt a school of dither fish with the piranha, just be prepared to replace them as the piranha likely eats them (if you have breeding guppies they would be a good source).
 
Kelly_Aquatics, those are some gorgeous fish! I love the red and gold wolf fish in particular. And the african brown knife fish is cool too, I only heard about them for the first time earlier today when I was doing a bit of research on fish for my tank. I love the idea of a Senegal bichir, could an African brown knife fish or a gold wolf go with one?

The African Brown Knife would be ok with a Senegal.
 
Ok, thank you for all the suggestions! I’m still open to more, but I think I have a pretty good idea of what I want:
Option 1: Senegal bichir with an African brown knife OR some kind of puffer
Option 2: A red bellied piranha, possibly with a couple dither fish

I think that’s what I want, of course I’m still open to more suggestions, but out of the great ones I’ve got, I think this is gunna be what I would like best. Thank everyone for the advice and suggestions!
 
Thank you for the replies!

I do like African butterfly fish, but from what I’ve heard of them they are practically glued to the top of the aquarium, I think I prefer bottom dwellers or fish that will go everywhere, but thanks for the great suggestion!

I love the idea of a Senegal, they’re gorgeous and they look so cool. That’s the fish that I know I have to have, and I think I’m going to go with one.
Does anyone know anything about Malawi eye biters? I love the way their face is shaped, but I don’t know if they can go in such a small tank. If they can, could I keep one with a Senegal Bichir?
Compressiceps are much too big for a 55. I second the sen, Delhezi are cool, but if it’s your only fish, I’d go with sens since they’re are much more active
 
One thing to keep in mind about the Striped Raphael catfish,as impressive as they look you will most likely hardly ever see the cat if there are places in the tank for it to hide behind or underneath.
 
One thing to keep in mind about the Striped Raphael catfish,as impressive as they look you will most likely hardly ever see the cat if there are places in the tank for it to hide behind or underneath.
Amen to that.
At least mine picked a spot where I can see his face all the time, taunting me, but never coming out...:duh:
 
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Amen to that.
At least mine picked a spot where I can see his face all the time, taunting me, but never coming out...:duh:
Good,that way you didn't forget that you actually had one while you had it lol!
 
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