Long time lurker, but now that my 55 gallon aquarium has started to cycle and the plants grow, I'm starting to get very serious about making a final choice on what to put into it.
My goal is to only have 1 fish in the aquarium. I'd like it to be large and bright. The tank itself is mostly square, 2.5 x 2 x 2 feet-ish, give or take a few inches. It's been planted with an amazon sword, anubias and a few other fast growing plants. I realize that these large fish like to redecorate, but I'm okay with that as long as it isn't just completely stripped bare. That's why I picked hardy or fast growing plants. And the driftwood I have is too big for the fish to move.
I've got an eheim 2217 as a filter. pH in my area is 8, but I'm willing to use a CO2 injector to pull it down if its really critical the pH be lower. The only care that's an issue is I sometimes leave for a few weeks at a time and set feeder timers up, so no special diets (like with discus). And I'm not interested in a pair because I don't want to deal with fry (unless they are unlikely to breed).
As much as I like the African cichlid, I really want to do a large amazon or american cichlid or perch. Unless there's an African cichlid that would like a planted tank. I have several wonderful LFSs where I live, so getting my hands on a rare fish is just a matter of waiting for it to come in.
Right now, the fish I'm considering are... an electric blue jack Dempsey. A male green terror (A. rivulatus). Or finally, a female red terror (A. festae). Again, I'm only picking one fish. The green terror is my top pick.
I've had a green terror before, I know what to expect there... but I've never kept a jack dempsey or a red terror before. Any advice on those species would help me narrow it down a bit. I'm also getting mixed info on the female red terror about the 55 being a good size for the fish or not. Since this tank won't be upgraded, I want to be sure I get the right fish to start with. I know the male gets too big, but my understanding is the female will be fine in the 55.
And, I'm perfectly willing to take suggestions for another large, brightly colored fish that would do well in this tank set up by itself. I'm also not really interested in doing oscars. I've had them in the past and while I love them, I'm after something really different this time.
