what would you get ?...

[andres]

35 exodons and some drift wood.

 

[le patron]

35 exodons would be way too much for a 40g tank, maybe like 15 to 20. id say that a nice senegal in a planted tank would do fine

 

[skools717]

yea i would say like 20

 

[swede]

you could get a few senegal bichirs if you get them small and then eventually move them to the 55 gallon. some loaches would be pretty cool too

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

35 exodons would be way too much for a 40g tank, maybe like 15 to 20. id say that a nice senegal in a planted tank would do fine

I am guessing you have never kept exodon's before. A group of 15 in a 40g tank would only end in having a few fish that were severly scared after less than a year.
20 might just work if the set up was right.