# help with deciding what fish to keep in my 55 gal. A



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

Ok i have 2 jewels 1m1f , 2 auratus 1m1f, 1 bumblebee ,1m german red peacock ,1m blue zebra,1f kenyi,and 2 yellow labs 1m1f ,,,,,,my take has plenty of hiding spots ,

What i need help with is i am buying a few compressd cichlids and want to get rid of some of the other ones , i really want 1m electric blue ahi with the compressed cichlids as well but dont no if they will be ok together ,,,,,,

after much reading the auratus 1m1f are going ,,,,,any help on what other ones i should take out would help me out alot thanks

my goal is to have several compressed cichlids and several othe speices with them ,just dont no witch ones will work with them in the same tank ,,,,


----------



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

compressed cichlids? Dimidiochromis compressiceps?

A 55 gallon is far too small to keep these fish, they regularly get to 10" and 12" isn't unheard of. You would need a much bigger tank.


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

Hmm the guy I've been talkin to @ my local fish store LFS told me they only get 5to6 inches


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

:thumb: well that is why I joined this forum for , talk to people that are cichlid specialists / experts .

What about an electric blue ahi , what fish in my take will live ?

I will also post pics of my set up soon


----------



## soulpride (Aug 30, 2009)

double E said:


> Ok i have 2 jewels 1m1f , 2 auratus 1m1f, 1 bumblebee ,1m german red peacock ,1m blue zebra,1f kenyi,and 2 yellow labs 1m1f ,,,,,,my take has plenty of hiding spots ,
> 
> What i need help with is i am buying a few compressd cichlids and want to get rid of some of the other ones , i really want 1m electric blue ahi with the compressed cichlids as well but dont no if they will be ok together ,,,,,,
> 
> ...


for 55g you are max at 3 species. fish i will lose first are the auratus, kenyi,and bumble bee these are the most aggressive mbuna and need a 75g+ tank. with a stocking of 1m/6-7f. yellow labs and the german will be ok. i'm not sure if the blue zebra will be good with peacock. i will stock more labs 1m/4f, blue zebra 1m/4f, and german red peacock 1m/4f. the jewels can be very aggressive at breeding time.


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

thank you thats a big help  :thumb: do u think i could have just one male electric blue ahi ,,,as the king of the tank or will he be way to agressive to the peacock and yellow labs,,,,,what other comon african cichlids would go with my peacock and labs ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,wish i had a bigger tank :fish:


----------



## soulpride (Aug 30, 2009)

i hear saulosi will do ok. but i don't know if it the p. saulosi. the rusty are another peaceful type but their diet are veggi. the yellow labs can handle mildly aggressive fish. for the ahli it might cross breed with the peacock. so differently want to avoid cross breeding and same color type fish.


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

thanks very much


----------



## torin32 (May 24, 2010)

55 g tanks should only hold mbunas and the smaller ones at that. Ahli is a hap which get large as well as your bee is mbuna but a big one 8 to 10 inches full grown. I would recomment rusty, red zebra, yellow labs or the dwarf cichlids. Aratus is ok but if they spawn they get tempermental. You will need 1 male to 7 females for your aratus I have one I keep it a lone male lol. I hope this helps I cannot stress enuff people research fish first, and dont ask the local fish guy there in it for the cash or there like 15 years old kids working at petco.


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

Fogelhund said:


> compressed cichlids? Dimidiochromis compressiceps?
> 
> A 55 gallon is far too small to keep these fish, they regularly get to 10" and 12" isn't unheard of. You would need a much bigger tank.


 =D>

Hey I found out the full name of the compressed cichlid I was interested in @ the LFS its a ,,,,,

;;;; Altolamprologus compressiceps ;;; and i just reasherched it and they max out @ 6inch's ,,,so yay im going to set up my tank just for a couple of them .

So what fish in my tank need to go ?

I have ,,,,,,, 1 peacock 
2 yellow labs 1m,1f
2 auratus 1m,1f 
2 jewels 1m,1f
1 blue zebra 1m
1 bumble bee
and i plan on putting 2 of the alto-compreciceps in ,,,

what fish that i have should I give to my friend ?

can i keep the peacock with the 2 Altolamprologus compressiceps ?


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Which one is your favorite? The jewels, the auratus, the bumblebee are not good for this tank size, so don't choose them.

The others are not compatible. So if you choose one, we can recommend tank mates.


----------



## torin32 (May 24, 2010)

I agree peacocks should not be in there either if you keep the bee or aratus even the jewels get nasty too. Peacock and the labs would be ok.


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

DJRansome said:


> Which one is your favorite? The jewels, the auratus, the bumblebee are not good for this tank size, so don't choose them.
> 
> The others are not compatible. So if you choose one, we can recommend tank mates.[/quote
> ]
> ...


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

double E said:


> DJRansome said:
> 
> 
> > Which one is your favorite? The jewels, the auratus, the bumblebee are not good for this tank size, so don't choose them.
> ...


OK all I have left in my tank is ,,,,
1. (1) Red/orange peacock
2. (2). Yellow labs 1m,1f 
3. (1). Ice blue zebra 
So I need some tank mates !!! Any suggestions will be much appreciated

Can I put in 1 or 2 alto-compressed's in ?


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The altolamps (Calvus/Comps) are not ideal tank mates for Malawi, especially the metriaclima greshakei.

I myself asked about the combination of calvus and peacocks years ago and was told the calvus would not thrive with peacocks as tankmates.

If you want to try it in spite of the advice, I would definitely get rid of the metriaclima greshakei. Stock 1m:4f of the peacock and the labs. Buy six of the altolamps and shoot for a pair or a small harem if the altolamps are agreeable.


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

DJRansome said:


> The altolamps (Calvus/Comps) are not ideal tank mates for Malawi, especially the metriaclima greshakei.
> 
> I myself asked about the combination of calvus and peacocks years ago and was told the calvus would not thrive with peacocks as tankmates.
> 
> If you want to try it in spite of the advice, I would definitely get rid of the metriaclima greshakei. Stock 1m:4f of the peacock and the labs. Buy six of the altolamps and shoot for a pair or a small harem if the altolamps are agreeable.


Ok ill take the blue zebra out !!!

Then ill see what else is available @ basically the only real fish store in phx,Arizona called 
(oceans floor ) ill give u a list of available cichlids 
Then ill ask you what else Would be compatible with the peacocks and yellow labs. if the ALTO's. Aren't recommended together . I would like to find a different malawi species that will all be happy tank mates

Thank you for the good advice ,,, ill find out what is available tomorrow and post it


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

double E said:


> DJRansome said:
> 
> 
> > The altolamps (Calvus/Comps) are not ideal tank mates for Malawi, especially the metriaclima greshakei.
> ...


OK so the cichlid species that are available to me in my area ,actually on the otherside of town ha ha ,,,ARE

ACEI (blue with yellow tail
BI COLOR 500 PEACOCK
BREVIS
LIVING STONEYS
STRAWBERRY PEACOCK
LABERLOGAS CONDALLE
FRONTOSUS
ELECRTIC BLUE HAP 
CALVUS

What would work with my tankmates ,,,,,,,,thanks


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I don't see anything on that list. 

I'd order online or join the local fish club.


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

:-? what would u order ?


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

double E said:


> :-? what would u order ?


The cynotilapia afra cobue looks awesome ,,, if theirs no other muduna ? , what about a hap species ? Or another type of peacock ?

Please help ..... I've got 2 malawi speceies!!!!!! I would like a 3rd species 
Red/orange peacocks : peacock
Yellow labs. : moduna


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

No more peacocks because they crossbreed. If I wanted to keep the peacock, I might try the hap Tramitichromis sp. intermedius. Remember with both peacocks and haps only the one male is colorful.

Since I do like a colorful tank I'd switch to all mbuna. Yellow labs, Rusties and Cynotilapia sp. hara maybe.


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

SO if i did all males i could pretty much put in anything that is very mildly agressive ? as long as they have the same diet and water chemisty and under 6 inch and dont look the same ,,,,,,,,,? just curious ,,, because that would be much easyer ,,,,im not wanting to breed them :-? :fish: ?


----------



## torin32 (May 24, 2010)

With that list you will have massive cross breeding problem the yellow lab and zebras can cross breed.


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

torin32 said:


> With that list you will have massive cross breeding problem the yellow lab and zebras can cross breed.


Blue zebra is out ,, please read all posts to this thread ,,thanks though


----------



## torin32 (May 24, 2010)

My bad i just saw yellow labs and orange zebras with greshakei all can hybridize is all i meant good luck.


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

double E said:


> SO if i did all males i could pretty much put in anything that is very mildly agressive ? as long as they have the same diet and water chemisty and under 6 inch and dont look the same ,,,,,,,,,? just curious ,,, because that would be much easyer ,,,,im not wanting to breed them :-? :fish: ?


 :-?


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

All male is never an "easier" tank...it's very challenging. Read the all-male article in the library. If nothing else you need a bunch of extra tanks because the mix that works for me will kill each other in your tank and you may need to remove a fish instantly to avoid death. Maybe even one every day until you find a balance.

So where are we? Still locked into yellow labs and red peacocks as first two species? Considering an online order but don't like the labs, rusties and cynotilapia sp. hara?


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

DJRansome said:


> All male is never an "easier" tank...it's very challenging. Read the all-male article in the library. If nothing else you need a bunch of extra tanks because the mix that works for me will kill each other in your tank and you may need to remove a fish instantly to avoid death. Maybe even one every day until you find a balance.
> 
> So where are we? Still locked into yellow labs and red peacocks as first two species? Considering an online order but don't like the labs, rusties and cynotilapia sp. hara?


Yea still locked in on the , 2 species 
Red/orange peacock 
Yellow labs

And I might try the Tramitichromis sp. intermedius hap ,,,, if they stay under 6 inches ?


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Yes. Read about them in the profiles. Malawi > Haplochromines > Tramitichromis.


----------



## double E (Sep 21, 2010)

DJRansome said:


> Yes. Read about them in the profiles. Malawi > Haplochromines > Tramitichromis.


Alright awesome well that completes my 3 species for my tank I will order some up 
1st. Red/orange peacock
2nd. Yellow labs
3rd. Hap Tramitichromis.

I think that will complete my set up ,,,, thank you for your help DJRansome , if you can think of anything else , let me no :thumb:


----------

