# 55 Gallon want 2 fish 5 max in it



## IADanimal (Mar 24, 2013)

any ideas............I have several SA tanks up and running want to dablle in the African world of fish
I have a 36x18x21 that could be used if needed for better for them
any ideas?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

There are a lot of choices out there, are there any species that catch your eye?


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## IADanimal (Mar 24, 2013)

nothing giant
made that mistake one time


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Are you looking for only colorful fish or are you interested in seeing the behavior of the male and females spawning and raising fry?


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## IADanimal (Mar 24, 2013)

color does not really matter..........but do not want a silver fish so to speak


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

It's really difficult to answer your question with no more than we have to go on. You would do best to list some species you are interested in and let us tell you what would work and what would not. I can't begin to imagine putting only two African cichlids in a tank.

Do you mean 2 fish, or 2 species groups?

African cichlids do better in groups, and having two fish, you aren't going to get to see their interesting behavior, which is half the fun of keeping Africans.


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## IADanimal (Mar 24, 2013)

I guess I am so used to the SA cichlids that are bigger than African
what would be better 1 group of same or several smaller groups


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

You could do Labidochromis caeruleus (yellow labs) with a ratio of 1 male/4 females, both male and female are yellow. They would be fine in a 55G tank.

You could then choose a second species that is not a Labidochromis to avoid cross breeding.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Remember the tank is 36" long in spite of it being 55G. That limits your options, although you could certain do a breeding group of labs.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

P. saulosi, (blue males, yellow females)

Tang community:
L. multifaciatus and P. nigrippinis

or

J. transcriptus and Tanganicodus irsacae

or

L. caudopunctatus and A. calvus

too many choices... Spend some time looking through the species profiles or the cookie cutters in the library to see what you might be interested in.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

I Male, 4-5 Females. I love Saulosi, or Astatotilapia Latifasciata(endangered), Peacock group. Or a Shellie species and a single Calvus. There are lots of ideas, so, find a favorite fish and we can better help.


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## IADanimal (Mar 24, 2013)

Astatotilapia Latifasciata looks to be interesting.....and happen to have a breeder in my area
or some Peacocks..........narrowing it to that
I have a tank with some L. multifaciatus going now


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## IADanimal (Mar 24, 2013)

oh and it is not a 55 tall it is a normal 55 gal that is so not 36 inches long but 48 long
if that helps or hinders thoughts


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

IADanimal said:


> oh and it is not a 55 tall it is a normal 55 gal that is so not 36 inches long but 48 long
> if that helps or hinders thoughts


That helps......

Do you want to breed? All male?

You could get some very nice peacocks a bit more on the peaceful side with some smaller haps like the Electra or Lithobates. As for the peacocks you could do something like a Bi-color, Flavescent, Ruby red and all would be a nice pop of color. You could also add a intermedius. That is 6 really nice fish with a WIDE range of colors from green to blue to red to yellow. Even some black on the Flavescent and Electra.


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## Sirian (Feb 16, 2013)

A 36x18x21 wouldn't be better but you could use it as a hospital or victim fish tank. In a 55G I'd choose a more easy going species even though it's 48 inches. Labs and Rusties or maybe Afra.


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## IADanimal (Mar 24, 2013)

Metriaclima elongatus what about these?


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## Sirian (Feb 16, 2013)

IADanimal said:


> Metriaclima elongatus what about these?


Fairly certain those are somewhat aggressive fish. If you have minimal Mbuna keeping experience, then take some of the advice given and get Rusties, Labs, or the idea of the Peacocks. You might also consider shell dwellers. Having 2 Mbuna together isn't really ideal and 5 isn't enough either.

This article might help your decision, even though I wouldn't consider a Metriaclima estherae (of the lesser aggressive setup) a great choice for a beginner:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/c ... er_55g.php


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## IADanimal (Mar 24, 2013)

ok I do not really want multiple species of fish 2 at most.....Astatotilapia Latifasciata would like to be one if not only one for now
would that work ? what 1 other would work at what ratio m/f


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

If you do Latifasciata as a species tank go for 1m:11f. It would work in a 48x12. Note only the male gets the red and yellow colorations along with the bars.

If you do a second species, then do this:
1m:5f Latifasciata
1m:5f Labidochromis caeruleus

Or instead of the labs you could do a peacock species 1m:5f. I had trouble with my latifasciata with haps and peacocks, had to remove him. For that reason, I would choose a fairly aggressive peacock for this tank, but not a jacobfreibergi or a hybrid. Aulonocara stuartgranti Maleri Maleri Island? Or Usisya?


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## IADanimal (Mar 24, 2013)

I went with 
Latifasciata 1m4f
Labidochromis caeruleus 5 fry
would it be safe to move my colony of multis to the tank?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You don't want multis in a Malawi tank...I had shellies in a temp holding tank with mbuna for a while and none survived.


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## pfoster74 (May 13, 2012)

male female jewel. i keep mine in a 55g alone and they never fight with each other. but they do breed like bunny rabbits.


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## IADanimal (Mar 24, 2013)

so far so good
the male is staking several spots so far...........hope he decides on one lol
would a BN pleco survive?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

A BN pleco stands a good chance of survival...better than other plecos or snails.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

Should be a nice tank!


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## IADanimal (Mar 24, 2013)

my male Astatotilapia latifasciata likes to eat Zucchini that I put in there for my pleco
is this normal?


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

Yes. Lots of these cichlid eat algae in the wild and like veggie treats.


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## IADanimal (Mar 24, 2013)

should I add more fish to the 55?
6 zebra obliq
and 5 yellow labs

is there room for more? 
I have plenty of filter


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## Shaky (Jan 2, 2003)

Looks like you're biding your time pretty well. If you wait a little longer, there will be more fish, and lots of them.


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## IADanimal (Mar 24, 2013)

I have a few empty tanks now that can hold the fry if they come


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