# help me set up my new 55 gallon tank that has rare cichlids



## skinner6775 (Jan 16, 2009)

alright so I already have a 20 gallon fish tank with the following cichlids and it;

lemon labidochromis
3 jellybean parrot fish
Jack Dempsey
2 black convicts

I have had this tank for about eight months now and all of the fish of the doing wonderful and getting along well. I don't really do anything as of now special to clean the tank will really keep up with it. It is a really clean tank and I have two placaustymus(sp?)

I just purchased a 55 gallon tank that has the following fish in it;

Electric Blue Ahli 
Bumblebee cichlid 
electric yellow cichlid

the individual that I bought the fish and the tank from was very concerned about the fish he was giving me and mean being able to take care of them........ please let me know if any of you know which of these fish can be added together in a 55 gallon, and which should I keep in the 20 gallon tank.......... I would preferably like to have all of them and 55 gallon..........

Please help me and brainstorming which of these fish will be okay with one another......... they are all relatively the same size........... the fish I am concerned about the most is the electric blue ahli........ the owner told me he is pretty aggressive............ any suggestions???


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## ry05coupe (Dec 30, 2008)

I dont have any experienve with the ahlis, 
but i do keep the yellow labs, which are great for a community mbuna tank.
I;ve read bad things about the bumblebees though, theyre very personable fish, but aparently they can be hugely agressive.. jsut word of mouth.

Id be more worried about mixing SA/CA with africans IMO.


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## skinner6775 (Jan 16, 2009)

i also have an OB wan kanobi.......I saw a photo of one on the photo contest....thank god i finally know what he is.........how do you know africans versus SA/CA?


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## ry05coupe (Dec 30, 2008)

Like, the jack dempseys and convicts are the SA/CA

the yellow lab and bumblebees wold be the africans, jsut as examples.

Im not really sure how i know if that makes sense, you jsut learn after alllllll the research you do. There are a lot of good articles in the profiles section, and that should teach you a lot about your fish, and fish you may be wanting to keep. 
i cant tell you how the South Ameruican / Central American cichlids will get on with the African cichlids, but i do know they have different water conditions. 
Hopefully someone here will be able to tell you more about mixing them.


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## HiImSean (Apr 5, 2007)

you shouldnt mix africans with new world cichlids. a big difference is they require different water parameters. africans need more basic water while new world need more acidic water. since its just the 3 of the africans, id put them in the 20g since the 20g is already way over stocked and put the fish from the 20g in the 55g. the 55g will still be overstocked too. make sure you have good filtration and keep up on water changes.


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## Morpheus (Nov 12, 2008)

skinner6775 said:


> i also have an OB wan kanobi.....


Use the force Luke. Use the force.


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## califjewls (Dec 28, 2008)

I agree with HiImSean about mixing, its usually a no no.

If the guy at the LFS told you the electric blue was aggressive I wouldnt have brought him home. They are pretty to look at but when he ends up ripping the fins off of your electric yellow it wont be pretty. I had to actually return a electric blue that was actually smaller than all my other cichlids because he was evil! Sometimes it takes several trips back and forth to the LFS to find fish that will actually live together semi nicely. But in the future its a warning if your LFS says the fish is aggressive.

Goodluck!


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## SinÃ¤lukiinsuomenttoikÃ¤Ã¤ (May 31, 2008)

i put a male zebra in with Sa/ca cichlid comunity and after a while he just started beating on other fish. africans are more aggresive and unlike the americans they never give up or run out of energy. providing the americans u have have similar temperement i.e Aggression, passive. means if you grow them from juvie's you MAY be alright.


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

I have some Electric Blue Ahlis and some bumble bees (in seperate tanks) Who ever told you blue ahlis are agressive is smoking pot. Bumble bees are way more aggressive. Most of the Haps/peacocks just like to swim. The mbuna/ New World are the real terrors.


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

SinÃ¤lukiinsuomenttoikÃ¤Ã¤ said:


> i put a male zebra in with Sa/ca cichlid comunity and after a while he just started beating on other fish. africans are more aggresive and unlike the americans they never give up or run out of energy. providing the americans u have have similar temperement i.e Aggression, passive. means if you grow them from juvie's you MAY be alright.


S/a can be mean. My jack demseys killed an oscar.


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## GaFishMan1181 (Dec 17, 2008)

I had a Electric blue hap (s. fryeri) and he was a super bully. I gave him to a LFS. HE wouldn't ever try to eat another fish but he did almost kill one of my labs. He would trap them in the corner of the tank and charge and ram them into the sides. He smashed one lab so hard he was swimming crooked. I took him back a day later. He was only 3 1/2" long and was a beast. I would hate to see what he could do at 7".


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## kodyboy (Dec 9, 2007)

the bumblebees are really aggressive and get quite large, I would definitely remove those. I would also get rid of these and stay all African---3 jellybean parrot fish, Jack Dempsey, 2 black convicts. Your yellow lab and electric yellows are probably the same fish. Get some females for the electric blue (2-3), maybe a few more electric yellows and six of another species (rusty cichlids, cyanerhabedos) and your 55 is set.


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## Dobbs92 (Dec 15, 2008)

It's been a long time since I had tanks, something that will be remedied before long, but I agree that you should not mix SA/CAs with Africans. The optimum water requirements for each are quite different and a "happy medium" is not likely to bring out the best in either type. I think it would be better to seperate them into two different tanks, if possible. Good luck!


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## huston33 (Jan 20, 2007)

I think the biggest problem is tank size, once the fish get bigger your not going to be able to keep them.


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## huston33 (Jan 20, 2007)

I think the biggest problem is tank size, once the fish get bigger your not going to be able to keep them.


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## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

It sounds to me that you got your 55G and African fish in it from an individual not a local fish store (LFS).
If it were me, I'd keep the "lemon labidochromis" and the "electic yellow" as I believe they may be the same fish, (labidochromis caeruleus http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1669 aka "yellow lab") one may be a hybrid, if they look a little different.

Then take the rest of them to the LFS and see if they will give you store credit for them. If not, maybe they will take them as a donation.

You may have paid quite a bit for your Jellybean parrots. You may want to build your 55G around them.
If you would like to try, you _may be _able to keep them with the yellow labs. 
The water requirements are different, but if you have them in your water already, what's the difference?
I could be a mistake, but if so, you can maybe trade/donate them later.
The others are entirely too big and/or agressive for long term success. 

If it were my tank, I would stock the 55G around the yellow labs. Do some research for the least aggressive
perhaps the rusties mentioned earlier if you can find them http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=707

Instead of buying fish right away, see what the LFS has, write down the names and come back here and post them.

I feel bad for you, this must be truely frustrating. I'm sure you are ready to get things changed out and settled.
You can make your 55G work better for you with a mix of different fish. Your 20G will be a good hospital/quarantine/grow out tank, hang onto it.
Best of luck with your decision,


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## HiImSean (Apr 5, 2007)

good advice Alicem. you need to take the tank in one direction, african or SA/CA. id do african since it seems like you like them more. the parrots and other SA/CA will get big and outgrow the tank. you can trade in your sa/ca and get some african. do research first to what will mix with the fish that you currently have so you dont run into more stocking issues.


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