# Mid Sized species tank ideas



## Murray1983 (Jan 3, 2016)

Hi I'm looking for ideas to stock my 48x18x15 tank with 2 Eheim external filters . I m keen on going with something mid sized but really don't know where to start . Any suggestions would be appreciated ? Thanks


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

Some SA cichlids that come to mind are Angelfish, Severums, Festivums, Gymnogeophagus or maybe some of the smaller Acara species.

Do you want plants in the tank?


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## Murray1983 (Jan 3, 2016)

Never really kept live plants before so ideally no


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## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

I too agree with Zimmy, but you can also add "Keyhole", Uaru, and Rams (both Bolivian and GBR) to the list too.


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

I don't consider Uaru mid sized fish since they can reach 12" when full grown and prefer to be kept in groups (I have 5 that school in a 120G). I also think your tank would be too small for them unless you wanted to use it just to grow them out. My 120G is going to be too small probably within the next year.

If you keep keyholes or rams, you'll want lots of cover (usually provided by plants but there are other options too).


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## THQ2 (Nov 4, 2015)

So you've got a short but long and somewhat wide 55gal with no live plants? There are so many options we really need some more info on what kind of tank you want. eg., do you want to see breeding pairs? Do you just want SA cichlids or some tetras? Some ideas:

1. Apisto/dwarf pair + ram pair + angelfish with fake plants (not as good as live ones but better than nothing).
2. Ram pair + tetras eg,. cardinals
3. About 5 bigger single fish like










(I actually wanted to put electric blue acara instead of the usual one to make the tank even more beautiful and peaceful but aqadvisor doesn't have it). I assumed you had 2 x Eheim 2213's for the filtration calculation.

I like to match the tank size to the fish (not a fan of small fish in medium/big tanks) so personally I would pick #3.


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## THQ2 (Nov 4, 2015)

In case you want pics, these are google pics I found of the colour morphs that I would put in your tank if I was stocking it personally:

Threadfin acara/heckelii









Electric blue acara









Festivum









Red spotted severum









Peppermint bristlenose pleco









They all get to 6-8" so are the biggest fish you could fit into your tank. They are all peaceful (although the 2 peaceful acaras may show some conspecific aggression - I have not kept those 2 personally so can't comment, but hopefully the wildly different colours would be enough to not cause problems).


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

THQ2 said:


> So you've got a short but long and somewhat wide 55gal with no live plants?


 A 48x18x15 is called a 40 breeder (at least in Canada). I have one and that's what it was sold as.


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

Disregard the above post. I just remembered my 40B is only 36" long.


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## Granamyr (Dec 16, 2015)

If you're planning on keeping these fish to full size the threadfin acara and Severum both get to a foot long. That's not much space for those two fish alone While they are awesome fish they aren't really meant for a 55 gallon tank unfortunately


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## Murray1983 (Jan 3, 2016)

I Originally wanted a species only tank , but have changed my mind many times since . I ve kept Malawis before so want to try something different and bigger . The idea of 5 mid sized is appealing . If live plants is what is required then that's fine . Want decor and substrate as close to natural as possible . 
Thanks in advance


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

Granamyr said:


> If you're planning on keeping these fish to full size the threadfin acara and Severum both get to a foot long. That's not much space for those two fish alone While they are awesome fish they aren't really meant for a 55 gallon tank unfortunately


I agree about the threadfin acara but you may be okay with a single rotkeil severum along with some midsize tankmates (keyholes and or angels). Rotkeils usually get to about 8". I wouldn't try it in a regular 55 but your footprint is bigger, like a 55 breeder.


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## smitty (May 7, 2004)

The Angels and Severums would definitely be in the mix.


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## THQ2 (Nov 4, 2015)

Granamyr said:


> If you're planning on keeping these fish to full size the threadfin acara and Severum both get to a foot long. That's not much space for those two fish alone While they are awesome fish they aren't really meant for a 55 gallon tank unfortunately


Really? I was unaware of that. In that case, they may be too big for the tank. Or likely may get slightly stunted and not grow that big.

Everything I have read points to the average max size in the aquarium topping out at 8-10" (200-250 mm). Sure there are big freaks on youtube and in the wild, but I have never personally seen foot-long severums or threadfins (not counting trailing fins) a foot long IRL.


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## Granamyr (Dec 16, 2015)

Severums grow very slow for a LONG time. They get to 10+ years old most people just never keep them more than a year or 2 so they never see them grow past 8" long. If you see a Severum that's 3+ years old those are the ones that are 10+ inches and are super tick and tall. They would not be happy in a 55 gallon.

I agree that you probably would be fine with a single Rotkeil as everything I"ve read they don't get quite as big or thick

There is alot of conflicting information on the threadfin Acara's out there. They were recently removed from the Geophagus group and many believe they don't get as big now. So it's hard to say but there aren't many Geophagus type fish that are going to be happy in a 55 gallon long term. They are slow growers though to so you would be fine in a 55 for a while but pretty sure eventually it would get cramped.

I know the Geophagus Brasiliensis that I had was feeling cramped in my 90 gallon when I had him


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

THQ2 said:


> Everything I have read points to the average max size in the aquarium topping out at 8-10" (200-250 mm).


I believe this is correct. Known and seen severums for over 45 years and I do not believe I have ever seen one much longer then 8". But two people look at the same fish and will call it a different length. It's a guess, unless it has been physically removed from the aquarium and an accurate measurement taken. I have measured severum in the past, many years ago. If I recall correctly, mine only measured 6-7"; they were large but certainly not jumbo. But when there is a claim of 12" severum, I think it needs to be demonstrated: a good picture with a tape measure beside it. Other wise it is just somebodies made up number.
Threadfin, I can't comment too much, as I have never seen very many, and all were small. I suspect that if there is such a thing as 12" threadfin, it's probably an exceptional specimen.


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

The book South American Eartheaters gives a normal max size of 20cm for Threadfins, that's 8", with 25cm(10") as an extreme possibility. The largest I've seen were at Shedd Aquarium, and those were about 8", in an excessively large tank.


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## Granamyr (Dec 16, 2015)

well I have a 90 gallon and did not buy threadfin acaras because at the time they supposedly still were to be in groups and how big I thought they got. If they have updated them to be only 8" I probably should have gotten that group of 4 last year that I passed on and I would have a nice set right now.

Instead I have Cupids and rotkeil severums (just got these) in my tank.

I'll leave it to the others as I don't want to give miss information if it's incorrect.


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