# stocking a 55 gallon



## defbored_usd (Jul 19, 2012)

if someone gave you a 55 gallon but it had to be stocked with ca/sa cichlids what you put in it?

the only africans i like are haps that apparently get too big or peacocks, but i cant find a good mix of peacocks in my area that arent hybrids.

ready...set.... go!


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## Mschn99 (Dec 24, 2012)

Not to try to talk you out of south americans, but they can get pretty big too depending on species. If you like Haps, a 55 would accomodate some victorian species. They on average are about 4-6" for an adult male size. Just a couple things to think about!! Just dont make the mistake of oscars in a tank that small. So many people do it and its a shame because they will outgrow your tank, and relatively fast.


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## defbored_usd (Jul 19, 2012)

Which why I am comig to you guys. Which is why I asked what you would do with it.


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## DrTenochtitlan (Jun 17, 2012)

What about a nice Mbuna tank with 1m/4f each of Labidochromis caeruleus (Lion's Cove I), Iodotropheus sprengerae, and Cynotilapia sp. Hara (Gallireya Reef), more commonly known as Yellow Labs, Rusties, and White Top Haras? Lots of color, even among the females, decent temperments, and none get larger than 5".


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## Mschn99 (Dec 24, 2012)

Are u looking for color or breeding? If ur looking for color an all male tank of victorian haps would be beautiful. With mbuna you could do the ones listed above as well as solousi which are cool since its almost like having 2 different species since the male/female coloring is different. I wuuldnt go south american personally in a tank that small because your options for fish are very limited because of aize unless u only want 3-5 fish in it


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## defbored_usd (Jul 19, 2012)

Can't find white tops in my area. Or rustys :-(. Just "mixed Africans". I work for a lfs. I can prolly order them but I'd have to order and pay for like 12 of them.

And color I suppose. I just want happy fish. 1 fish , 4 fish, 10, just happy and suitable for a 55


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## Mschn99 (Dec 24, 2012)

Order online or look for local breeders. Craigslist or cichlid groups are a great place to start. I hope this doesnt violate any rules, but check out aquabid. There are many options for finding the fish u want


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## defbored_usd (Jul 19, 2012)

I've tried craiglist and no luck. There is one guy in two that get some variety. But he gets crazy stuff... Peacock bass, rtc, arowanas....

What about some convicts, fire mouths, and something else?


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## defbored_usd (Jul 19, 2012)

What about dwarf cichlids? Any mixes you've been successful with?


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## Mschn99 (Dec 24, 2012)

Firemouths are an easy fish to have, convicts are a pain because most of the time they are too small to sex when u get them. A male and a female would dominate a third or more of your tank if they spawn. I breed hreen terrors, jaguars, and a couple other south americans for around 7 years. After switching to africans, i would not go back. Just my preference now but the color and activity level makes me like them more i think. Dwarf mbuna would be a great choice.......but u would have to order them which means u would want to find fish big enough to be sexed and make sure to order everything u want from 1 place to save on shipping.


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## defbored_usd (Jul 19, 2012)

I've looked into ordering fish before and the shipping is killer. I can find sexed convicts, that's one thing that's a plenty, as are fire mouths. Any thing else I can put with a couple convicts and a couple fire mouths?


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## cichlids&amp;baseball (Dec 28, 2007)

I would recommend figuring out exactly what you want out of the tank, there are plenty options just need to read the forums and see what everyone is talking about. Also in the library section there are "cookie cutter" starter lists for each lake and different size tanks.

For me, peacocks/haps are the only thing I really enjoy that works with a 55, unless you like the idea of the shell dwellers. then you need to figure if you want breeding or color, aggressive or calm, etc. there are a ton of choices, and because i have similar issues finding varieties of fish, I totally recommend buying fish online. I the retailer reviews section you can find a bunch of great online retailers


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## defbored_usd (Jul 19, 2012)

Ahhhh that cookie cutter thing is awesome. I will come up with a list and come back!

Replies are still welcome!


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## Azedenkae (Apr 19, 2012)

Look into Amatitlania species (such as Convict), Thorichthys species (such as Ellioti and Firemouth), Herichthys species (such as Texas, Green Texas and Minckleyi), Herotilapia/Archocentrus species (such as Rainbow Cichlids), Cryptoheros species (such as T-Bars and Blue Eyes) and see if you fancy any of them. Give us the names and we can make a good CA stocklist for ya from there. 

Other possibilities includes Jack Dempsies, Salvinis, and Nics. Look into them as well.


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## defbored_usd (Jul 19, 2012)

I thought a Texas would be too big for a 55. Jack dempseys are one of my favorite cichlids. I though jd got too big for 55 gallons too.

What about..... 
2 convicts(males)
1 belly crawler pike(already have one)
1 fire mouth
1 jd


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## defbored_usd (Jul 19, 2012)

Or electric blue jack dempsey?


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## Azedenkae (Apr 19, 2012)

You have a standard 55g right? I.e. 4'x15"x18"? If that's the case (which I assumed, I apologize if I'm wrong) then neither the Texas nor the JD will be too large. Both grows to about 25cm, oftentimes less in the aquatic trade, and if your tank is 15" wide, that's still 40cm or so, which is plenty.

Anyways.

Your listed stock:
2 Convicts
1 Belly Crawler Pike
1 Firemouth
1 JD

Can definitely work in a 55g, though you may have to watch for aggression between your JD and Firemouth. I wouldn't recommend an EBJD though, because rather unfortunately the EB allele/gene also causes physiological defects that make them rather (very) fragile. But if you can get one from one of the sources that has managed to breed EBJD strains with a bit more vigor in them, it could work well. Better than the JD even, because JDs do grow larger than Firemouths, and whilst Firemouths are known to be quite aggressive (I am willing to bet either the Firemouth or the JD will be the king of the tank), they are not known to have much to show when push comes to shove, and the JD might just bully the Firemouth into oblivion. Though with the two Convicts + pike, the aggression should be divided well amongst those.

What you can do is get a female JD and a female Firemouth, that way there'd be less male aggression. Though given that they're female, they may breed with the Convicts - but being larger, there's less chances. Obviously if they really want to, they would, but it's known that larger females are less likely to breed with smaller males.


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## defbored_usd (Jul 19, 2012)

Right on! Can anyone second this? The fish I mentioned are very readily available to me.


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## metricliman (Sep 3, 2012)

I thought a standard 55 was only 12" wide. Unless my 55 has suddenly become wider.


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## defbored_usd (Jul 19, 2012)

48x13x21 I believe.

After looking through the cookie cutter section is says that two jd can be kept in a 55.


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