# new to cichlids



## Josh84 (Jun 15, 2008)

Hey all, I'm new to keeping cichlids. I have had a tank for a few years and I just got a new 55 gallon tank. I decided to stock it with cichlids. I currently have 
1 male yellow tail acie, 
1 male snow white socolofi, 
1 female jewel, 
1 male sunburst peacock, 
1 male cobalt blue zebra, 
1 female red zebra, 
1 male lombardi, 
1 female pink convict, 
and 1 male firemouth. Is this to much for a 55 gal tank or can I get more. I think I could prolly get 3-4 more and be ok. Any tips on what to get would be helpful.


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## quiksilver (Mar 2, 2007)

id take out the lombardi and female zebra they will lead to aggresion problems with your fish. i would also remove the convict and firemouth, im not to sure about the jewel either. theres a real mix there.


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

I agree with quiksilver. You already have some fish that won't get along long term. If you just want one of lots of different fish you should go all male and you have a good start on that. I'd trade in all the females, the lomardi (because it will probably get to mean in anything less than a 75g. tank) Maybe the peacock because mbuna are to agressive for most peacocks (not familiar with the sunshine though). Maybe the firemouth too but I don't know anything about them or convicts or jewels lol. Maybe someone with more experience with firemouths can say about them. If it was me I'd keep these males....
acei, snow white socolofi, cobalt, then try to get more varieties of male mbuna. Maybe the peacock could stay too but like I said I dunno about it just that most aren't able to stand up to mbuna.


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

Aren't convicts and firemouths SA? The others are African. One place to start is to decide which you're more interested in: African Malawi's or South American cichlids. Then look at the cookie cutter suggestions to get an idea of what fits in a 55.


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## Hoggy Boss (Oct 4, 2006)

I think your fish list is ok. I wouldn't add anymore fish though. I think it's ok to keep fish from different lakes in one tank, but if you want your tank to be an exact replica of 90% of the tanks on this site then check out the cookie cutter and go from there.


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## harris4097 (Jun 12, 2008)

Josh84 said:


> Hey all, I'm new to keeping cichlids. I have had a tank for a few years and I just got a new 55 gallon tank. I decided to stock it with cichlids. I currently have
> 1 male yellow tail acie,
> 1 male snow white socolofi,
> 1 female jewel,
> ...


hi, i've been keeping african malawi cichlids for 3 years (9 tanks) and also 1 tank with convicts, the socolofi will get aggresive as it matures, i had 1m 3f a few years ago and he was a terror, the jewel doesn't really work if you decide to go malawi tank (that would be my recomendation as they are very interesting fish) the convict will destroy everything as it matures, also they really need to be kept in pairs as they need the company. the mix you have combines two sorts of malawi - mbuna (rock dwellers which are semi aggresive but interact constantly) also the peacock should be housed with haps (open water swimmers) as they have different dietery needs. Ultimately its up to you and sometimes strange combinations work, I learnt most of what i know through trial and error but now can't stop mine breeding. Anyway good luck


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I would recommend removing all females and going with an all male tank.

Even then, it may become somewhat stressful for the peacock.


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