55 Gallon Tank! Help Me Cichlid God's!

[adambrum]

Looks like you have a good starting point for your stocking

I would go

5 labs with 1or 2 males the rest females but not really important

3 or 4 socolofi 1 male the rest female

some bottom fish either synos and or bristle nose

You could add another species as well maybe some type of afra these stay small about 3".

If your adding juvies i would not worry about stocking order just move the tank around a bit before they go in but generally add the more aggressive first.

You could try and get some synodontis njsasse these are the native catfish from lake malawi

 

[iairj84]

Thanks adam for your input. I think I'm going to start with that stocking level for now and see how everything is going with those guys. I need to build a stand for all my tanks hopefully this weekend and will have it up and running.

What is involved with buffering the PH? Someone mentioned using crushed coral in the filter which I can definately do with the external filter. and adding limestone will also help buffer the ph? I wanna make sure I give these guys as good of a life as possible and dont want the PH to fluctuate first and foremost.

 

[adambrum]

From reading your posts your ph is not to bad so no need for drastic measures however if you added a crushed coral substrate or added some to your filter it would raise it also limestone will also increase your ph.

Remember to check the water that the fish come in from lfs as it could be very low and the ph shock is not good for them.

 

[iairj84]

Thanks for the input regarding ph. I just got back from the LFS and the store owner was telling me that he doesnt adjust the water at all ph wise. So if that is the case I will probably slowly add some crushed coral to the filter to buffer the ph for the fish as the get bigger and older. I definately do not want to shock the little guys and always acclimate my fish slowly.

 

[algae eater]

Thanks for the input guys... No the yellow ones I saw had stripes going the opposite direction.. almost zebra like. I will hold off on the rubbernose and possibly go with the clown. Any other input on what would go well with 2-3 yellow labs?

I have only been doing my fish for a couple years. When I first started with the Cichlids, I bought four or five every few weeks. It seems within a few days, there would be a fight and one of the new fish would get killed. After having the tank about a year, I got my water messed up and they all died. This time I bought all my fish at one time. It has worked much better, there just are no fights anymore. If you can afford it, that is the way to do it.

 

[iairj84]

I will add as many as I can at one time. This fish are all still very juvenile and will be tiny in comparison to the tank size at this point. Their will also be tons of caves and rock areas to hide around and behind. The tank will be fully cycled which will greatly reduce any chances of deaths due to water quality.

 

[Boids-n-more]

You could ask your lfs to test there water ph and see if its up to standards. If its real low or they refuse to test it for you , you might want to consider shopping elseware. When you buy your fish you want there water to be in the proper condition so you know your getting healthy fish. Also you don't want to worry about slowly bringing your water to the proper conditions just to match you lfs water conditions. A mistake can lead to death and sickness whitch is one thing you don't want to start with.

 

[iairj84]

I've already had them test it and it's at 7.6 which is probably in the lower range of what most cichlids will take. It just so happens to be what my water tests at also.

 

[Boids-n-more]

i would go ahead and stock it then , that way you can slowly bring your ph up a little. Does it come out of your tap at 7.6.

 

[iairj84]

Yes it comes from the tap at 7.6. I will have my new stand hopefully monday or tuesday and get it setup.

 

[fishfishfish]

so are u planning on any synos or plecs?haha.i am going to be getting 2 new plecs soon.green phantom and sultan.L-260 and L-200.i know L-200s work in mbuna and ive heard from others on her that sultans can too.

 

[iairj84]

Ya I am planning on getting at least one of either. I haven't quite decided yet though.

 

[iairj84]

Well I won an aquabid auction for 6 yellow labs. I requested 4 females and 2 males but the seller wasn't sure if they had the right numbers to do that. I am hoping it goes that route though. I also managed to get a killer deal on some cherry shrimp too for my shrimp tank!! I'm pretty excited about getting the labs though as they're one of my favorite fish. I think I will start with the labs and keep at that stocking level for a month or so and then add Some blue johanni's and the snow white socolafi's I think it will be a beautiful mixture and they should get along well. Feel free to chime in if you guys think otherwise.

 

[dthoffsett]

Sounds like a nice mix of fish, can't wait to see pics when you get it set up. I wouldn't worry too much about the m/f ratio on the labs, unless you get a rouge male you shouldn't have any problems.

 

[Boids-n-more]

I find the yellow labs to be pretty docile so don't sweat them.