55 gallon

[bobwumba]

Hi, i just upgraded from a 10 gallon to a 55 gallon. I have a 3 small angelfish in the 10 that i am going to move into the 55. Also for the 55 gallon tank i would like to get some cories, rainbowfish, and keyhole cichlid but dont know how many of each i could have or if i could even get all three. I also here that keyhole cichlids commonly breed in community tanks. is this true?

thanks

 

[parker313]

What kind of rainbowfish? There are small, dwarf rainbowfish that only get to about 2-3" and larger ones that can easily get to 6"...

For cories, you could easily get as many as 10-12. You don't have any bottom dwellers and they produce very little waste.

As to the keyholes, you could do 2. Just watch out and add them the same time as the angels so the angels don't claim the tank b/c they may not be tolerant of another cichlid in there.

 

[bobwumba]

o yea forget about what type of rainbow. I was thinking of a few Boesemani

 

[bobwumba]

It would be very cool to have a school of cories but don't the keyholes like the bottom of the tank aswell?

 

[sylvia]

Boesmani rainbows get to around 4" and are schooling fish which means you need to get at least 6. That's about half the tank space taken up so I'd then put in the 3 angels and a pair of keyholes and last put in 4 cories.
In future, you need to realise that if 2 of your angels pair up, it may cause problems for the remaining angel and you will need to remove it. If you don't want to have to do this, I suggest you get another angel of a similar size and put in the 3 angels, the keyholes and the new angel all in at the same time (fishless cycle first). However, angels get to 6" and you'll eventualy be over-stocked. I'd leave out the cories if you decide to go this route. It's probably a better idea to just get rid of one of the 3 angels now or skip some of the other fish.
On thwe other hand, if you keep up maintainance and have excellent filtration and prefferably quite a few plants, you might be able to keep 4 angels, 2 keyholes, 4 cories and 6 rainbows without compromising your water quality. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Oh and yes, keyholes like the bottom layers.

 

[bobwumba]

ok thanks i think im just going to skip the rainbows and get 3 more angelfish and add a few more cories. so my set up would probable look like 6 angels, 2 keyholes, and 8 cories. sound good?

 

[parker313]

Sounds good, but you may need to re-home an angel or 2 down the road. The general rule of thumb is to allow 10g per angel for their territories. With 6 in a 55g, you might be just fine and not have a bit of a problem, but if your angels have a bit of devil in them, they may be too territorial to be in a 55g. You're going to run into that problem with any cichlid though.

 

[sylvia]

That would work .

 

[bobwumba]

thanks for all your input. im going to do the 6 juvie angels and the 8 cories but instead of the pair of keyholes im thinking of kribs now since keyholes are hard to find around here. Shouldn't be a big difference since both are mild mannored.

 

[parker313]

You may want to ask for opinions on kribs and cories........

Kribs can be *very* protective of their territory. ...if they decide that the whole bottom part of the tank is their territory, they may not tolerate the cories. When I got my kribs, I had about 8 cories, but only have 2 left now b/c the kribs were so territorial and never let the cories eat.

I don't know if that's a common experience though.

 

[sylvia]

Actualy I agree - kribs are considerably more aggressive than keyholes. Keyholes tend to stick to one area and defend that part of the tank - even when their breeding - and are actualy quite shy. Kribs, on the other hand, tend to take over everything if they decide to breed and may well chase and harass cories. However, if the cories are in a big group, they bother them less and if the cories have plenty of places to hide (such as in a densely planted tank) it could still work.