Cichlid Selection And Stocking

[bwarn13]

hi guys. so i just set up my 55 gallon and its almost done cycling. ph is 8.0 temp is 80. im going to move a rainboow shark that is outgrowing a smaller temporary tank into the 55. i was thinking about getting 7 or 8 african cichlids to also go into the new tank. the problem is i dont know who gets along with who. so any suggestions would be great. im going to try and do an all male tank because i dont want them to breed. finally, i saw a crawfish at my lfs and really want it. would a crawfish be safe with cichlids and a rainbow shark?
Tanks

 

[benzenering]

I noticed no on had responded yet to your post, so I thought I'd take a stab at it.

Well, I am new to cichlids. The only comment I can make about them is that it's recommended to keep a cichlid tank by itself--no other types of fish. You also are only to keep mbuna cichlids with mbuna cichlids, and non-mbunas with non-mbunas. Your post is kind of vague--there are hundreds of African cichlid species--maybe you could tell us what region you are focusing on? I have Lake Malawi species, for example.

I did a quick google of rainbow shark and crayfish. The water parameters are not alike for these two species. The RS requires a pH of 6.5-7.0 and a temperature of 72-79 degrees, whereas the CF likes cooler water at 70-75 degrees with a pH of 7.0. That being said, I've kept a tropical fish community tank for over 12 years with some fish that don't match up exactly in water parameters, and they adapted.

Note that you need a heavily rocked tank to keep a crayfish (I've never had one). They come out at night and hide in the rockwork during the day.