Ideas For My New 55gal

[bluostrich00]

after seeing i am getting a nice fat tax return i am upping to a 55 gal i would go bigger but i dont have the room for anything bigger and it gets kinda spendy as we all know
ok at my LFS they have a 55 gal plus stand already in place undergravel filter some hang on back type thingy (didnt really look at it) glass heater like all my other ones lights (2 fluorescent) kinda a pebble substrate some small cheesy plants all for 399 plus tax but he said i didnt have to buy it as a set i could buy just the things i want ...

soo what i told him i would rather not have the undergravel and the pebble substrate cause i wanted to do a white sand (not sure whats gonna look and be the best) and either slate rock or this flat rock stuff they have at my LFS for 4.99 a lb or i might find a landscape company and get some that way and i cant decide i love the look of real plants but fake are just easier i suppose but i am pretty sure i want some wide leafed plant or java moss since i read so much about it lol ok now i will break it down

55 US gal.

Substrate: sand white/beach

Filtration: two 30 gal+ hang on back with nitra-zorb pillows in each (unsure which brand)

Plants: real not sure on which will be best suitable yet

Decor: slate or some other flat rocks

Fish:
2 Electric Blue Johanni
(going to try to find a female for my already super agressive male)
3 Labidochromis sp. "hongi"
(got one female now try to find another female and male)
* im waiting to be told what is ultra wrong with the fish ive chosen lol

Cleanup crew: unsure what would be able to handle being in this tank

so this is what i want to do now its prob not gonna be able to happen but hey im open for
suggestions on what i can do to make my tank more efficient and the fish happier

plus would a pair of fire mouth be ok in a twenty gal??

 

[kj23502]

55 gal can have up to 15 or 16 fish max in the tank. You'll need around that amount (a bit less is ok) to help w/aggression.

The probs I see w/your stocking is you need more females for you male Johannii. At least 3f per m. Same for Hongi. You can add 1 more species too. Preferably not a Labidochromis b/c 2 fish from the same genus will be more likely to hybridize. You'll want to stay away from other blues so as not to greatly upset the male Johanni.

For filtration: You'll need at least 5x tank turnover ex: 275gph for filtration. These fish poo alot

You can have some snails. See if the lfs will give you some of their nuisance snails. Cichlids can suck the snails out of their shells so any you can get cheap or free would be best. You could also have some synodonits catfish. They really aren't a clean up crew per se. They are carnivorous and need to be fed as such....which can get tricky.

I don't know about fire mouths.

Wish I could spend some of our tax return on fish. My hubby is adamant that we add to his savings for a truck

 

[bluostrich00]

ok i think i figured out what filtration im gonna use prob a

Rena Filstar XP2 can. filter like 300 gph soo i figured more would be better

and alrighty just what i wanted to know i can stock more fish in here then i thought
ok so i will prob be getting 3 female johannis and 3 more hongis i belive i will need one male and two females
and i want one more species prob 4 fish as well not sure what though tryin to stay away from a labidochromis and melanochromis
i want some thing thats gonna contrast the two in color somthing different any ideas would be gratefully appreciated

i read some where that Raphael cats will do ok with cichilds but not sure i know i can get em from my LFS though so they are a possibility

well thats all for now i figured i am gonna start a journel when i get the tank and start to do the setup

 

[Bert]

what about Metriaclima estherae? the orange my look nice.