New 55 Gallon.

[NonstickRon]

Ok, so I bought a big concrete rock full of little holes today...very nice and natural looking. Got a large back of tihitian black moon sand, going to try to preserve the black flourite sand from my 10 gallon. I don't think this will be enough between the two, but I'm going to just go with it and cross my fingers. I'll probably need to add another baof something at some point...I'm going to try to use rocks instead though. Going to make a trip to the hardware garden center in a little while to have a look at what I can find. Have a bit of driftwood already too.

Anyway, took my wife down to the cichlid breeding farm today, and she was amazed at how beautiful they are. She wants to ditch the fish we have currently and do a cichlid tank. hehe. The breeder told us he thinks 35 cichlids is the sweet point for a 55 gallon!!! Holy cow! I told her no, but in time that may be something to work towards...I'd reallly prefer a nice planted tank with a variety of creatures to a cichlid one though.

Have plenty of filtration. 2 filters, cycled HOB and a new canister filter.

I have currently:
~15-20 ghost shrimp
7 flame tetra
4 harlequin rasboras
2 apple snails
bristlenose pleco
2 peppered cory
1 emerald cory (him and the peppereds are homeboys)


Tank is coming with:
fan tail goldfish Full grown - probably getting rid of
common pleco 6 inch - keeping, for now, as long as he gets along with the bristlenose
emerald cory full grown (big boy!) - keeping
killifish 2 pond caught - probably going back to the pond

WILL be buying:
more corys - yeah, I want to have at least 6. Probably will buy 1 more peppered and 1 more emerald. The two are close in color (with a dark substrate they start to look very similar) and the 2 types are already cooexisting very well.
more harlequins - need to have at least 6
more plants - I'd like a lush little zen garden

What I'd like now is suggestions. After taking my wife out to look at fish today, she wants large fish. So...what largish fish can i get that wont eat ghost shrimp and snails and little tiny tetras - that won't outgrow a 55 gallon?

 

[NonstickRon]

Found some long finned rams at LFS today. Thinking of buying 4-6 of them.

 

[kuruptedseed]

This breeder lied when he told you 35 cichlids was a good sweet spot for a 55 gal.. I would try more like 2 pairs.. Not sure what type of cichlids this breeder was tring to sell you but, most cichlids get very large and have behavior problems when placed in a cramped space. Even if they are dwarf cichlids I would stick with 3 pairs max! Good luck and remember

It's more about quality not quantity unless of course your a breeder trying to come off 35 cichlid fry that are growing bigger by the day!

 

[NonstickRon]

This breeder lied when he told you 35 cichlids was a good sweet spot for a 55 gal.. I would try more like 2 pairs.. Not sure what type of cichlids this breeder was tring to sell you but, most cichlids get very large and have behavior problems when placed in a cramped space. Even if they are dwarf cichlids I would stick with 3 pairs max! Good luck and remember

It's more about quality not quantity unless of course your a breeder trying to come off 35 cichlid fry that are growing bigger by the day!

I'm not buying cichlids.

sigh...

 

[joecoral]

Even if they are dwarf cichlids I would stick with 3 pairs max!

What if they were malawis? 6 in a 55g would be carnage, far too few to limit aggression

 

[NonstickRon]

Even if they are dwarf cichlids I would stick with 3 pairs max!

What if they were malawis? 6 in a 55g would be carnage, far too few to limit aggression

Whether the guy was lying or not, I don't really care. This wasn't really meant to be a cichlid thread.

Just looking for some ideas for peaceful bigger showcase fish to add to my smallish fish community. Going to get some rams so I guess something for mid to upper tank level would be what I'm looking for.

Gouramis have been said to be prone to tank massacres right? What about Bala Sharks?

 

[minxfishy]

I wouldnt get the sharks, need to be in shoals of at least 6 and need a good 6ft tank to be happiest.

I say on so many other threads and so will say on yours too, Rainbows, Boesmani, Lake Katubu all lovely large shoaling fish, peaceful, active and colourful.

 

[NonstickRon]

Havn't seen many types of rainbow fish locally. I'll keep my eye out though. Thanks for the tip on the sharks.

 

[jourdy288]

Maybe plecostomus.

 

[NonstickRon]

Maybe plecostomus.

Gave the common pleco that came wiht the tank to the petstore today. One nights pile of poop was bad enough to convince me that I didn't want him. hehe

 

[jourdy288]

Maybe swordtails? Or, bristlenose, they stay abit smaller.

 

[NonstickRon]

Hey, what about mollys? Sailfin mollys get up to like 6.5 inches. Are they safe community fish?

 

[jourdy288]

Yes, but make sure your tank has rather hard water, as, they are prone to ich in water that is too soft. Some of them even need salt if they repeatedly get ich, which some fish cannot have.

 

[kuruptedseed]

Silver dollars look ace as showcase fish. Stay around +/- 5 inches and are very slender.. Thou big enough to be kept with large cichlids they are peaceful enough to be kept with smaller tetras and such.. 2 of my tanks have SD's and I high recommend them.