Stocking 55 Gallon With Cichlids

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The stocking I would say is possible for its size (though I'm not sure how big the africans get), though yes, you shouldn't hav africans and New worlds together in the same tank. They need different pH parameters to be healthy. You can keep them together and be stubborn and do your own thing, but it will hurt the life of either the africans or the new worlds depending on what pH your water is (low pH, <7.0 is good for new worlds; upwards of 7.5 to 8.0 is good for most african lake species).

Choose one or the other and we can advise you wehere to go from there.....
 
which ones are africans and wich are new worlds.. do all african cichlids name start with african.. cuz ill just take them back and trade them for more africans.. my pet store has some kribs but they say the require aquriaum salt ( brackish ) and my brother has one in pure fresh water and its fine?


like i said my store just got a shipment in so ill go back and pick some different fish. is there any you would suggest?


is the firemouth a african?
 
which ones are africans and wich are new worlds.. do all african cichlids name start with african.. cuz ill just take them back and trade them for more africans.. my pet store has some kribs but they say the require aquriaum salt ( brackish ) and my brother has one in pure fresh water and its fine?

What??? they said kribs need salt? wow, stop taking advice from your store. They are feshwater fish, true, they like the high pH of marine as they are african, but they def are fresh water.

What would help you is going to the fish index at the beginning of this forum. It will list out alot more new world cichlids that we can say here in a post. If the species isnt on there, it prob isnt new world. But it might just not be on the list so if your not sure, then just ask on TFF.

a short list of new worlds:
  • Green terror
  • red terror
  • oscar
  • jack dempsey
  • earth eaters (geophagus)
  • discus
  • angels
  • texas
  • convicts
  • firemouths
  • rams
  • red devils
  • parrots (blood and natural)
and this is a very short list but covers the most common species seen in lfs.
 
im starting to stock my tank.. i emptyed it and did the whole tank over in rocks and made it a prime habbitat for cichlids.. so for i got a golden malwi (African), african kenyi (African), a convict (NW), a firemouth (NW), some sort of ram (NW), i forgot its name its like bolinva ram or somethin,, and the last one i tottaly forgot its name.. when i go back to the store ill check them.. my LFS just got a whole shipment of cichlids in so im very exited.. they have a sunshine peacock wich i like alot.. would that be compatible with my other fish?

how is my stock looking so far.. is there any fish i should get a pair of or what?

Hope that helps.

I also agree with Lisa that you're overstocked. If you remove the New World cichlids, you can get away with more Africans. As a rule you can generally have more Africans in a tank than you would get away with in a New World tank, as apparently the aggression is spread out more if there are more fish. This is not the case with New World cichlids, so if you decide to return the African, I wouldn't add any more New Worlds. You may find that the Ram can't stand up to the other two, as they grow much bigger and are far more aggressive. I would be tempted to return that along with the Africans if you decide on a New World tank, and get some suitable dither fish instead. :good:
 
so would that be bad for a fish to go from a brackish tank from the store into my freshwater tank?
 
ok i just called my LFS.. they did say that all there tanks have a ratio of 20 for aquariums salt. :/

i did get a list of all the cichlids they have there.. here it is

blood pariot
red snook
jack dempsy
medium red oscar
ouratus
red zebra
sunshine peacock
snow white sol
electric yellow lab
ac cichlid
red fined
bolivian ram
servious
terqouses
green terror
jack dempsy
texas
kenyi
jewel
male ali
mightous
angeles
mixed small african cichlid


sry if some are messed up but the lady was kinda cranky that she had to give me the whole list and she said it really fast.. but some you can probly make out what it means..
 
blood pariot - hybrid - but lives in NW conditions
red snook - no idea lol
jack dempsy - NW
medium red oscar - NW and too big for your tank
ouratus - african
red zebra - african
sunshine peacock - african
snow white sol - no idea
electric yellow lab - african
ac cichlid - no idea
red fined - red finned what?
bolivian ram - NW
servious - do you think she meant curviceps or severum? eithe way - both NW, if severum - too big for your tank
terqouses - probably severums, therefore NW and again too big
green terror - NW
jack dempsy - NW
texas - NW
kenyi - african
jewel - african but not a lake cichlid therefore ok in NW tanks
male ali - no idea
mightous - no idea
angeles - NW
mixed small african cichlid - well I think you know the answer to that one lol

Hope that helps, and someone can fill in on the ones I dont know lol :blush: :good:
 
blood pariot - hybrid - but lives in NW conditions
red snook - no idea lol
jack dempsy - NW
medium red oscar - NW and too big for your tank
ouratus - african
red zebra - african
sunshine peacock - african
snow white sol - no idea
electric yellow lab - african
ac cichlid - no idea
red fined - red finned what?
bolivian ram - NW
servious - do you think she meant curviceps or severum? eithe way - both NW, if severum - too big for your tank
terqouses - probably severums, therefore NW and again too big
green terror - NW
jack dempsy - NW
texas - NW
kenyi - african
jewel - african but not a lake cichlid therefore ok in NW tanks
male ali - no idea
mightous - no idea
angeles - NW
mixed small african cichlid - well I think you know the answer to that one lol

Hope that helps, and someone can fill in on the ones I dont know lol :blush: :good:

red snook i believe is a north american game species..... so i dont even know why your lfs would have them, would be illegal to sell them if they did....

sol is an ocean fish i think...... but i'm not sure
 
well after an hour or two i caught my bolivian ram and took him back tonight.. the only fish i have left in the tank are kenyi.. (or mubna what ever it was), jack dempsy, golden malawi, convict, firemouth, and thats it i belive.. so what ones should i try to get out and on that list i gave what should i replace them with. i kinda like the look of the sunshine peacock..
 
well after an hour or two i caught my bolivian ram and took him back tonight.. the only fish i have left in the tank are kenyi.. (or mubna what ever it was), jack dempsy, golden malawi, convict, firemouth, and thats it i belive.. so what ones should i try to get out and on that list i gave what should i replace them with. i kinda like the look of the sunshine peacock..

depends on what you want to keep. do you like the africans (kenyi, golden) or the new worlds (JD, con, fm). whatever group you like more, take the other back as they need idfferent water parms. choose one or the other.....
 
i like the idea of the new world better.. but dont the new world take more room and more care..

how much more could i stock after i have a con, firemouth, and a jack dempsy.. could i get my ram back that i returned.. maybe a pair of them?
 

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