what would you put in my 55?

[moneywastedonfish]

now that i'm getting the new 5ft my 55 gallon is going to be free, i was hoping to get some interesting coolurful cichlids in there, possibly a breeding pair. Any suggestions. THeres no inhabitants except a bristlenose who has been in there for ages.

 

[sevs]

You should try severums, they come in many colors and are relitively docile. Severums can be hard to breed though, so maybe you might want to get something a little easier to breed (usually the more aggressive the cichlid easier it is to breed)

 

[freddyk]

Because of the narrow width of the 55 you can take much more advantage of space by going with a pair of smaller fish, something 6-8", rather then a foot long like a Severum. It allows for more decor in the tank, and with more decor and smaller fish, more exploring room for our pair. Basically better living conditions.

I'd do a pair of firemouths, nicaraguensis, Acaras, Rainbows, Festivum... the options are endless. Then I'd add a nice group of an appropriate type shoaling fish, and a group of an appropriate bottom feeder, and perhaps a pleco - species dependent on the cichlids chosen.

You end up with a nice and active setup while giving your monogamous pair the tank to live their lives out in peace.

This is how my 75 is set up (same length but deeper). A pair of Nicaraguensis, a shoal of 20 serpae tetra's, a shoal of 12 red tail rasbora's, a royal pleco, and a group of 6 syno. multipunctatus. The top, mid, and bottom levels of the tank are all taken care of, and the result is an active tank with all the fish happily doing their own thing. The nics get the whole tank, rather then being forced with another pair of cichlids (and they do use the whole tank when it's offered). I had a shoal of congos as well, but despite being ignored by all the other fish, they ended up being too skittish - sometimes a little experimentation is needed to create the perfect setup.

 

[parker313]

I like Freddy's suggestion and I'd go with a pair of Blue Acaras - they're beautiful!!

 

[sevs]

Because of the narrow width of the 55 you can take much more advantage of space by going with a pair of smaller fish, something 6-8", rather then a foot long like a Severum.

Severums are about 8 inches (it is pretty rare for them to get 12" though they do commonly grow larger than 8") so they can be housed in a 55g and can swim comfortably (though they may perfer something larger)

 

[moneywastedonfish]

i like the look of the more colorful sevs but all the ones in my area are very plain.
Nicarguinese look cool, they're like a smaller less agressive manganese right?
I guess its a toss up between the nicarguinuses(spelling???), a salvini pair or an african setup.