55 gal stock advice - considering cichlids...

[janky]

So I've got a 55 gal tank cycling and I had 2 set ups in mind. One of them everyone keeps telling me is not going to work, so I'm considering doing a cichlid tank.

I'm curious as to what stocking some of the more seasoned cichlid keepers recommend.

So far I like the blue jack dempsey, green terror, tiger oscar, red devil, and rams.
It'd be ideal to have a couple big burly ones (8 inch or so?) and a handful of smaller ones - maybe gbr or something - I like the yellow ones or duboisi but those are african cichlids and you're not supposed to mix those with new world ones, right?

Also, I'd like to have a good sized pleco, but I think they do pretty well with cichlids, so I'm not too worried there.


Suggestions?
Advice?

 

[Jason7894561230]

I reccomend Mbuna cichlids! They are absolutly amazing! Google a few species like Psudotrpheus Zebra and Labiochromis Hongi, these are just 2 in an amazing variety of colourful gorgeaus mbuna!

 

[sayan]

As u hav a 55g tank I'll say go for african cichlids. Coz oscars,JDs,green terror all they grow very large. And need a tank near bout 75g or so for a single. Though some africans r also big in size like frontosa. Best is to choose dwarf cichlids as per ur tank volume. Dnt overstock.and if u go for oscar or JD u hav to keep a single

 

[Jason7894561230]

But if you do choose Mbuna cichlids, overstocking is the way to go. It helps reduce aggresion

 

[janky]

Ok. The reason I like JD, GT, and Oscars is cause they get fairly big. I do want a big fish or two as a "centerpiece" fish in my tank.
I considered dwarf-medium sized fish, but if I were to do that I'd probably want a huge school of like 10-15

the mbuna look pretty cool. Is there a colorful new-world equivalent to that that I could pair with maybe one jd, gt, or oscar? I think the oscar may be a bit cramped in my tank, but everything I've read said a jd or gt would be fine in a 55 gal.

thoughts?

 

[Labenator65000]

Ok. The reason I like JD, GT, and Oscars is cause they get fairly big. I do want a big fish or two as a "centerpiece" fish in my tank.
I considered dwarf-medium sized fish, but if I were to do that I'd probably want a huge school of like 10-15

the mbuna look pretty cool. Is there a colorful new-world equivalent to that that I could pair with maybe one jd, gt, or oscar? I think the oscar may be a bit cramped in my tank, but everything I've read said a jd or gt would be fine in a 55 gal.

thoughts?

A 55 gallon is too small for Oscars. I know that from personal experience.

You can't mix New World cichlids (Oscar, JD, GT) with Old World cichlids (Mbuna)

A suggestion would be to consider EITHER Mbuna OR smaller Peacocks (not both).

For Mbuna, you will need to do a significant amount of research, in that not all Mbuna can exist safely in a 55, or even coexist at all. It's not impossible; but it is quite challenging to find a variety of Mbuna readily available that can coexist in a 55.

Peacocks will be a lot easier to select. Most Peacocks have a similar temperament. If you decide to go with Peacocks, for variety in your tank, choose all males and only one of each type. There are several variety of Peacocks, so you can have a very cool tank with a variety of only Peacocks.

Either way, you don't want any fish that will exceed 5" in a 55. 5" is still a big fish, IMO.

 

[Aski247]

An Oscar absolutely can not live its life in a 55g, sorry. As far as the GT/JD I'd go GT. the JD's I have kept in the past have always been shy/skittish fish, even at a larger size(11"+).

I posted asking about the personalities of both a JD/RD sometime back in Aug. last year. Someone said it best when they stated "it's like having a conversation with a Rock and then Albert einstine." at the time I was growing out yet another JD. But had never kept a red devil to that point. I must say I have kept many many larger aggressive species and this little red devil(7" or so now) has got to be my most fav of all time. Followed closely by my Trimac. I truthfully don't think I'll ever keep a JD again. Even though I love the look of them.

So again I'd go with the GT as I think personality wise it has to be better then a JD. And with these larger fish in a 55g personality is all you can really have in the tank.

 

[darkmatter_3500]

Convicts, salivini , firemouth are good C/A cichlids that would be ok in a 55, one severum maybe they are very cool fish

 

[Monsweet]

We bought a 6/7 inch green terror about 3 weeks ago. At the time we weren't told it was called a green terror till we googled it. It was only a baby too! We were told it would be ok with our firemouths, convicts, rainbow cichlid in our 240litre tank. Very wrong, extremely aggressive as soon as the lights went out. Was back in the shop 3 days later :-( it's a stunning fish to look at, really pretty but just thought I'd warn you

 

[Flipmikeskater3]

I have a jd and couple convicts in my 55 gallon, and I absolutely love my JD it always is active whenever I'm in the room and it jumps about 4 inches out of the water and eats food out of my finger tips!

 

[steez]

JD's are great, I have a beautiful 8" Electric Blue Jack Dempsey. The EBJD's seem to be a bit more shy than the regular JD's as the above poster picture shows.


Here's the Electric Blue.




Oh and yes, +1 on an Oscar not being able to live in a 55g for it's whole life.

 

[Monsweet]

Ah that's one pretty fish!! I love JD's but I'm too scared to put them in my 240l invade they do live upto their name

 

[Pton46]

If you are stocking with no plans to upgrade....Stick with Africans if you are looking to get a larger tank, go with the Oscar/JD/Firemouth etc.

My plan is to keep moving my stock up. So my Juvenile SA Cichlids will move to the new Tank next (125 or 150 gallon), My African Cichlids will move from my 30 Gallon to my 60 gallon etc..This way I make the most of what I got.

 

[Labenator65000]

I wouldn't put anything that could potentially get over 5" in a 55 gallon.

 

[sayan]

Agreed with Labenator.

 

[Flipmikeskater3]

JD's are great, I have a beautiful 8" Electric Blue Jack Dempsey. The EBJD's seem to be a bit more shy than the regular JD's as the above poster picture shows.

Here's the Electric Blue.

Oh and yes, +1 on an Oscar not being able to live in a 55g for it's whole life.

Jeeze you sure thats an electric blue JD? Mine is a regular and more blue than that