African cichlid stocking for a 55g

[mfdrookie516]

Also, I was wondering if I can feed my cichlids Hikari cichlid staple? It has 35% protein. And then I was thinking about supplementing with vegetarian flake food if I can find some. Does this sound ok?

And i may be wrong, spoon correct me if i am, but i was thinking that mbuna dont do well with a high protein diet. If im thinking correctly, they are naturally more of an herbivore and can bloat with too high protein in their diet.

 

[Aquarium1]

To clear it up, i didnt say they were aggressive...I think that was the same night we said we were going fishing in your tank too...

Sorry for wrongly accusing you. Please forgive me. It must have been someone else.

 

[Aquarium1]

And i may be wrong, spoon correct me if i am, but i was thinking that mbuna dont do well with a high protein diet. If im thinking correctly, they are naturally more of an herbivore and can bloat with too high protein in their diet.

You are correct, but Sicklid said tht 40% is what she feeds so I thot that 35% would be better and feeding it only once a day and supplementing once a day with kelp, vegetable, etc. flakes would help.

 

[mfdrookie516]

oh, well i just feed mine every other day... and i feed them whatever. Ive got african cichlid granules, its supposedly an optimal diet for them

 

[spoonman]

You would have a really hard time finding something with a lower than 35-40% protein. That is fine. Things like bloodworms are not good for them. Anything that is "cichlid food" will be fine. Most is around 35%. And yes, supplementing with veggies like zucchini and lettuce is great.

 

[Aquarium1]

You would have a really hard time finding something with a lower than 35-40% protein. That is fine. Things like bloodworms are not good for them. Anything that is "cichlid food" will be fine. Most is around 35%. And yes, supplementing with veggies like zucchini and lettuce is great.

good, thnx
Here's my updated tank.

I just learned that I should've used eggcrates because of pressure points. I'd have to tear down the whole tank almost completely .

 

[spoonman]

I wouldnt do it if you have big flat rocks on the bottom. That would only be a problem if you had pointed rocks on the bottom putting small pressure points on really small areas on the bottom glass.

 

[Aquarium1]

I wouldnt do it if you have big flat rocks on the bottom. That would only be a problem if you had pointed rocks on the bottom putting small pressure points on really small areas on the bottom glass.

Yeah all the rocks on the bottom are flat.

 

[mfdrookie516]

also make sure youve got your "base" rocks down against the glass, not just on the sand. I learned the hard way that sometimes they like to dig under the rocks

 

[Aquarium1]

ok, I guess I'll have to dig a little pfs out and onto the rocks but its not as bad as taking them all out and placing egg crate in it.

 

[spoonman]

I wouldnt even dig out the sand, just wiggle the rock back and forth and kind of work it down into the sand.

 

[Aquarium1]

I wouldnt even dig out the sand, just wiggle the rock back and forth and kind of work it down into the sand.

ok, thanks I'll have to do tht tomorrow.

 

[Sicklid]

Dude! Tank looks great, I already mentioned that my Red Zebras are like the referees of the tank, breaking up fights, lol... ADD THEM, they are great fish. Also, just make sure your rocks are ont he bottom glass or egg crate, not on sand that can be dug out from under them causing them to shift/topple!

 

[Moe55]

Great thread. I just brought home a 55 gallon tank and stand yesterday and will be using this thread for inspiration. I was wondering if I did a tank of 6-Yellow Labs and 5-Acei would I have room and or the correct environment to add a single male of a different species like a Demasoni or Hongi just for a little color and pattern contrast or should I just keep groups? Thanks for your help.

Moe

 

[spoonman]

A single would be fine. I have fish in groups and then I have a single albino and a single ob zebra. They are fine. My greshakei was also a single until I found him a girlfriend. They will be fine as long as it is a compatable species temperment wise.

 

[Sicklid]

I also added a lone male Greshakei who is really doing well for being the only male in my tank without a harem or even a rival male... I love Hongis, adult males are beautiful...

 

[Moe55]

Sounds great. This will be my first cichlid tank so I want to do it right. In a 55 it seems that 3 groups are often recommended with 4 fish per group but I may do two larger groups of Acei and Yellow Labs and fill out with a couple of single males of different colors. Either way I can't wait to get started.

Moe

 

[Aquarium1]

Ok, I really want some Demasoni. Is there anyway I could have some, like 2 Demasoni and 2 Acei, no Aceis and 4 Demasoni, or will they not work with zebras and labs? Thanks.

 

[Aquarium1]

Ok, I read demasoni can be really aggressive, so I've decided 1 Demasoni and 3 Acei. Sound ok?

 

[johnny_zanni]

you can try it, the only reason their aggressive is because people dont keep them in the right numbers. usually around 7-9 is a good bet to have very little aggression

if you want some blue, try and get cobalt blue zebras or ice blue zebras