Changing to a 55 gallon.

[stephen12]

I have a 55 gallon tank and have kept fish for a while. When I first got the fish tank my end goal was to get African Cichilds, but started with easier community tank. I feel like I am to the point where I can get started. However there are so many options and a lot of contradictory information that I am not sure what goes well. I am still a little bit away from making the change, but I am starting to look into it. Some of the fish I like are Electric Yellows, Red Zebra, Auratus, and Demasoni. I would like any advice you might have on the subject or if you have any other good starter African cichlids or tank set up suggestions. Thanks.

 

[toddnbecka]

In a 55 you could stock a dozen demasoni and 5-6 electric yellows if you have massive filtration and do large weekly water changes. Forget the auratus, they're simply too aggressive for a 55 even on their own, much less with other species. Zebras aren't quite as bad, you could swap them out for the demasoni, but the demasoni really need to be kept in a minimum size group of 10 to spread their conspecific aggression around enough.
If you go to a 75 gallon tank you have a lot more options, the additional 6" depth makes a world of difference.

 

[stephen12]

What about some rusties? I have heard good things about them and they do well with Demasonis and Yellow Labs.

 

[Mebbid]

What about some rusties? I have heard good things about them and they do well with Demasonis and Yellow Labs.

The Demasoni are a hyper aggressive cichlid. I would skip those and instead get Maingano for something a lot more peaceful but with keeping the intense blue coloration. Putting the maingano, rusties, and yellow labs together would be a good plan keep 6 of each with 1m and 5f of each species.

Otherwise you will need to keep 1 male demasoni with at least 12 females and that's almost the entire stocking of a tank the size of a 55g.

 

[toddnbecka]

What about some rusties? I have heard good things about them and they do well with Demasonis and Yellow Labs.

Again, you need a large number of demasoni to keep them, start with 5-6 and you'll end up with 1. That limits the options for a second species, and eliminates a third in a 55. I've seen a 55 stocked with demasoni and yellow Lab's like I already said, not only working long-term but even a few fry growing out among the rocks. You're realistically not going to find anyone who will sell you 1m/12f, and it's not necessary anyway.
Maingano are less aggressive, but also grow larger than demasoni, as do rusties. Filtration and water changes will help, but you also need enough floor space for the different species to establish territories w/out killing each other. You may be able to keep all 3 species in a 55, but you wan't be able to maintain 3 breeding groups in the long run.

 

[stephen12]

What about single cichlids. I have seen a lot of tanks online that have only one of a species in a tank with dozens of cichlids. I have read some mix things about it. I have also read some advice that says you should keep all males or all females. I am pretty knew to Africans and just want to make sure I get my first tank right. There is a lot to learn and I bet after doing it for a while I get a better grasp on it. Thanks for all the help so far.

 

[Mebbid]

The general stocking for cichlids is to keep a few different species at the ratio of 1 male to a specific number of females or only 1 male of a bunch of different species and 0 females.

 

[stephen12]

Thanks everyone for the help. I am still not sure what I am going to do, but I have a month before I start buying any fish as I get my tank ready. If anyone has any ideal set up for a 55 gallon, I would be open to any suggestion. I almost feel that I am just going to have to make my best guest, see how it works and go from there. As long as I do not do anything too dumb, that I might be ok.

 

[josh7]

If you want a single cichlid or a pair go for larger new worlds. Go with a pair of jack Dempseys or green terrors they are awesome!

 

[stephen12]

I have looked into getting some New Worlds, I have had Oscars before and liked them a lot. I was looking to have more fish though. Those fish get two big where you can only put one or two in the tank. Green Terrors are very tempting though.

 

[josh7]

You could always get a single jack dempsey with a few tankmates. I think the fish you want is a Severum though! They get large And colorful and have a low bioload for their size. You could do a stock of
1- Severum
5- Denison Barbs
1- BN Pleco
1- Spotted Raphael Catfish

Would look good IMO.