Heavy stocking cichlid tank advice....

[Nellynel]

Yep twice in the last month and a half still got a few survivors.

Cool.....yeah i think yours is about the size of mine

 

[snowman17]

I'm sure they may have a lot of knowledge and that's why I'm thinking about trading my bee for something that doesn't get as big. I did think they would max out at about 5,6 inches. My question was about possibly adding more fish and that didn't get addressed.

Like I said if u add more I would move the bee and jewels or keep em no real experience with them. But I would add some basics like red or blue zebra, yellow lab, maingano, rustys, ice blues, and do 1 male 3-4 females.

 

[Nellynel]

Like I said if u add more I would move the bee and jewels or keep em no real experience with them. But I would add some basics like red or blue zebra, yellow lab, maingano, rustys, ice blues, and do 1 male 3-4 females.

Yeah i saw your suggestion about adding more auratus. The person I quoted was not talking about you.

 

[snowman17]

Yeah i saw your suggestion about adding more auratus. The person I quoted was not talking about you.

O ok lol

 

[Freakgecko91]

It has been addressed. The answer is no, because with aggressive species like auratus and crabro, they are best kept in groups and with other aggressive species. A 55 is just not big enough for an aggressive tank IMO and wih more fish means less room for territories, leading to more issues and deaths. My advice would be to change your stock. Jewels typically don't work out in mbuna tanks. Auratus and crabro are aggressive and the latter is quite large. If you start over, you have limitless possibilities and the potential to have a tank with several fish

 

[snowman17]

It has been addressed. The answer is no, because with aggressive species like auratus and crabro, they are best kept in groups and with other aggressive species. A 55 is just not big enough for an aggressive tank IMO and wih more fish means less room for territories, leading to more issues and deaths. My advice would be to change your stock. Jewels typically don't work out in mbuna tanks. Auratus and crabro are aggressive and the latter is quite large. If you start over, you have limitless possibilities and the potential to have a tank with several fish

Yea I made alternate suggestions for his/her stock

 

[Nellynel]

It has been addressed. The answer is no, because with aggressive species like auratus and crabro, they are best kept in groups and with other aggressive species. A 55 is just not big enough for an aggressive tank IMO and wih more fish means less room for territories, leading to more issues and deaths. My advice would be to change your stock. Jewels typically don't work out in mbuna tanks. Auratus and crabro are aggressive and the latter is quite large. If you start over, you have limitless possibilities and the potential to have a tank with several fish

That's the first time you said I shouldn't add any more. Thanks for your opinion. I said I may trade the bee for something that doesn't get as big. I said the auratus gets out of the jewels way and the jewel backs down the bee. Are you saying jewels are not aggressive? I've had jewels with auratus for a couple years before i even had a jewels with jacks and auratus for a couple years before i sold them to a pet store before I had to deploy. The bumble bee is the only one I'm new to but jewels have always been able the hang with what ever fish I had

 

[Nellynel]

I am having no issues with these fish.. The one jewel the is isolated was beat up when I got him from the LPS and I'm just giving him time to heal

 

[Freakgecko91]

This is from AqAdvisor:

Warning: Bumble Bee Cichlid is not recommended to be with Jewel Cichlid - mbuna species should not be mixed with other groups.
Warning: Bumble Bee Cichlid is not recommended to be with Chinese Algae Eater - mbuna species should not be mixed with other groups.
Warning: At least 5 x Melanochromis Auratus are recommended in a group.
Warning: Melanochromis Auratus is not recommended to be with Jewel Cichlid - mbuna species should not be mixed with other groups.
Warning: Melanochromis Auratus is not recommended to be with Chinese Algae Eater - mbuna species should not be mixed with other groups.
Note: Chinese Algae Eater will become incredibly aggressive and destructive when they become adults.
Warning: Chinese Algae Eater is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 11 inches.
Note: You have selected mbuna species. [SIZE=-1](Read more about beginner mbuna species here)[/SIZE].
Warning: At least 5 x Bumble Bee Cichlid are recommended in a group.

Warning: Your selected species may eventually require 268% of your aquarium space. You may need to deal with territorial aggressions later on. Try removing some of (Hemichromis bimaculatus, Synodontis euptera, Gyrinocheilus aymonieri) or get a larger tank.


Recommended temperature range: 75.2 - 78.8 F. [SIZE=-1][Display in Celsius][/SIZE]
Warning: Water pH requirements are not fully compatible between all selected species.
=> 6.4 - 7.5: Jewel Cichlid
=> 7.6 - 9: Bumble Bee Cichlid
=> 7.6 - 9: Melanochromis Auratus
=> 5.6 - 7.5: Featherfin Catfish
=> 6 - 8: Chinese Algae Eater
Recommended hardness range: 10 - 15 dH.

Recommended water change schedule: 35% per week.
Your aquarium stocking level is 113%.

 

[Nellynel]

Warning: Your selected species may eventually require 163% of your aquarium space. You may need to deal with territorial aggressions later on. Try removing some of (Hemichromis bimaculatus, Synodontis euptera, Gyrinocheilus aymonieri) or get a larger tank.

You have plenty of aquarium filtration capacity.

Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 184%. Recommended water change schedule: 10% per week. Your aquarium stocking level is 51%.

 

[Nellynel]

That's a good tool. Thanks for showing me that. With the real numbers a few things are better off than what you came up with.....and I wonder why it only says the algae eaters are not recommended for my tank because of its size potential it doesn't say the bumble bee will be a problem it even says it should be a group of 5...i will eventually get rid of the algae eaters when they get bigger and use algae inhibitor and...thanks