new auratus cichlid

[hadvisor]

ok, I have a 55 gallon tank that was given to me, just cleaned it out(old cichlid tank-dank nasty...) and all looks fine. I was gonna start salt but I just have to give my auratus a new home from his 20 gallon. I need some suggestions. The twenty has flourite mix gravel with a live plant - could only keep one fish in that tank - too many fights. What should I expect or can I mix in with that type of fish in the 55 gallon? With more room should I still see some aggression? The fish is about three inches long - getting pretty big. What should I do for gravel in the new tank? Can I do sand? Should I just continue with the flourite mix-which i like the way it looks and the fish loves to move it all around the tank..Im kinda ranting here sorry...
Sand-yes/no
type of colorful/fun fish to watch to mix with auratus
55 gallon a good size for a cichlid tank?
thanks
Oh ya, would you worry about this crack in the center support in the 55gallon?(no pic?crack in plastic where center support T's off-minor crack...)

[ferret]

I hate to bust your bubble, but if you mean melachromis auratus, you might as well leave it in the 20 gallon, especially if its a male. They're extremely aggressive and territorial, and is quite capable of claiming 90% of a 55 gallon tank as its own and forcing all other fish into that remaining 10%.

I used to have one in a 90 gallon. It had claimed 50%, and kept even the larger fish out of its half.

Trying to base a tank around an auratus really limits you, so you may consider going another path.

[patryuji]

A crack could further develop into a much worse crack until it ultimately breaks. Try repairing the crack first.

[Menagerie]

If the auratus is a yellow and black guy--he's mean, really mean! That would be the only cichlid I ever told my fiancé MUST go. Then he was donated to the university where the lab coordinator put him in with two large Oscars. The little runt had the Oscars cowering in the corner.

[ferret]

Male auratus's are nearly black with a pale strip. The juvi's are that classic yellow/white/black strips. The adult females are basicly like the juvi's but the yellow dulls to a brown.

[AdamsZoological]

You can work a tank around auratus, or any Melanochromis species for that matter, just be sure to mix him in with more aggressive Mbuna, stay away from the docile species, such as Labidochromis. You can mix him with C. afra, some of the Pseudotropheus zebra variants, and others like P. flavus, and P. elongatus, most of these guys will co-habitate with Melanochromis, and do well. The key to it all, is how your tank is arranged, and stocked, you want a ton of rockwork, with numerous caves and passageways, this way there are plenty of small, individual territores all over the tank, and countless hiding places. Also, stock the tank really well, use a ton of other Mbunas, I'd go with about 18 fish in there, most Mbunas will get to about 4", so it does seem somewhat over-crowded, but Mbuna are the exception to that rule, that is how you want them, it cuts down on aggression, and makes for a more harmonious community, just be sure to get some killer filtration going. I'd recommend a turnoever of about 20 X, so, aproximately 1000 [acronym:aa5ac3c0f7="Gallons per hour"]GPH[/acronym:aa5ac3c0f7]. That might sounds like a chore, but its an easy task, a couple $35 AquaClear 500s would do the trick, very well. Good luck with it.

[Menagerie]

My auratus was still yellow and black--not mature, but still the meanest fish I never want to keep!! The auratus' main "competition" was a Pseudotropheus zebra in an overstocked tank.
Hadvisor, good luck with the auratus, personally, I will never keep one again!

[hadvisor]

I've had the fish for so long now - kinda grew attached to him. It's such a blast to sit and watch him eat, dig, move stuff and mess with other fish. I was hoping that if the tank was big enough with plenty of places to hide that i could group him together with other fish. You know how it is when you have a fish for at least a year-just cant get rid of him...

[Menagerie]

Yes, I'm about to have that problem with my Jack Dempsey. You could try what AdamsZoological suggested. However, [acronym:504e63c334="In My Honest Opinion"]IMHO[/acronym:504e63c334], I would not chance it.

[AdamsZoological]

I can see Menagerie's point in seeing it as a risk, but it really isn't. Cichlids have been my specialty for quite some time, and I've done alot of work with the fish of Lake Malawi. Again, the fish you'd want to go with are the more aggressive types of Mbuna, or, you could even try some of the semi-aggressive types of Haplochromines, such as Sciaenochromis ahli, as an example. But, DO NOT go for the aggressive types of Haps, they would rip any Mbuna, including the mighty auratus to shreds in a heartbeat. Although auratus seem highly aggressive, there are many other types of Cichlids that would love to get their lips around one. Just be sure to get plenty of rock work in there.