New World Cichlid Stocking (55 Gallon)

[Gui101do]

New World Cichlid Stocking (55 Gallon) NOW WITH PICS!!

Hello, I am a novice cichlid owner and would very much appreciate some advice!

My Rough specs:
I have a 55 gallon tank (48x13x24), 2 powerheads, an undergravel filtration system, and an appropriate power filter.

The Cichlids we are interested in are; Electric Blue Jack Dempseys, Green Terrors, Red Parrots, Cockatoos & Firemouths.

Other fish we have contemplated adding if able: Redtail Shark, Gold Dojo or Clown Loach, any applicable Barb, Hammers Cobalt Blue Lobster.

Here are my questions:

What would be any GLARING compatibility issues amongst the Cichlids? I am aware of the semi-aggressive to aggressive nature of the Cichlids, but I also know that the lobster and barbs can be hearty and may be able to hold their own.

With my specs and tank size, what would be the max limit of cichlid ONCE THEY ARE FULL GROWN. I don't want these fish to fit now, but then once they mature, become over-crowded. What's a realistic number of cichlids/others so that I will not have over-crowding issues down the line? 4 cichlids? 5? Less? More?

Thank you for your time.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

Welcome to AA!!

Youve made an awesome choice by going with CA/SA (central/south american) cichlids. Ill give you my insight and remember that there are exceptions to just about every species.

EBJD's are good fish that add color. They dont get as big as the regular jack dempsey and are less aggressive. As long as you add enough hiding places you will be ok with this one.

Green terrors are pretty, but are on the aggressive side and get pretty big so IMO id avoid that one.

Blood Parrots are awesome fish and are normally pretty passive, but have huge personalities. They do however get big, but if you really want one, id recommend you keep up with your water changes and be sure to over filter if possible.

Firemouths will be ok as long as you only get one, because they will get aggressive when its time to breed. I wouldnt however recommend putting all the fish in, maybe pick one or two larger fish for your big species.

I dont know much about the rts's but i think they get pretty big, i know clown loaches get really big and youd need a larger tank for them. You can go with 5-6 gold or tiger barbs to add movement and they should be fine.

An example of a good set up given what youve listed could potentially be..
1 EBJD
1 BP (there are smaller ones that have been bred with small fish ie convicts)
6-7 tiger barbs
3 cory cats
This is a fully stocked tank IMO, but as long as it has ALOT of hiding caves and is over filtered (fluval 405 maybe) and you keep up with weekly water changes it should work out perfect.

Good luck and post pictures!!

 

[Gui101do]

Thanks for the insight. I've read that Blood Parrots & Green Terrors only grow to about 8 inches, which would be preferable to 10 inch regular Jack Dempseys.

We had hoped to plant some in the aquarium as well, but have read that cichlids ae notorious for destroying plant life. Any suggestion for plants that they may not shred or is it inevitable and we should drop the idea?

Thanks again.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

Most SA cichlids dont really bother the plants, but it really is up to the fish. As far as the size, electric blue jack dempsey's are smaller than the regular ones. If you get a green terror in a 55 it will quickly establish whos the boss. If you do really want to go with one i would not put the blood parrot in there because they dont have forward teeth and would not be able to stand up to the green terror. Ive never seen a blood parrot that big either, but if you have a pic i would love to see one as ill have 3 in my 250 gal haha.

As far as plants are concerned, are you going to have driftwood? If so then you can get moss like flame moss that will attach to the wood and create a sweet looking enviroment. I have some amazon sword and it get big and broad which is nice. Check out the planted section and theyll give you plenty of insight.

 

[flippergonzo]

+1 to CA_BroncoFan on stocking tips!

Regarding the plants, I have an African tank that was heavily planted with annubias, java moss and java fern for several months. Nobody touched the plants at all. Then all of a sudden it was like they realized that there was a big salad buffet and everything was shredded in a month or less. Good luck to you with the plants. As Chad says, moss attaches easily to driftwood (most of my tanks are FILLED with driftwood and I love that look) and the CA/SA species are less plant hungry.

Cheers, Jef

 

[DragonFish71]

SA's have different diet concerns than africans, so plant eating isn't a worry.

I had kept JD's, firemouths and jewels (yeah africans) together. We recently had to remove the pair of firemouths due to the aggression. They decided to spawn and no one was safe.

Personally, I'd be more concerned about over crowding your 55g and over loading the filtration. Before the new tank, our 55g had 2 JDs, 2 jewels, 2 firemouths, pictus and syn.catfish. I had two HOB's rated for 60g each, a UGF w/ pwerheads and still had to clean the tank every other day. Cichlids are major bio-load producers. Don't believe me, I'll get you a pic of the poo pile before I do my weekly cleaning. IMHO, I'd do the EBJDs and some pictus cats. I wouldn't go with the blood parrots or anything else. If you feel you just have to get more fish, 'cause I know there are people who insist on having a full tank and disregarding advice, get giant danios. They add plenty of movement to the tank, are not aggressive and don't add much to the bio-load. The corys that were mentioned CAN become dinner. It has happened.

 

[Gui101do]

So, a Blood Parrot & an Electric Blue Jack Dempsey would co-exist pretty well together? I would love going with that, their color contrast would look awesome, I think. I also like that these 2 cichlids are sort of on the small-medium side of things.

I would like to have more than just 2 cichlids in my tank, but what else could live with them? Wouldn't Tiger Barbs be too small to survive with cichlids?

I like the idea of moss and driftwood, I'm going to check out that option the next time I go to my local pet shop. Thank you for the excellent suggestions so far, I'm learning a lot!

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

In my opinion, yes if you get both cichlids in their juvenile form so like 2 inches, yes they will be fine. Be sure to do your research and make sure you actually get an electric blue jack. You will be fine with tigers, but i would suggest putting the school of tigers in first. Have them in for a little bit so they can get a little larger (or if you dont want to wait buy them bigger) and then put the cichlids in. Id go with the blood parrot first and then the EBJD because the BP will actually have a chance to scope the tank and claim his spot.

Again i cannot stress enough break up in the decor with rocks and caves, doing this will greatly increase your chances for success with these two cichlids. oh and did i mention..post pics!!

 

[Gui101do]

I intend to post images. Right now the tank is not fully decorated, but I'm thinking of having a rockey area on one side, a driftwood/rock area on the opoosite side & a pirate ship in the middle. Yea, the ship is a little hokey, but it looks so cool!

Our pet guy said he would advise against tiger barbs because they could turn out to be food for the cichlids. I didn't get a chance to ask him what else would be a good option with cichlids, though. Any other possibly friendly tankmate ideas before I go in to make purchases?

 

[DragonFish71]

I guess my post got ignored. I mentioned giant danios as possible tank mates since I keep them with my cichlids.

 

[Gui101do]

I do like the Giant Danios, Dragonfish. The only part about them that worries me is that I read they need to be in a group of 5 or more. If I have an Electric Blue Jack Dempsey & a Blood Red Parrot, I am afraid that 5 Giant Danios would max out my stocking.

What cichlids do you keep with your danios and how many danios do you have?

 

[Gui101do]

Here's some photos of my tank. Again, it's a 55 gallon (48 in, 13 in, 24 in), undergravel filter, 2 powerheads, Aquaclear 70 power filter, heater:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_HYXTGxHvZq0/S709GT3ujZI/AAAAAAAADE4/0cinAAJo0Xw/s800/55G_Cichlid.JPG
Wide Shot

Right Side

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_HYXTGxHvZq0/S709HL0YqyI/AAAAAAAADFA/qc8A2QF
Left side

The green in the top corners is plastic hanging plants to hide the powerheads and the tubes from the undergravel filter trays. Would it matter that the plastic plants in the top right are grazing the heater?

The other plants are real.

I'm going to get more rocks or a medium-sized driftwood for the left side.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

That looks really good, id totally throw rock and wood in there for sure!!!

Dragon is right in suggesting the giant danios (which i totally passed over and didnt see...whoops) you should have enough room. The GD will add a lot of movement like dragon said. Ive seen them in the store but never had them, ive only had the regular danios and if theyre similar once in the tank they are nutty!!

Your fish guy is right about the tigers becoming a snack , but in my opinion if you do as i said by letting them get big or buying them big they wont be able to fit them anywhere close to their mouth.

 

[DragonFish71]

We keep 2 dozen with 2 JDs, 2 jewels and 5 different catfish.

But we did keep a dozen in our 55 before we moved everyone to the 120. While in the 55, there was also 2 firemouths, so the tank was very stocked.

I suggest them because the cichlids actually avoid them. They zip around so fast it freaks them out. They also color up nicely on a good diet. They also don't try to nip like barbs might. They are content to swim, eat and play in the current.

 

[Gui101do]

I am starting to get a specific idea of what will be stocked in the tank. I'm going to purchase some of the lucky inhabitants this weekend. I was thinking of going with something like this:

1 Rainbow Shark (or 1 Redtail Shark)
1 Blood Parrot Chichlid
1 Electric Blue Jack Dempsey
1 Cockatoo Chichlid

If the sharks and cockatoo are not a possibility, the 5 Great Danios seem like a great option as well, my only worry with the 5 GD's is that their bio-load would be too much.

Is anyone here familiar with the Cockatoo? It is nicely colored, but at only 3 1/2 inches, I'm worried it would be too small to be with the BP & the EBJD?

Oh, one more question: what options would there be for scavengers that peacefully live with cichlids? A creature or a few that would be good at cleaning up excess food and/or algae?

 

[DragonFish71]

I wouldn't suggest the cockatoo, it's a dwarf species and not as aggressive as the others.


The best success I've had for scavengers has been pictus and synodontis catfish. They stay a reasonable size. If you went for a smaller pleco, like a bristlenose, which on average only get about 4-5 inches, the tank would be just about right. If I was stocking this tank for me, I'd go with 2 EBJD, 2 pictus, 1 bristlenose and 5-9 giant danios. But that's just me. I really don't like blood parrots much

 

[Gui101do]

Out of curiosity, why don't you like blood parrots that much? Something with their personality/temperment or upkeep? or just a personal preference?

 

[DragonFish71]

I don't like the looks of them. I'm not sure why, but they just don't look like a cichlid to me.

 

[Gui101do]

We went fish buying today. We got:

2 Kissing Gouramis
1 Electric Blue Jack Demsey
1 Synodontis Eupterus Catfish
2 Zebra Nerite Snail

In 3 weeks or so, we are planning on adding:

1 Blood Parrot
1 Retail Shark

If the 1 inch of fish for every gallon of tank rule applies, I have roughly 48-50 inches if the Blood Parrot & Redtail Shark are added.

Thoughts?

Pictures to come very soon.

 

[DragonFish71]

1 inch per gallon is a falsehood. By that reasoning you could put a 16inch oscar in a 16 inch tank. Or, my favorite way of making it a more human analogy: a 6 foot 200 lb full grown man in a small dog kennel.