stocking suggestions for 55g

[kjacks]

I have a 55g (48in L x 13in W x 20in H ) my tank came with a top fin 60 and i have a aqua tech 30-60 already i plan to use .. i know i need hiding spots n all that but not sure exactly what i should stock..here is what my petsmart has .. n yes its there or walmart .. my only other lfs is NASTY..

Acei , assorted african cichlids , auratus , jeweled cichlids , electric yellow labidochromis , bumble bee ciclids .. they have the a few others but im not sure what exactly..

I know i want a bumble bee in the tank bc my hubby asked for that fish specifically n we prefer not to have breedin if we can help it . Also wanted to know some about how many bristlenose or /and syndontis i should add..

Any and all help is much appreciated..

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I wouldn't add a bumble bee to that size tank. You'll have a lot better options if you order online witch is what a lot of us cichlid keepers do.

 

[kjacks]

Well is there any other that looks like a bumble bee that would b ok .. bc im sure its the color he likes about it

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Well is there any other that looks like a bumble bee that would b ok .. bc im sure its the color he likes about it

The female color is what your seeing the male color is not like that. The bumble bee gets big,has a big mouth and is pretty aggressive. If you don't want fry your going to need to aim for an all male tank.

This is a female

I'll get a male picture when the lights come on so you can see.

There are a ton of other fish that are yellow what is it that he likes about them?

 

[Jess1ca]

Well is there any other that looks like a bumble bee that would b ok .. bc im sure its the color he likes about it

There are Male Kenyi's that are yellow with black barring. I have a female Psuedotropheous Elongatus Ornatus that is quite attractive. Got the Ornatus out of the "assorted Cichlid" tank I couldn't find a pic of my Ornatus so I googled one

 

[kjacks]

Thanks...im sure he likes the yellow with the black barring...he isnt really into my fish so i thought i would try to get him more involved n we have totally differet ideas for my tank.. all his fish are higher priced or dont match well .. then he wants green substrate.. im like umm no im doing natural or black .. i gotta check n see what i have locally but prolly gonna order online

 

[Jess1ca]

Thanks...im sure he likes the yellow with the black barring...he isnt really into my fish so i thought i would try to get him more involved n we have totally differet ideas for my tank.. all his fish are higher priced or dont match well .. then he wants green substrate.. im like umm no im doing natural or black .. i gotta check n see what i have locally but prolly gonna order online

Green?! Like neon?! Lol! Oh, husbands, silly boys!

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I would research online stores to see what all is out there and make decisions from those. Most stores don't carry a large variety especially of ones that can go together.

Hey hey hey now I'm a dude and I'm totally against multi colored anything. All natural is the way to go imo.

 

[kjacks]

Yea...i finally agreed to get glow n the dark substrate thats a white in the daylight for my 5gal..my poor betta isnt gonna know what to think...but back to the topic at hand...i like the kenyis just not sure ifi can pick them out of a tank labeled assorted..n i dont have a lot of faith in petsmart but i know a saltwater place i can order anything i want from so i might try there..or drive a couple hours to a bigger city n try n find a good lfs...

 

[kjacks]

Umm actually i have a 10gal..i forgot i upgraded n gave my 5 to my neices..which i guess its still mine cause i provide n take care of all 3 tanks..

 

[Jess1ca]

Yea...i finally agreed to get glow n the dark substrate thats a white in the daylight for my 5gal..my poor betta isnt gonna know what to think...but back to the topic at hand...i like the kenyis just not sure ifi can pick them out of a tank labeled assorted..n i dont have a lot of faith in petsmart but i know a saltwater place i can order anything i want from so i might try there..or drive a couple hours to a bigger city n try n find a good lfs...

It's hard to pick them out at Petsmart because all juvies are blue with black stripes, as the male matures he loses the blue and turns yellow. My Petsmart sells the tiniest fish everrrr, it pretty much sucks, cuz it's super hard to sex em by looking at them.

 

[kjacks]

Mine does too...i didnt realize that the bumble bee got so big .. then my hubby wants the feather fin cat too... but i want the bristlenose so we are tryin to meet n the middle some..he thinks im crazy for wantin 5 of the same fish while he wants 1 of each..lol its a mess.. im just gonna do what i think is bedt bc he doesnt really know anything about fish

 

[Jess1ca]

Mine does too...i didnt realize that the bumble bee got so big .. then my hubby wants the feather fin cat too... but i want the bristlenose so we are tryin to meet n the middle some..he thinks im crazy for wantin 5 of the same fish while he wants 1 of each..lol its a mess.. im just gonna do what i think is bedt bc he doesnt really know anything about fish

Feather fin... A Syno? If it is Syndontis you could totally have both I have a ABN, Syndontis Multipunctatus, an just got what I think is and Albino Sailfin that I saved. Syno's are great scavengers and so stinking cute

 

[Andrew McFadden]

These links may help some

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f100/mbuna-peacock-and-hap-pictures-213393.html



http://www.aquariumadvice.com/lake-malawi-aquarium-stocking-cichlids/

 

[Andrew McFadden]

This is what the male looks like

 

[kjacks]

Feather fin... A Syno? If it is Syndontis you could totally have both I have a ABN, Syndontis Multipunctatus, an just got what I think is and Albino Sailfin that I saved. Syno's are great scavengers and so stinking cute

Yea its the synodontis...i just wasnt sure if we really needed both..i like them too but i have always wanted a bristelnose...so i guess we gonna get both...lol what do yall have in ur tanks ? Im lookin at caribsea aragonite aragamax oolite i can get a 30lb bag for $20.. which substrate is best ?

 

[Jess1ca]

Yea its the synodontis...i just wasnt sure if we really needed both..i like them too but i have always wanted a bristelnose...so i guess we gonna get both...lol what do yall have in ur tanks ? Im lookin at caribsea aragonite aragamax oolite i can get a 30lb bag for $20.. which substrate is best ?

I used all purpose Sand or blasting sand is what it really is, I love it cuz its clean and settled real fast so it never clouded the tank and when my fish make sand storms its so heavy it never reaches the filter intakes so I don't have to worry about burning up my impellers. Best part about it was I got 50 pounds for 5 bucks and was sooooo clean! Didn't need a ton of rinsing. I run crushed coral in one of my AquaClear 110's to keep ph up.

 

[kjacks]

These links may help some

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f100/mbuna-peacock-and-hap-pictures-213393.html

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/lake-malawi-aquarium-stocking-cichlids/

I have read these from another thread earlier this week ...they r helpful i think i have read so much that its to much to take in and its kinda confusing .. also i had a 75g in mind but the lady at petsmart talked me into the 55g...wish i would have grabbed it instead now..they had a huge sale n it was like $234 but i knew the hubby wasnt gonna b happy when i showed up with another tank..oh n petsmart told me i could mix all africans together as long as they were the same size..which i knew wasnt anywhere else has suggedted doing..their really arent many rules just alot of different suggestions and opinions..but i wanna try n prevent bad decisions n harm to my poor pets...any help is very much appreciated..so far yall are very helpful

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Yea its the synodontis...i just wasnt sure if we really needed both..i like them too but i have always wanted a bristelnose...so i guess we gonna get both...lol what do yall have in ur tanks ? Im lookin at caribsea aragonite aragamax oolite i can get a 30lb bag for $20.. which substrate is best ?

I went with the cheapest lol quickrete play sand it takes a bit to get used to, cleaning wise. It's like $2.50 a 50lb bag at home depot. It does take a few days for the water to clear up after installing it even if you rinse it well but it does the job. http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...&keyword=play+sand&storeId=10051#.UFigPOXCuBM

Before you put any sand in you should lay down egg crate first in case you wasn't aware thought I'd mention that.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...&keyword=egg+crate&storeId=10051#.UFif9OXCuBM

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I have read these from another thread earlier this week ...they r helpful i think i have read so much that its to much to take in and its kinda confusing .. also i had a 75g in mind but the lady at petsmart talked me into the 55g...wish i would have grabbed it instead now..they had a huge sale n it was like $234 but i knew the hubby wasnt gonna b happy when i showed up with another tank..oh n petsmart told me i could mix all africans together as long as they were the same size..which i knew wasnt anywhere else has suggedted doing..their really arent many rules just alot of different suggestions and opinions..but i wanna try n prevent bad decisions n harm to my poor pets...any help is very much appreciated..so far yall are very helpful

I haven't yet had any problems knock on wood. You can get away with a lot more I think the longer the tank. I wanted to put that in the article but 6' tanks are normally out of reach for others. The 75 would have been better as it sounds you already know. Most of us all say to stay under the 5" marker per fish when talking about 4' tanks. So id kinda consider that as a fact and not an opinion.

You need to look up the profiles of each fish these is another fact. This will tell you if the should be ok together going off of aggression and size. You wouldn't want to stick a mild aggressive with an extremely aggressive cichlid or there is bound to be problems. It's always a good idea to run stock past us here before purchasing them because some are listed wrong imo.

Ask away with any questions you may have we will all be glad to help out with whatever. Just remember every tank and every fish is different so its hard to give facts.