55 Gallon Tank, need your opinon on stocking!

[Yao]

I am getting a 55 gallon next week, and need some help deciding on what fish to stock.

When I first decided to get a 55, I wanted to start an Malawi cichlid tank with mbunas. I've done some research and realize they would need more work and I don't think I'd be able to get many of the fish I want from the LFS. I would love to have an moderately aggressive mbuna tank and I would build rock caves for it and hope to have the right conditions for them to breed. However, no I don't know if I have the amount of time/money it would require to start a Mbuna tank right now.

I thought about just having a regular community freshwater tank, and I think having many schools of fish would be pretty cool too. I haven't decided on what species, but I'd try to get many different colored fish for aesthetic purposes. (i.e. a school of 12 neons would be pretty.) This way, I'd be able to have more corys too.

Right now I have a 20 long with three young gold angels quickly outgrowing it. I also have two gouramis, two corys and two otos.

I would like to keep the angels, but I realize they are more aggressive, and would probably opt to sell them back to the LFS if having them would prevent me from having smaller fish like neon tetras. Obviously I would have to sell them back if I get a mbuna tank too. I definitely would like to keep my corys and otos, but not sure about the gouramis.

What does everyone think? Should I sell my fish and start a mbuna tank, or keep a freshwater community tank?

If I keep a community tank, which types of fish should I get? Would I be able to have one or two milder tempered cichlids along with my angels if I had tougher community fish or larger schools of them?

Any advice would be great, TIA!

 

[Zagz]

It really is a matter of personal preference. I have both cichlid tanks and community tanks. I prefer cichlids personally but I have both so obviously I like both. LOL Depending on where you are located and what there is around you for lfs's you could look into the possibility of ordering online. Shipping can be quite expensive and you will need to shop around.

 

[tmcgee]

I agree. It is mostly personal preference. However, I don't think cichlids are that much more expensive to keep except most are more expensive to purchase for the fish itself and availability isn't always there for what you are looking for. And you can put less fish in the tank because they grow bigger. Both would be attractive in the 55 though.

 

[Guest]

My mbuna tank is the easiest ive ever had.... Its 55 gallon and i love it.

 

[Yao]

I think I've pretty much decided to go with a mix of less aggressive south american cichlids and other community fish. Most of the websites I've looked at says it's okay to mix if you do it right and provide enough space/plants/hiding spots for everyone.

Here are some south americans I was looking at, I think most of these would be okay mixed with community fish, but input from those who've kept these before would be helpful!

Keyhole Cichlids
Severums (I know these get rather large, so probably a bad idea for my 55)
Bolivian Rams
German Rams
Kribs
Firemouths
Panda Dwarf Cichlid

I would like to pick 2-3 of these, unless I can have more.

I'll probably keep 3 gold angels, at least 2 corys and possibly two otos in the tank as well.

Other fish I was looking at getting:

8-12 Neon or Cardinal tetras. Besides color, I'm not sure what the difference is between these. Is one hardier than the other? Are these too small for cichlids?
2-4 more corys
bleeding heart tetras
Harlequin Rasbora
Serpae Tetra
Clown Loaches

Any suggestions would get great!


Also:

AshleyNicole, how many fish are you able to keep and which ones do you have? Do your mbunas breed? Also, do you get your fish from LFS or online? Thanks!

 

[Guest]

I got mine from the LFS. Some say my combo isn't that great because i have semi-aggressive (kenyi, melanochromis johanni) mixed with a few of the more peaceful mbuna. (yellow labs, acei) but they are doing well now. However they are just starting to reach sexual maturity so i have to be very careful and see what happens.

I have:
5 Acei
4 yellow labs (had 5 but one died )
5 kenyi (2 have become yellow (males) so i may have to get rid of one)
3 melanochromis johanni (1m,2F)
1 rainbow shark, 2 clown loaches, 1 bristlenose pleco

the rainbow shark and clown loaches were in the tank already when i decided to do mbuna.

 

[lovemybarbs]

my semi-agressive tank limits me, but I love it. Mean fish sure are pretty.