Hi... I would love some help with stocking my tank before i make any major mistakes (assuming i havent already) there is so much information out there that i have confused myself 
OK.. i have a 55 gallon rectangle tank (i found this out
) i now have housed in it.. One electric yellow (sex unknown) One female Lombardi (definite female) One Johanni who could be male as under certain light he is definitely showing blue bold stripes.. yet you can see yellow on fin tips and tail??? One sulphur crested Lithocate (i have no idea on sex but as he is so colourful i am assuming male??) and one Pleco.
I realise the rule of thumb is to generally keep a reasonably stocked African tank to spread aggression, and to keep limited males to female ratios. In the Johanni species i understand that it is best to keep one male only at any time.
Where do i go from here?? do i keep the one yellow until i discover its sex.. or do i add some older females?? do i just keep the Johanni with no females or will he then go and breed with the female Lombardi (who is the dominant fish in the tank)... shall i get male Lombardis... or shall i just get some other africans that look different and are different shapes and keep no groups?? i have been told to keep them all looking different to avoid aggression... i am so confused now i am unsure what steps to take and do not want to put anymore fish in until i know what is best.... They are all happy and healthy and i dont mind taking my time stocking the tank.
My filter is a hanging one that has a flow of 1000 L/H.. i have no carbon in it. I do a water change once a week and the filter sponge in the middle of every second week. Ph is 7.8 with no alteration and i have shells. Plenty of rocks and caves with plastic plants.
Right now i am feeding them brine shrimp a couple of times a week and Spirilina flakes the other times.. feed them twice a day and fast them once a week.
I would like a diverse range of colors in the tank if at all possible, but again i dont know because females tend to be less colorful than males.. and i cant have to many males can i??
Sooo... is that ok, is that enough information and am i doing everything right.. should i put carbon in the filter???
OK.. i have a 55 gallon rectangle tank (i found this out
) i now have housed in it.. One electric yellow (sex unknown) One female Lombardi (definite female) One Johanni who could be male as under certain light he is definitely showing blue bold stripes.. yet you can see yellow on fin tips and tail??? One sulphur crested Lithocate (i have no idea on sex but as he is so colourful i am assuming male??) and one Pleco. I realise the rule of thumb is to generally keep a reasonably stocked African tank to spread aggression, and to keep limited males to female ratios. In the Johanni species i understand that it is best to keep one male only at any time.
Where do i go from here?? do i keep the one yellow until i discover its sex.. or do i add some older females?? do i just keep the Johanni with no females or will he then go and breed with the female Lombardi (who is the dominant fish in the tank)... shall i get male Lombardis... or shall i just get some other africans that look different and are different shapes and keep no groups?? i have been told to keep them all looking different to avoid aggression... i am so confused now i am unsure what steps to take and do not want to put anymore fish in until i know what is best.... They are all happy and healthy and i dont mind taking my time stocking the tank.
My filter is a hanging one that has a flow of 1000 L/H.. i have no carbon in it. I do a water change once a week and the filter sponge in the middle of every second week. Ph is 7.8 with no alteration and i have shells. Plenty of rocks and caves with plastic plants.
Right now i am feeding them brine shrimp a couple of times a week and Spirilina flakes the other times.. feed them twice a day and fast them once a week.
I would like a diverse range of colors in the tank if at all possible, but again i dont know because females tend to be less colorful than males.. and i cant have to many males can i??
Sooo... is that ok, is that enough information and am i doing everything right.. should i put carbon in the filter???
