redoing my 55 gal. suggestions, help, comments??!?!

[Renn1206]

so i decided i was going to break down my 55 gal and make it what i really want so i took the stand which i don't really want and painted it a rusty type of color i used Rust-leum with the hammered texture and i am currently in the process of painting the background black on the tank and i'm also painting the plastic from the brownish color to black as well (i like black). i am on a budget and the stand is an iron stand so i think i'm going to stick with the HOB filters rather than a canister filter although i might still consider it. (i like to hear from experience if anyone prefers HOB or canister filters?) i am going to hang a shop light from the ceiling and depending on what i decide to do with the aquarium which i will get into in a second i will put the appropriate lighting for plant growth! now this is where my dilemma comes into play i really like how Malawi cichlids look in the aquarium but i already have some fish what i have now are:
1 albino rainbow shark 4-5"
1 pleco 3"
1striped raphael catfish 1-1 1/2"
1 angelfish 2"
1 striped peacock eel 5-6"
now i want to keep the eel regardless but i cant decide on weather to do an angelfish tank or a cichlid tank. i have some stones to make caves and things of that nature the substrate i still need to get weather it be sand or gravel i want it to be black. if for angelfish i would obviously need to plant some stuff in there what would be recommended. *question and i think the answer might be "NO" but would i be ok planting aquarium grass with the eel? and are there any cichlids that might be able to live in peace with the eel? i also plan on getting driftwood regardless of what fish i decide to go with.

 

[Origamgam]

Hi I don't have very much experience but here is my opinion I would keep the pleeco (idk if it will go with the eel) and go with chinchlids cuz I have bad luck with angelfish

 

[paytertot]

If your pleco is a common one then I would rehome him because he will get way too big for your tank (possibly over 18 inches)and will potentially be a little territorial and does nothing for your tank and has a huge bioload.

 

[Xand3r]

I would also rehome the pleco if it is a common one and if you really like plecos just get a bristlenose or bushy nose pleco they are smaller. I thought that striped peacock eels get 18" + don't they?
Angelfish are also cichlids, so you have to decide if you want africans or south americans like the angelfish. If you go with south americans apistogramma and rams are pretty cool but I don't think they will get along with the eel since they also like to hang on the bottom of the tank. f you want to have live plants south americans is the way to go. You can have driftwood and live plants. If you are going with south americans and live plants, get a couple of amazon swords my rams used to lay eggs on the leaves so that's a plus.

As for the substrate I would go with sand, I'm pretty sure that your eel would appreciate it, and if you get cichlids it will be fun to watch them while they make holes and caves or when they move the sand so their fry can eat.

 

[Origamgam]

Hi I was wondering how do you tell if it's a common pleco cuz I don't know what I have in my ten gallon

 

[emerald76]

Take a pic and post it here
lol

 

[Renn1206]

I would also rehome the pleco if it is a common one and if you really like plecos just get a bristlenose or bushy nose pleco they are smaller. I thought that striped peacock eels get 18" + don't they?
Angelfish are also cichlids, so you have to decide if you want africans or south americans like the angelfish. If you go with south americans apistogramma and rams are pretty cool but I don't think they will get along with the eel since they also like to hang on the bottom of the tank. f you want to have live plants south americans is the way to go. You can have driftwood and live plants. If you are going with south americans and live plants, get a couple of amazon swords my rams used to lay eggs on the leaves so that's a plus.

As for the substrate I would go with sand, I'm pretty sure that your eel would appreciate it, and if you get cichlids it will be fun to watch them while they make holes and caves or when they move the sand so their fry can eat.

Thanks for the info i disnt know that angelfish were a species of cichlids thats pretty interesting. I did some research and decided to go with the african cichlids. The substrate isnt really what they want (river pebbles) but i neeed more ao i might put sonething different on top of it. One thing i cant figure out and would like to get some input on from personal experience is if i can have plants in there with them and they be safe and not uprooted lol i also plan on getting driftwood for the tank

 

[Xand3r]

IME most plants and africans don't mix if you have anything in the substrate they will uproot it. As I said before cichlids love to dig. The only plants that I would add to cichlid tank are anubias and/or ferns, but if you have vegetarian cichlids (most mbunas) they will also devour some of them. I have a couple of red zebras that destroyed an anubia attached to a rock in a mater of hours, but I also have some P. demasoni that not even look at the plants, but they are juveniles so who knows what will happen when they reach adult size. But I'm sure that someone else has come up with trick to keep different plants in an african tank.

 

[Renn1206]

I havnt been on here lately unfortunately my dad passed away :'( so i had to travel so i havnt been around my tank this week. But its given me some time to do a bit more research and since my dad is a fisherman and shared this wonderful hobby im going to remake my 55gal in his memory and i decided im going to make a peacock cichlid tank i am going to rehome my current fish or set up another tank :O (my wife is gonna flip ... But i have a couple ideas for this peacock tank. Im having a hard tine trying to figure out how many to put in the tank i dont want to max it out but i dont want too little i want a decent ammount i was thinkin maybe 15 but i also want to get Synodontis Multipunctatus i dont know wether to do 1 or 2

 

[paytertot]

Oh no! I'm so sorry for your loss but The tank in his memory is a fantastic idea, I can't wait to see how it goes

 

[Renn1206]

Oh no! I'm so sorry for your loss but The tank in his memory is a fantastic idea, I can't wait to see how it goes

Thank you. I know he would love it i cant wait to get it started and finished. as it comes along i will post pictures.

 

[Xand3r]

I havnt been on here lately unfortunately my dad passed away :'( so i had to travel so i havnt been around my tank this week. But its given me some time to do a bit more research and since my dad is a fisherman and shared this wonderful hobby im going to remake my 55gal in his memory and i decided im going to make a peacock cichlid tank i am going to rehome my current fish or set up another tank :O (my wife is gonna flip ... But i have a couple ideas for this peacock tank. Im having a hard tine trying to figure out how many to put in the tank i dont want to max it out but i dont want too little i want a decent ammount i was thinkin maybe 15 but i also want to get Synodontis Multipunctatus i dont know wether to do 1 or 2

You can always use aqadvisor.com. There you can answer a couple of questions about your set up and it will give you a general idea of your stocking level, filtration capacity , and other information such as compatibility of species you want to keep, m:f ratio, water parameters, etc.

 

[butterfly_koi]

Try posting your questions about the cichlids in the freshwater cichlid section they will be able answer any cichlid questions you may have