Just starting out

[DirtyTankMan]

I am in the process of getting a 55 gallon tank and I am planning on going with cichlids. I have a fair amount of experience in the hobby but not with cichlids, only planted tanks. So what are the must have fish and must know techniques? My what is hard, alkaline, and has slightly high ph; correct me if I am wrong but I think that is about right for cichlids. Any tips or advice will help.

 

[cbourg746]

First I think you should do some research on African, south American and central American cichlids. Choose which one you like the best and then come here for stocking advise. You don't want to mix the old worlds (Africans) and new worlds (south/central) together because they have different dietary and water parameter requirements. Africans are for the most part very colorful and give you the option to have more fish in your stock. There are a ton of people here that have Africans and can be a great help to you. New worlds are what I keep and they are beautiful fish with tons of personality but the drawback is you maybe limited to one or two fish in your tank. 55 gal is considered the biggest of the small tanks by most standards. If that make any sense.

 

[DirtyTankMan]

My dad has always kept dempseys and so far I have only done planted community tanks. I was/am leaning towards africans due partially to the rarity of some species and the stocking possibilities. I get what you mean about the tank size. (after 55 the sizes jump considerably from each tank) Because of the size of the tank I am going to have to stick to smaller Africans.. Thank you for the advice

 

[CraigMac]

My dad has always kept dempseys and so far I have only done planted community tanks. I was/am leaning towards africans due partially to the rarity of some species and the stocking possibilities. I get what you mean about the tank size. (after 55 the sizes jump considerably from each tank) Because of the size of the tank I am going to have to stick to smaller Africans.. Thank you for the advice

Something to consider, African cichlids generally come from high ph waters. If you ph is low, acidic that could cause some potential issues. You could work around it but it would be some extra work on your end.

 

[DirtyTankMan]

Something to consider, African cichlids generally come from high ph waters. If you ph is low, acidic that could cause some potential issues. You could work around it but it would be some extra work on your end.

I apologize, I meant to say my water is high ph, will go back to op and fix it..

 

[DirtyTankMan]

What kind of substrate is the best if any? Would mbunas, haps, or peacocks be best for a 55 gallon? What kind of stocking can I go with?

 

[garfy]

Sand and mbuna's with rockwork and if you like driftwood.

 

[Mrc8858]

Substrate is really your choice but they seem to enjoy my blasting sand since it is much easier to rescape all my hard work lol. Personally with a 55 I would either do a peaceful (mbuna wise ..) mbuna tank with labs and afras (more then just that just an idea) or a peacock tank. Which I'm partial to the OB and the ruby. Try going to livefishdirect.com and browse their site to see what you like. They don't provide much information on the fish unfortunately but when you see something you like just Google it or ask us

 

[cbourg746]

What kind of substrate is the best if any? Would mbunas, haps, or peacocks be best for a 55 gallon? What kind of stocking can I go with?

Convict just did his with black sand and looks amazing!!!! Brings out the colors in his beautiful fish.

 

[Kirky88]

Sorry to hijack but I also have a question on this subject....... Can yellow labs and peacocks be mixed?

 

[Mrc8858]

Sorry to hijack but I also have a question on this subject....... Can yellow labs and peacocks be mixed?

If its your first go at cichlids I wouldn't reccomend trying to mix mbuna with anything else but yes it can be done many tanks have that mix including mine. Labs are among the most peaceful of the mbuna though so i wouldn't try it with much else maybe some afras