Stocking advice

[Aquarium Girl]

I have a 55 gal octagonal tank - tall. When I chose African cichlids the LFS did tell me that they would only use the bottom of the tank but I wasn't convinced - watching their Africans swim happily all over.

They advised me that I could have 15-18 fish in that tank. I currently have:

2 yellow labs
1 electric blue
2 cuckoo catfish
1 bristle nose
2 dragon blood peacocks
4 yet to be identified peacocks

The problem is the dragon bloods are bullies, although they only seem to do this when I'm watching and they think it might be feeding time and only seem to have a problem with the orange/red coloured cichlids. At all other times, they all seem to have their own little place in the rocks and all is peaceful and well. They also swim quite freely in the open space

So my question to you with a footprint of 31 inches around, what would be your stocking recommendation. I know overstocking can help with aggression but given the smaller footprint of my tank don't want to make the situation worse. So do I consider returning the dragon bloods to my LFS (which I don't really want to - they're quite pretty) or adding another couple of fish? All of the others seem to be quite peaceful.

I am running an Eheim 2213 and Jäger 240v heater.

Thanks in advance my new fishie friends!

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I wouldn't add more in that tank size, I truly believe that more problems will arise if you add more. If you want to keep them all you need to get a longer tank otherwise I think you know what to do. Anyone else have some input?

 

[Crawdaddy]

I second your comment Andrew.

 

[Aquarium Girl]

I wouldn't add more in that tank size, I truly believe that more problems will arise if you add more. If you want to keep them all you need to get a longer tank otherwise I think you know what to do. Anyone else have some input?

So am I right in thinking that footprint length is more important than volume? Which would be better in your opinion - a 48x15x18 (55gal) or a 36x24x24 (almost 90gal)?

 

[Andrew McFadden]

The 48
that's why the recommended starting point really starts with 40 gallon long but a 55 gallon would be better depending on the species you have. I prefer the 75 over them both it adds a little more room and water for better water quality

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Note:
The 40 long is 48" and the 40 breeder is only 36" so don't get them confused because I always forget lol this link should help you out some http://www.aquariumadvice.com/lake-malawi-mbuna-stocking-dcor-hardware/

 

[Aquarium Girl]

The 48
that's why the recommended starting point really starts with 40 gallon long but a 55 gallon would be better depending on the species you have. I prefer the 75 over them both it adds a little more room and water for better water quality

Thanks Andrew, that's really helpful. Well I will be trolling EBay to find myself a 55gal long. Hopefully will be able to do this early in the new year

Thinking angels will be a good choice to take over the tall tank. Got to say it will be nice to do maintenance and rescaping on the cichlid tank without needing diving equipment

Cheers!

 

[Andrew McFadden]

a 55 is just a 55, I think lol. At less your talking different shaped aquariums othen than the most common. A 55 is pretty big so hold on to the scuba gear you may still need it

 

[FishWorks AK]

It gets kinda hairy with the fish you are discussing, along with the tank size. They are African cichlids from lake malawi, as you might know Malawi cichlids are one of the few fish that do better when packed into a tank, but if the tank isn't big enough or there is not enough swimming room they will kill each other off. The fact that you said they stay to a specific rock formation tells me there are not to FEW fish.
What I would recommend is changing the rock formation making less "homes" and more areas so they have to share. Could you put up a picture

 

[Aquarium Girl]

It gets kinda hairy with the fish you are discussing, along with the tank size. They are African cichlids from lake malawi, as you might know Malawi cichlids are one of the few fish that do better when packed into a tank, but if the tank isn't big enough or there is not enough swimming room they will kill each other off. The fact that you said they stay to a specific rock formation tells me there are not to FEW fish.
What I would recommend is changing the rock formation making less "homes" and more areas so they have to share. Could you put up a picture

Just been down to the LFS to check out prices on 4ft tanks but probably won't be able to look at this until after Christmas. In the meantime, I won't be adding any new fish and will keep a close eye on the dragon bloods for aggression. If need be, I'll return them to the LFS.

Any suggestions you may have on a better scape for my little friends in this setupwill be most welcome

 

[FishWorks AK]

You have a few options, bring the fish back and keep only those few. The other option Is to at least triple your stock, me I like to stick with male peacocks no females, keeps aggression down. Maybe 20-25 if your filtration can handle it.
The Decor makes it difficult, those are homes. Funny thing is that is great for lake tanganyikan cichlids band for Malawi cichlids

 

[FishWorks AK]

See how there are areas but no actual homes, no space to call there own. You can't see all of them in this pic but there are about 60-75 in this tank. It is larger but the concept stays the same. They are a family not a community

 

[Aquarium Girl]

You have a few options, bring the fish back and keep only those few. The other option Is to at least triple your stock, me I like to stick with male peacocks no females, keeps aggression down. Maybe 20-25 if your filtration can handle it.
The Decor makes it difficult, those are homes. Funny thing is that is great for lake tanganyikan cichlids band for Malawi cichlids

Hmmm ok. I was of the belief that these guys need territories. At this stage I believe I only have males - not sure on one of the yellow labs and the BN and cuckoos but all of the others are male.

When you say keep only those few do you mean return the dragon bloods and keep the rest?

I run an Eheim Classic 250 2213 canister filter - it turns over about 440L p/hr (a little more than twice the tank capacity).

 

[FishWorks AK]

Filtration is ok. As far as the dragon bloods if they are that aggressive see if they will triad for peacocks

 

[Aquarium Girl]

Filtration is ok. As far as the dragon bloods if they are that aggressive see if they will triad for peacocks

Thanks for the advice! I'll keep a close eye on them

 

[Freakgecko91]

I would NOT add any more fish to that tank, especially not a crazy large number like 20-25. These fish will not be fully mature by christmas, so there's no reason to overstock to bring down aggression that isn't severe and potentially crash a tank. You'd spend more money getting the stock up to that than you would on a 55 gallon tank! To be honest, your best bet is to hold off, and wait till you're able to afford the 55 IMO. Check out Craigslist, or look for a fish forum that's specific to your area, I know here in Michigan we have Great Lakes Aquaria and I buy and sell on there all the time, in fact, just saw someone selling a 75 gallon with stand for $75!

As for the hexagon, you could definitely make a nice angel tank out of that! Just change the sand to something that doesn't buffer the pH (I'm assuming that's cichlid sand) and you're pretty much done lol

With the peacocks, The issue may be similar patterns. You can try removing them and setting them in a container with a heater and a bubbler for a day or so, then reintroduce them so that they seem like the newbies and their territories are broken up. These fish DO develop set territories, as most cichlids tend to do (and I say most, not all). Give it some time, and if nothing clears up, then rehoming may be your best bet

 

[Aquarium Girl]

Yes I agree, I won't be adding any more fish to this tank.

I'm in Australia so not sure if Craigslist is US only? Have seen a few 4ft and 5ft tanks on EBay but nothing under $300 in my area at the moment. I'll keep watching though, and hopefully scoop up a bargain! They're all juvies nothing over 2 inches right now so I've got a couple of months up my sleeve. I'll keep an eye on the bullying situation and rehome the DB's if need be.

Thanks again.

 

[Freakgecko91]

Craigslist.org

It's popular here in the US, sorry, I have a bad habit of assuming that everyone on the forum is US as well
They do have an Australia section though, worth checking out maybe?

And WOW! $300 is insane! I can get a brand new 75 gallon tomorrow for $175! And I just checked and the US dollar is about even with the Australian dollar! That's crazy!

 

[Aquarium Girl]

Craigslist.org

It's popular here in the US, sorry, I have a bad habit of assuming that everyone on the forum is US as well
They do have an Australia section though, worth checking out maybe?

And WOW! $300 is insane! I can get a brand new 75 gallon tomorrow for $175! And I just checked and the US dollar is about even with the Australian dollar! That's crazy!

It sure is, but money well spent

My local Pet Super Store (big chain - only pick up API supplies etc from there) want around $500 for a 48x15x18 with lids, plain pine stand and hood. No accessories included. I'll check out Craigslist though and see if they do have an Aussie section and I'll keep watching EBay and local classifieds. Thanks!

 

[Freakgecko91]

Good luck!