Thinking of cichlids, 55 gal tank.

[Bearchumjs]

Hey guys. I have a 55 gal freshwater tank. Right now if has platies and tetras, live plants, sand substrate, driftwood and MTS, 3 nerite snails and ghost shrimp.

I have to keep buying store water to mix with my tap water because my tap pH is ~8.3. Too high for tetras. In getting tired of having to go to the store every week to get 15 gallons of water for my pwcs... So, what about cichlids?

If I rehomed all my fish, what are good beginner cichlids? Yellow is my favorite color. So I'd like a yellow lab. I know not to overstock my tank. So if i did lab size cichlids, about how many fish could i get? It's fully cycled right now (been running since April of this year). I have an emporer 400 filter and a 32W t-8 light. Also have glass tops.

What changes would I need to make to have a happy cichlid home?

 

[Convict2161]

Plenty of hiding places, rocks etc... Filtration looks to be up to the task. I run 2 AC110's on my 75 gallon.

Have you looked into dwarf cichlids? They have some really beautiful colors.

Sand substrate would make them happy as they are diggers.

Also with yellow labs if you stock correctly with a good female to make ratio I don't see why 8-9 couldn't work. I've heard of people stocking a 55g with up to 15 African cichlids. I think it comes down to smart stocking.

I can can certainly tell you how NOT to stock. I've had a slaughter house for a while and now things have settled down but it was a rough go at first because I failed to do my homework and just went on what friends or the LFS told me.

 

[njvgl2090]

there seems to be many kinds of africans that would love than high PH.i remember 5 years ago,while keeping africans,i had about 10-15.research will help,keeping the losses to a minimum.i know yellow labs fall lower on the aggression scale.look into the peacocks and africans from lake tanganyika

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Yellow labs are a great mbuna for 55g setup. You've already got the ph. perfect for rift lake cichlids so I'd say go for it! If your doing a species only tank then 8-10 fish with a 3:1 ratio female to male would work imo.
Yellow labs can take a little more protein in their diet than other africans and aren't quite as susceptible to bloat either. In the wild they feed on inverts more than the grazers do. There are alot of sub par specimen in the trade nowadays so be sure to acquire good healthy stock.
Goodluck and keep us posted!

 

[Bearchumjs]

Well, if I do this, I'm thinking 1 male and 3 female yellow labs.

The peacocks are good tank mates for them? If not, what do you guys think would be good mates? Also, I really don't want fry... I'm done with fry after having my platies have babies all the time. Will cichlids destroy my plants?

 

[Cichlid Kid]

I can't keep plants with mine. I've tried anubias and java fern. They don't eat them but I think they destroy them just cuz their mad they can't eat them lol. I've never kept peacocks but I know of others that keep them with yellow labs.
Yellow labs are very easy to breed so if you plan on having 3:1 you will have females holding at some time.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Agreed, my labs breed non stop. Most rift lake Cichlids and plants don't get a long to well. It's like a hit or mis, for some people it works and others it doesn't but I'd say the odds are more on the doesnt.

 

[Bearchumjs]

I can't keep plants with mine. I've tried anubias and java fern. They don't eat them but I think they destroy them just cuz their mad they can't eat them lol. I've never kept peacocks but I know of others that keep them with yellow labs.
Yellow labs are very easy to breed so if you plan on having 3:1 you will have females holding at some time.

Well, it's a good possibility that the fry will be eaten?

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Yes, most probably will be eaten. It has alot to do with how much cover you provide them. In my mixed mbuna tank I always have fry and juvies that managed to run the gauntlet and survive.

 

[Bearchumjs]

Could I do an all male tank (different species of cichlids)? I really don't want to have fry and have to find homes for them.

 

[Bearchumjs]

And I keep forgetting to ask- in my emperor 400, would I have to change out all my filter media? I don't want to. I'd lose all my BB.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Could I do an all male tank (different species of cichlids)? I really don't want to have fry and have to find homes for them.

Sure can but I must say its not easy at less you order them with some nice size on them and from someone that can vent them.

And I keep forgetting to ask- in my emperor 400, would I have to change out all my filter media? I don't want to. I'd lose all my BB.

There is no reason that I can think of to do that.

 

[Bearchumjs]

Thanks Andrew! I'm going to keep researching cichlids and figure out if I want to try them out.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

No problem if you have anymore questions just ask