I'm starting a 55 gallon

[sunsplash76]

Hello everyone~ I'm starting a 55 gallon tank in the next week. I have a 10 gallon marineland in my bedroom already, that I've had for a couple months. I fell in love with the 10 gallon and decided to get a 55. I'm thinking of putting African cichlids in the new tank. I saw some at the pet store that were already adults and had full color. There were other kinds of cichlids in the same tank, such as african and south american; I wonder if they would be o.k. together in my tank? I also wonder what cichlids like to eat? I saw cichlid sticks and flakes which I'll buy, but in addition to that what would they enjoy. I bought some blood worms for the fish in my 10 gallon and they seem to be snubbing them. I have 2 blood gouramis, 1 angel, 1 sunset neon platy, 1 dalmation molly in the 10 gallon. I am giving the angel to someone as I think it would be happier in a bigger space; I'm lerning slowly but surely. I keep the tank crystal clear with frequent cleaning and alot of fuss, hope I can do it as well with a 55! When I put the big cichlids in, should I add one and wait to add others? I guess I'll also need alot of decorations in the tank for cichlids huh? Sorry this message is all over the place, but there is so much to learn and do. I still need to learn how to test the PH and adjust as needed. I love fish tanks and will have them for years. Thank you for your time. ~Melissa~

 

[rthoman]

55 gal.

I have a 55 also. I have a mix of fish; angels, gouramis, tetras, rasboras etc..... My friend has a cichlid tank and he feeds them tetra color bites, cichlid sticks, and shrimp pelets. He got them when they were small and they are growing quickly and becomeing more colorful. If you decide to go with cichlids thats about all you can have in there, but they are very neat fish. I saw an electric blue dempsy, it was one of the coolest/most expensive freshwater fish that i have seen. As long as you have a sufficient filter and change the water every few weeks or so your tank should stay clear, i syphon my gravel about once a month. There is more info about my 55 on my website. We would love to here more and see some pics of the tank when you get it set up.

 

[sunsplash76]

Ryan~ Thanks for the reply and all the advice! I manage a weightloss site myself, so I'm new to the fish forums. When I saw the selection of foods for fish it was confusing; especially when the blood worms were poo-pood. The ocean plankton and brine shrimp looked good too. I was lost in the fish dept of walmart today; love that place. I was disturbed at a water balancing fluid they sold, which stated using the pruduct you would only have to change the water twice a year or something... fiddle-stix; not in my book. I'm rambling again. I fell in love with these giant cichlids and can't wait to get started, the only catch is we are a military family stationed in Hawaii so I will have to give them up in a few years and start a new next duty station. I also worry about my tanks when being shipped :? . I have a pretty good digital camera and will post a pic when It's set up; any tricks on cutting the glare in the photo? I wonder if I should feed the cichlids comet feeder fish as treats? Some folks do that with oscars, which I was also considering keeping. Two tanks is gonna be alot of worry for me. My poor angel fish hang around in the same spot of the tank and don't eat as vigorously as normal; hope they are o.k. Can't wait to move them to a bigger spot. Hope you had a good weekend, I'de like to check out your tank pics on your site! Thanks again. ~Melissa~

 

[fishfreek]

Melissa

I would not worry to much about the food selection at this point. There are several other items that should be iorned out first. Try to match the indegious diet as close as possible. To do this make sure you do your research to fully understand what conditions the fish you wish to keep live in naturally.

This phylosophy will lead to the most success

I cringe at the though of people getting fish and fish supplies from wal-mart. Its probably a personal thing but at our local wal-mart everytime I look int the tanks they are vastly overstocked and have dead fish in the tanks. Not a good way of starting out in the hobby in my option.

Not sure what "water balance fluid" your talking about but I would advice establishing a good water change schedule. I have seen and operated freshwater tanks with little water changes but have seen that when water changes where performed the tank "perked" up from the previous state.

I think you will find its alot easer to ship fish than it is to ship tanks. But you say that is a few years down the road (I hope your correct) so we can tackle that one when we get close.

IF your looking for more info on cichlids there are several links in the links section of this site for additional cichlid info.

 

[sunsplash76]

Hello again~ I just wanted to say thank you for all the advice. I have been reading other posts in this freshwater area and it was very informative! Some of the lingo went right over my head, but I'm sure with time I'll get better. For instance, I have no idea what r/o water is? I know some people use distilled water in their tanks, but I don't get R/O from that. Hmmm . I am really starting to think i better check the ammonia and Ph in my 10 gallon to be safe. I also wonder if I should add a water heater to it? I live in hawaii in an air conditioned apt. though. I just checked on my fish & I believe they have Ick :? I put the green Ick medicine in, so I hope they will be alright. They tried to eat the medicine which was disturbing. My angel had white spots on his fins, very tiny, but I think it was Ick. I hope in 48 hours it will be gone. Wonder how they got it? I keep after the tank alot. hhmmm. I'll be checking back often as there is always something to learn here. Love this site almost as much as the weightloss site I manage.
~Melissa~

 

[rthoman]

R/O - reverse osmosis, is a way to get really pure water. It's used mostly when setting up a reef or marine tank. I really don't know that much about r/o except that it is very expensive. As far as putting a heater in the 10 gal, it might be a good idea, do you have a themometer in the tank now, if so whats the temp at? A heater helps to keep the water at a more stable temp. The ich could be as a result from a swing in the tanks water temp. Hope that they recover from it. Also keeping an eye on the pH and ammonia is not a bad idea. Good Luck!

 

[sunsplash76]

Thanks for the info Ryan. I would never have thought of reverse osmosis. Of course there are alot of waters using that process for bottled waters, such as dasani water. Interesting. I believe I have pinpointed the Ick problem. The very new sunburst platy that I just introduced to the tank a few days ago is covered in it bad. I didn't notice it at the pet store amongst all the other fish, plus it has a red ,orange, and yellow body which camoflaughed it. I am very wise to it now and will carefully inspect any fish I purchase for Ick in the future. My tank is tinged a light green which isn't as bad as I thought it would be; It's clear but green. I am getting a thermometer with my 55 as well as a water heater, it came as a combo thingy; It also has an aqua tech filter, which I don't know much about aqua tech, I'm kinda curious as to their performance. I have a penguin bio wheel on my 10 gallon. The tank came with all the hoods and lighting too, it's pretty nice. I will be buying a thermometer and heater for the 10 as well as ph and ammonia testing. Thanks Ryan! You're great!
~Melissa~

 

[rthoman]

I got my 55g tank as a combo as well. It came with an aqua tech filter. I have not had any problems with the filter so far. The design is the exact same as the penguin filters except it does not have bio wheels. I have heard of people taking the aqua techs and putting bio wheels in them, you just need to get a different lid piece. To start out I would say that the aqua tech will work just fine as mine has done a good job for me. Hope the ick goes away, platys are known for getting ich easily.

 

[fishfreek]

A little 50W heater should be all you really need. I like the stick on temp's as its not something else in the tank floating around and its nice. Just look on the side and you can see the temp by the color.


I would not avocate RO/DI water for freshwater. The reason is that RO/DI water is as pure a water as you can get. Its 99.9% pure H2O. Its acutally more pure thatn bottled water. The reason is alot of bottled water company's acutally add stuff back INTO the water before they sell it. You mentioned dasani water. I think they are one of the companies that do this. Read the label and it might say added minerals or something like that. Some people dont like RO/DI water because it has NO flavor. Like water is supposed to be. So bottled water companys add stuff to give it a flavor.

Well.... The reason RO/DI water is no good for freshwater is that RO/DI water has alot of room in the molcules (i think this is the correct way of explaning it.) So basicly it will absorb. (like a sponge) free minerals. Usually this comes from the ground, container the water is stored in. But in the case of freshwater the only things in the tank that can release items is the fish and plants themselves.

In a reef tank the salt mix we add puts many of the trace elements back into the water.

the aqua tech filter sounds like a standard hang on filter with filter media. Change the media out about once a month.

Follow the directions on the medication. Probably after X treaments they will suggest a large water change.

 

[CRaZeeeBiTcHisH]

south american cichlids typically come from lower pH and softer water, whereas africans generally are from harder, higher pH water...don't think it would be a good idea to keep them together--of course this is just my opinion, but although oscars are big, they would be no match for a lots of africans--they are generally rather aggressive and territorial--if you go with africans, you will probably have to house less fish to avoid disputes, and you can break up the scenery with decorations to try to give them more "property lines" p.s. I have an 9 inch oscar who backs down to my 3" convict....until he will fit in her mouth...lol. In a 55 gallon, one oscar may be cramped if it reaches full size. the front to back width is usually about 12 inches on the inside of the tank, and oscars can get 12" long, some report longer ones. hope this helps a little bit ! try out the links and if you have any questions we will try to answer them!

 

[sunsplash76]

Thanks for the cichlid advice! I would like south american ones, but don't know how many I could find here. I saw a beautiful red spotted fish that the guy in the store said was south american. They just seem to have an abundance of the african cichlids. I live in Hawaii, so salt water rules the kingdom here. There is a guy I was talking to who does a saltwater tank, and he gets his water right from the ocean and filters it; he also catches his own fish for the tank, I thought that was neat! I love the oscars, but feel one to two fish would be a waste of 55 gallons. I want different things to look at. I get the tank today, so I better decide. I need to do research!
Thanks girl, ~Melissa~

 

[CRaZeeeBiTcHisH]

cichlids

here's a page you just might want to look at, has pics and brief info about several smaller south american
cichlids
http://www.angelfire.com/wa/myaquarium/cichlids.html

sorry if i put this in the wrong place, just wasn't sure how helpful it would be to most ppl...