stocking suggestions for 55g

[kjacks]

N also where did yall get ur rocks n caves from...i dont really have anything i could just pick out of the woods n i would rather buy them to b safe .. i looked in dr foster n smith..i have a couple thongs of driftwood with holes but i know i need more then that..

 

[Andrew McFadden]

You'll change your mind a 1000 times as long as you keep doing research because there are so many beautiful ones.

18-22would be light
23-26 would be medium
26- would be over stocked

That's imo and if you stay under 5"

 

[kjacks]

Yea as of right now all are 3-4 in..i just was lookin on youtube and saw mostly people with almost the same color fish .. i dont wanna have all the same colors..i would like alil variety..i seem to like all the ones with barring though so its been a challenge....

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Yea as of right now all are 3-4 in..i just was lookin on youtube and saw mostly people with almost the same color fish .. i dont wanna have all the same colors..i would like alil variety..i seem to like all the ones with barring though so its been a challenge....

Yea and they seem to have a lot of blue coloring. The cynotalapia group is fabolous. They love to dig and build structures and hide in them so watch out

 

[Jess1ca]

Dang! I missed a lot while I was at work lol!

 

[MckeelRussell]

There's nothing wrong with having an all male tank if you don't want breeding. and you bumble bee should be fine. I have one in my 55 gallon and hes happy as can be.
Main thing when stocking is only keep mbuna with mbuna, haps with haps, and peacocks with peacocks. I have a 55 gallon mbuna tank right now so you can PM me if you have any more questions about african cichlids.

RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH I cannot say that enough. I am glad you are asking for ideas. Also at petsmart where it says assorted african cichlids, most of the time they are hybrids so be careful. When you are first stocking don't mix juveniles with adults or they will get bullied to death. Overstock!!! it will lower aggression which is just something that comes with the territory of keeping african cichlids. Dont mix other fish with african cichlids besides catfish and plecos. and avoid common plecos.

 

[JimmyG]

I used all purpose Sand or blasting sand is what it really is, I love it cuz its clean and settled real fast so it never clouded the tank and when my fish make sand storms its so heavy it never reaches the filter intakes so I don't have to worry about burning up my impellers. Best part about it was I got 50 pounds for 5 bucks and was sooooo clean! Didn't need a ton of rinsing. I run crushed coral in one of my AquaClear 110's to keep ph up.

I have a 55g that I had mixed crushed coral, aragamax select aragolite, and sand. Just purchased a new 75g tank for the africans.

Shall I use this mix or go with all purpose sand and add the coral mix to my filters only? I did not use eggcrate on the bottom but I will use it in the new tank.

Thanks
Jim

 

[Jess1ca]

I have a 55g that I had mixed crushed coral, aragamax select aragolite, and sand. Just purchased a new 75g tank for the africans.

Shall I use this mix or go with all purpose sand and add the coral mix to my filters only? I did not use eggcrate on the bottom but I will use it in the new tank.

Thanks
Jim

I suppose that's up to you do you like the way it looks? My cichlids love my sand only substrate, they dig, make tunnels do all kinds of awesome things with it! I have a kenyi who carries it to her den on the second floor to make her home a little more cozy lol ( i attatched a pic) I prefer the look of the small grain sand too. Just make sure u put the cc in a media bag when u stuff it in your filter

 

[JimmyG]

I suppose that's up to you do you like the way it looks? My cichlids live my sand only substrate, they dig, make tunnels do all kinds of awesome things with it! I have a kenyi who carries it to her den on the second floor to make her home a little more cozy lol ( i attatched a pic) I prefer the look of the small grain sand too. Just make sure u put the cc in a media bag when u stuff it in your filter

cool thanks... very nice photo.

I suppose I could use it all that was in the 55g then add a good layer of all purpose sand on top but I'm sure this will be mixed in as well.

I also like the small grain sand. -cheers

 

[Jess1ca]

cool thanks... very nice photo.

I suppose I could use it all that was in the 55g then add a good layer of all purpose sand on top but I'm sure this will be mixed in as well.

I also like the small grain sand. -cheers

Haha! Thanks I just ran over and snapped it, she loves to carry sand to her house lol. Your fish will love the extra sand good luck to ya

 

[JimmyG]

Haha! Thanks I just ran over and snapped it, she loves to carry sand to her house lol. Your fish will love the extra sand good luck to ya

Thanks! can't wait to set it up...waiting for the R&J stand to arrive this Monday.

 

[kjacks]

Dang! I missed a lot while I was at work lol!

Lol...i didnt do much yesterday either bc i actually worked...stayd busy yesterday..

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Haha! Thanks I just ran over and snapped it, she loves to carry sand to her house lol. Your fish will love the extra sand good luck to ya

They sure love it! If it was me id go with some type of fine sand. Without the crushed coral mix into it that's not as fine.

Dang! I missed a lot while I was at work lol!

You sure did

 

[Jess1ca]

Can't figure out how to upload a video straight from my phone to here from this dumb iPhone here is a snapshot from an epic fight tho lol. 2 of my bosses from opposite sides of the tank met in the middle for a showdown lol. Boss #3 decided he wanted no part of this one... I don't blame him haha! Please excuse the duct tape, it was during a wc.

 

[kjacks]

Lol...looks like a old western..what all do u have in ur tank .. i really like those nyerereis the more i see them...im most excited about gettin it..even though we decided to go with the mwanza gulf..who knows i might swap back to ruti.. urs are just soo beautiful. But i really want that to b my main fish.. i have looked at soo many fish n read most of these threads n looked at all kinds of stuff that i just dont know what i wanna stock...lol i do know i want a plain fish like a yellow lab , gotta have my nyererei, ummm then from there not sure .. i luv the jalo reef , cobue, minus reef , n mbenji afras.. there are lots more i have written down but they are all bigger fish or highly aggressive ..etc i got like 3 weeks to buckle down n get a better plan hatched..ill buy my stand friday n get my stuff setup n runnin then ill order some caves n i need some bigger stuff for my 55g bc im not using my 10g cleaning stuff it would take forever to get water out n i fill old water jugs n let them sit alil while before i add it n my tank with my aquarium salt n treatment....soo much to get..boy ill b glad once all i gotta do is pick up a few things like food or a new set of fish..

 

[kjacks]

Here it is I love this fish

Just noticed i never responded to ur pic of the cobue..i luv that fish too...lol its the reason i added it to my list of fish...lol oh n i read another thread u had posted on last night i think im gonna buy a penguin 350 (pretty sure thats the right name) im gonna buy another heater..my tank came with a adjustable one but they kinda scare me .. i have a 30gal automatic one n my 10gal it keeps the water perfect but i know they arent great so thats y i went up a couple sizes so it would ...im scared ill boil my fish with the adustable..im gonna try it out prefish n see if i like it . I know im prolly gonna buy omega one bc petsmart carries it but ill prolly order nls too for alil change up. I know i had something else i wanted to ask but im not sure ...i have soo many tboughts now i cant keep it straight..lol oh n im late for work gotta go get ready..

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Just noticed i never responded to ur pic of the cobue..i luv that fish too...lol its the reason i added it to my list of fish...lol oh n i read another thread u had posted on last night i think im gonna buy a penguin 350 (pretty sure thats the right name) im gonna buy another heater..my tank came with a adjustable one but they kinda scare me .. i have a 30gal automatic one n my 10gal it keeps the water perfect but i know they arent great so thats y i went up a couple sizes so it would ...im scared ill boil my fish with the adustable..im gonna try it out prefish n see if i like it . I know im prolly gonna buy omega one bc petsmart carries it but ill prolly order nls too for alil change up. I know i had something else i wanted to ask but im not sure ...i have soo many tboughts now i cant keep it straight..lol oh n im late for work gotta go get ready..

I would recommend a canister to go along with that filter you should filter at least 700gph with these fish. It's recommended to do 8-10 times of the tank size.


As for the food I use hikari but nls will work aswell and some of the others.

For the heater mine are all adjustable


Thanks
I try to share the cobue pictures a lot because its so good looking wish I had got more.

Edit
My gph may be off lol what size is this tank again? If I remember right you was going to try swapping it out for the bigger one. My above figures are based on a 75g

 

[kjacks]

Yea i thought between my topfin60 n the peng.. plus im gonna buy a powerhead u posted a link for on another thread that it would get me through for alil while til i got some more money..

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Yea i thought between my topfin60 n the peng.. plus im gonna buy a powerhead u posted a link for on another thread that it would get me through for alil while til i got some more money..

Yea it will if you buy them small but just to for warn ya they grow fast. I edited my above post not sure if you seen it. Since I edited and you posted this at the same time. Lol

 

[Jess1ca]

Lol...looks like a old western..what all do u have in ur tank .. i really like those nyerereis the more i see them...im most excited about gettin it..even though we decided to go with the mwanza gulf..who knows i might swap back to ruti.. urs are just soo beautiful. But i really want that to b my main fish.. i have looked at soo many fish n read most of these threads n looked at all kinds of stuff that i just dont know what i wanna stock...lol i do know i want a plain fish like a yellow lab , gotta have my nyererei, ummm then from there not sure .. i luv the jalo reef , cobue, minus reef , n mbenji afras.. there are lots more i have written down but they are all bigger fish or highly aggressive ..etc i got like 3 weeks to buckle down n get a better plan hatched..ill buy my stand friday n get my stuff setup n runnin then ill order some caves n i need some bigger stuff for my 55g bc im not using my 10g cleaning stuff it would take forever to get water out n i fill old water jugs n let them sit alil while before i add it n my tank with my aquarium salt n treatment....soo much to get..boy ill b glad once all i gotta do is pick up a few things like food or a new set of fish..

Lets see if I can remember them all haha...

4 Ruti
2 Kenyi
2 Lab
2 White Morph Zebras
1 Cobalt Blue Zebra
1 Red Zebra
1 Psuedotropheous Elongatus Ornatus
1 Psuedotropheous Elongatus Chewere
1 Jalo Reef
1 Demasoni
1 intermedius Lethrinops
1 Dimidiochromis Compressiceps
1 Borleyi
1 Yellow Fin Borleyi
2 Female Ruby Reds
1 Snow White Socolofi
2 Julidichromis Marlieri
1 Brichardi
1 Acei
1 Sydontis Multipunctatus
1 Albino Sailfin
1 Albino Bristlenose

And then I have some I had to put in their own tanks, another Ruti and a male Ruby Red who is absolutely gorgeous! I'll try to dig up a pic