New(ish) 55g setup :)

[hal9089]

Opinions??? After thinking that my peacock eel was dead.. I decided to clean and restart my 55g long o'dell tank. But.. During cleaning I discovered that my eel was still alive.. So I continued the cleaning and after a few days I added new fish.

1 Peacock Eel
1 Parrot (pink in color)
2 Black Convicts
1 Jack Dempsey
3 Tiger Barbs
1 Blue Ram

All of these fish are fairly small and I plan to upgrade once they get bigger.. and as of now they all get along fine.

Any advice/different opinions are greatly appreciated..

Haley

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

cute tank! you're gonna have compatibility issues though.... wait til the convicts get territorial, the dempsey gets huge and parrot gets feisty xxx

 

[hal9089]

Should I separate some of them?

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

maybe reconsider your stocking and rehome any that dont work

 

[emerald76]

Opinions??? After thinking that my peacock eel was dead.. I decided to clean and restart my 55g long o'dell tank. But.. During cleaning I discovered that my eel was still alive.. So I continued the cleaning and after a few days I added new fish.

1 Peacock Eel
1 Parrot (pink in color)
2 Black Convicts
1 Jack Dempsey
3 Tiger Barbs
1 Blue Ram

All of these fish are fairly small and I plan to upgrade once they get bigger.. and as of now they all get along fine.

Any advice/different opinions are greatly appreciated..

Haley

Your eel and ram will be fine but the rest can and will get nasty

 

[Borderlesscott]

Serious trouble ahead, the Convicts will probably kill everything in the tank, including the JD if he isn't big enough. Eventually the JD will get massive and kill anything let's left. Your Ram is already showing stress colours judging by the photo, major rethink ahead on tank stock. I would do some research on what you really want to keep and then build your stock around that, you have a good sized tank so you will have a good choice.

 

[hal9089]

Currently setting up an extra 20 gal so that I can remove the two convicts.. Think this will buy me time? Or should I move different fish to the 20gal?

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

probably, however the JD is still a big issue for the ram and parrot potentially. do some research, pick your favs and work around that x

 

[Borderlesscott]

A pair of convicts would probably kill most other fish in the tank, including the JD if he was small enough. I would keep the convicts as a solo pair in the 20g, really interesting fish on there own anyway. The JD is now the problem, he is going to claim most of the tank at some point, and as your probably running the temp over 26 he is going to get really mean. As beautiful as they are I would consider rehoming him, it's going to be him or the Ram and Parrot, even with these two your going to have to hope your parrot is not to aggressive, I would also increase your Tiger Barb numbers to 6-7 if you get space, they can be less nippy in larger numbers, I have personal experience with Tiger Barbs attacking Rams if they are bigger. If you rehome the JD you then have loads of room to stock with better suited fish.

 

[hal9089]

Just want to take the time to say how much I appreciate all of your help and advice.. I've seen a lot of replies on this forum where more knowledgable aquarists are really putting down those who may not know as much ..so THANK YOU!

So.. After research, I found new homes for my JD and both convicts. I was super attached to them, but more concerned about their health.. Hoping to set up another large tank(75 + gal) and keep a JD or Oscar in the future simply because they are so fascinating.

As stated.. The convicts did pick on my blue ram.. So I've moved him and my peacock eel to the 20 gal since they seemed to be the least aggressive..

So all that's left in my 55gal is the 3 albino tiger barbs and my blood parrot... thinking of adding two more barbs and a yellow lab..??


Please reply with other stocking suggestions )

 

[Freakgecko91]

The yellow lab is an African cichlid from lake Malawi. I'd pass on that! If you really want cichlids, look into keyholes (cleithocara maronii),, bandits (guianacara sp), Cupid (biodotema cupido), or rainbows (their Latin name evades me right now)

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

i agree, skip the malawi! im a big cichlid fan so im with Freakgecko91, some of those are pretty good... just have a look at if they are compatible before you buy!! xxx

 

[Freakgecko91]

Some other good ones to look into are laetacara sp., festivum and angels (these are indeed cichlids). All 7 of my suggestions can live comfortably in a tank of your size and are all peaceful

 

[hal9089]

I really like the rainbow and the bandit cichlids.. would those be okay with my barbs and blood parrot?

 

[Freakgecko91]

Yes, they *should* be fine, mind you that all fish are unique and individualistic. Your mileage may vary, as i so commonly see used on this forum. The rainbow will max out at 6", the bandit around the same.

 

[Borderlesscott]

If your going with a Yellow Lab, that's a South African fish or old world as some people call them and you would be better to plan the rest round this. African fish can be very aggressive and special care needs taken when choosing which ones you want and there compatibility and your better to stick to either African or American as they have different requirements. You will probably need to check your pH and buffer as required for African and add a lot more rock caves. Personally I would recommend South American Cichlids, like mentioned, Rainbow, Sajica's, Keyholes, Firemouths or go for a Dwarf Cichlid set up - German or Bolivian Rams, Apistogramma, Nannacara, Red Breast Acara, just because there smaller doesn't mean there not as interesting, I keep a wide range of Dwarf Cichlids and love them to bits.

I've included picture of my Rainbow Cichlid and Firemouth both would be okay with Barbs as long as you get them at a good size, the Parrot would depend on the individual, most are placid enough some can be aggressive.

 

[Freakgecko91]

I was hoping you'd chime in with that pic! Perfect!

 

[Borderlesscott]

Strange pair, I wasn't sure how they'd get on - was chasing a Rainbow pair for months and kind off give up and got the Firemouth, then 4 weeks later walked into my LFS and pair of Rainbows male/female sitting on reserve for me, couldn't turn them down. If it didn't work out I was giving the Firemouth to my friend who has a Firemouth tank but the two males are inseparable, touch wood it continues.

 

[hal9089]

Thanks! I think I've decided to go with my..

3 albino tiger barbs (and could I possibly increase these by 2 for a total of 5?)
1 blood parrot

And add..

1 rainbow cichlid
1 fire mouth cichlid

Sound okay?

 

[Freakgecko91]

I would definitely add some more plants and caves to your tank, and fill out that tiger barb school, I usually keep my schools of dither fish at around 7-8. This will help them be less nippy towards tankmates as they'll focus on each other and their own pecking order