55G suggestions

[NickFish]

I have a new 55G cycling for use as a cichlid tank but am not sure about what kind of cichlid to put in there. Idealy I want to have sort of a cichild community without them killing each other. The more species the better.
What would be some easy to care for possibilties?
Any suggestions are appriciated.
Thanks

[~Erik3.8.07~]

if you want to have lots of species you could mbuna cichlids, with those i believe you have to overstock a little to keep down aggression. you would need also need to have lots of rocks to create territory markers for the fish.

Or you could setup a nice african peacock tank with a few trios of 1 male and 2 female. They need the rocks for boundaries too

[gm72]

I strongly vote peacocks. Fishguy has some incredible peacocks. He has a thread somewhere here that is titled "Why I love peacocks" or something to that effect. It has some pics in it, might just sell you on them!

[~Erik3.8.07~]

lol it got me sold:c1:

[gm72]

He raises all of his fish solely on NLS.

[NickFish]

Everybody says NFS is good. I got to buy some of that. I do have some pieces of driftwood in the tank would that be good enough for boundaries? How big should the boundaries be?

[~Erik3.8.07~]

i dont think theres really anyway to know, the fish will pick them, but the more landmarks you have the better, with african cichlids rocks work best

[Lady Hobbs]

I would have to vote for Apistogramma dwarfs. You can have many more in the tank and there are many varieties and colors.

I think the peacocks are beautiful but my only draw back with them is having much fewer of them. I believe a 55 gallon can hold only one male with 3 or 4 females.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

an apisto tank would look nice, but if you get a lot be prepared for babies

[cocoa_pleco]

how about some discus and cardinal tetras?

[NickFish]

Ya i was thinking about apistos.
How often do they have babies and how many do they ususally have?
I think discus would be too big. I prefer many small fish to just a few large fish. What are some nice color variations of apistos?

[Dave66]

Ya i was thinking about apistos.
How often do they have babies and how many do they ususally have?
I think discus would be too big. I prefer many small fish to just a few large fish. What are some nice color variations of apistos?

Mine breed as soon as their babies are on their own, say once every six weeks or so. I keep a colony of A. cf. agassizi and one of an unidentified species in large planted tanks. Good spawn is between 50 and 100 ages, depending on the age and diet of the females. Look through here: http://www.thekrib.com/Apisto/#pix
For your color variations.

Dave

[NickFish]

How many apistos could i put in a 55 gallon?
What is a good male to female ratio 1:2?

[Dave66]

How many apistos could i put in a 55 gallon?
What is a good male to female ratio 1:2?

Easily a dozen of a species, especially if the tank is thickly planted so the boys can establish their little territories to woo the ladies from. That many Apistos will establish a hierarchy without aggression, and when they mature, you'll have a very highly-colored Alpha male and his chosen female. Its a very interesting dynamic to watch. The Alpha male and female are almost always visible surveying the area, and are always the first to eat.
Two females per male is the usual thing, but do yourself a favor and get a dozen.
If your water is pH 6.8-7.0 and moderately soft, your tank is perfect for both the plants and the Apistos.

Dave

[NickFish]

could I get 2 males? then 10 females.
and should I add all the females first and then introduce the males?
I think my tank is cycled now any ready to start adding some apistos.
Could I put corys in the apisto tank?
Also what species of apisto would you recommend?
sorry about all the questions i want to make sure i am doing this properly

[Dave66]

could I get 2 males? then 10 females.
and should I add all the females first and then introduce the males?
I think my tank is cycled now any ready to start adding some apistos.
Could I put corys in the apisto tank?
Also what species of apisto would you recommend?
sorry about all the questions i want to make sure i am doing this properly

Or three males and nine females. Or four and eight. You just want to have two or three females per male.
Do the females first. Let them get used to the tank for a couple weeks, then add the males all together.
You could go with A. agassizi or A. cacatuoides. Both are pretty hardy, especially for a dwarf Cichlid and an Apistogramma on top. They do need shaded areas, as they don't like really bright lights. Bright lights, to them, means they are out in the open, where birds can see and eat them. If you can have tall enough plants and overhangs, they will do well. They really like the dappled shade thing.
In nature they live in shaded jungle streams over layers and layers of leaf litter. They hunt little crustaceans, worms and insect larvae. A diet similar to that is easy to do. They like temps between 75 and 80 degrees. Mine are kept at 77.

Dave

[NickFish]

Ok a have a nice big piece of driftwood in there that would offer some good shade and a bunch of live and fake plants. What exactly should I feed them. What should the staple be?
Thanks for all your help in this dave!

[Dave66]

Ok a have a nice big piece of driftwood in there that would offer some good shade and a bunch of live and fake plants. What exactly should I feed them. What should the staple be?
Thanks for all your help in this dave!

Freshwater Mysis shrimp are available in frozen forms. I use Piscene Energetics, but you can use whatever you like long as the Mysis are Mysis relicta. You don't want marine mysis as the fish will have to void all the salt, which is unnatural and not good for them. Good quality pellet, like NLS, Hikari, Danichi or a combination of the three (better) should be the staple. Mysis three or four times a week. Bloodworms (frozen's better) a couple times. If you can get frozen mosquito larvae (might have to order online), three times a week. Live California blackworms are good; better fish shops should have them, and they aren't difficult to culture. Two or three times a week with them.
So pellets staple, others three or four times a week. Small meals given often is preferred; no more than they can eat in less than a minute each time. Between three and four times a day, little meals. If you can't managed that many due to school or whatever, morning and evening is OK, but just a little more food; as much as they can eat in under half a minute. Remove uneaten in a big hurry. Apistos (like all fish) need perfect water to really thrive, so never any ammonia or nitrite, and less than 10 ppm nitrate. If your tank is well planted and thriving, Nitrate never gets above 2 o 3 parts per million, usually less.

Dave