new 56gal mbuna tank

[terrapin24h]

hey all,
Well, we've just bought(and installed-talk about 8 long hours) a new 56 gallon tank for my wife's mbuna. I thought the foot print of the tank was awesome, as it provides lots of fish-floor space in a relatively compact foot print(plus is don't care for long narrow tanks). The tank measures 30Wx24Hx18D--essentially it's my 65gal just 6 inches shorter. Our 4 yellow labs and one acei(his GF died) seem pretty happy. I'm looking for further stocking suggestions. Right now my m-f ratio is about 50/50. I was thinking of a rubber-lip pleco to help control algae as well. I'll get pics up as soon as i can, let me know what you all think on stocking. Thanks!

--chris

[Lab_Rat]

Congrats on the new tank! Honestly it's not the greatest footprint for mbuna, typically you want at least 48" but the 18" depth should help make up for the 30" length.

Since it is a shorter tank I would stick with the milder mbuna like you have. I'd increase the number of labs to 5, increase the acei to 5, and if you want to overstock for aggression, you could throw in 5 socolofi. The socolofi would add a nice blue color to your tank or you could go with the snow white ones. They're pretty mild mannered too and I think those species would work out well in your tank.

Make sure you have many many caves and if I were you I'd try to do 1m/4f of each species.

If you're going to go with a pleco I would go with a bristlenose instead of the rubber lip. The rubber lip aren't as tough and prefer softer waters than a malawi tank.

Species to avoid are the auratus, chipokae, johanni, and kenyi with the footprint of your tank. I would also hesitate to recommend the zebra types as well. My cobalt blue ran my tank and could be quite nasty at times.

[terrapin24h]

Congrats on the new tank! Honestly it's not the greatest footprint for mbuna, typically you want at least 48" but the 18" depth should help make up for the 30" length.

Since it is a shorter tank I would stick with the milder mbuna like you have. I'd increase the number of labs to 5, increase the acei to 5, and if you want to overstock for aggression, you could throw in 5 socolofi. The socolofi would add a nice blue color to your tank or you could go with the snow white ones. They're pretty mild mannered too and I think those species would work out well in your tank.

Make sure you have many many caves and if I were you I'd try to do 1m/4f of each species.

If you're going to go with a pleco I would go with a bristlenose instead of the rubber lip. The rubber lip aren't as tough and prefer softer waters than a malawi tank.

Species to avoid are the auratus, chipokae, johanni, and kenyi with the footprint of your tank. I would also hesitate to recommend the zebra types as well. My cobalt blue ran my tank and could be quite nasty at times.

When i did the calculation, the 56 gallon only came 36"^2 smaller, which is really only a 6x6" area. Astd 55 has 576"^2 and the 56 has 540. We intend to keep mild species anyways, as i don't want to go through the hassle of dealing with the hyper aggressive mbuna(i've already visited johanni hell). I was actually thinking along your suggestion, i was going to take the yellows to 6 or 7(all female) and the acei to 4(all female) but hadn't thought of socolofi too. I'll have to read up on them and see if I can get them around here. thanks for the idea!

--chris

[slimey]

I've just set up a 50g tank with some Yellow labs (electric yellows) in it and i'm thinking about adding some Electric blues.
Electric blue Ahli and Johann will both go ok with the yellows and you could even chuck a couple of upsidedown catfish in with em.thumbs2:

[hari-goshi]

I've just set up a 50g tank with some Yellow labs (electric yellows) in it and i'm thinking about adding some Electric blues.
Electric blue Ahli and Johann will both go ok with the yellows and you could even chuck a couple of upsidedown catfish in with em.thumbs2:
Sciaenochromis fryeri really do better in larger tanks. It is possible(but not ideal) to keep one in a 55 gallon , but I wouldnt recommend it in tank less than 4 feet long. These fish are very active and powerful swimmers. Alot of hobbyists advise against housing them with mbuna , but from my personal experience they make for great fry control in a larger mbuna tank. Just adding my two cents , good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[terrapin24h]

We just got the background on last night. Why do i always do that last? Oh well. We have a sick acei(looks like bloat). Prob from the time he spent in the bucket during the tank change over. The good news is that he is responding(so far) pretty well to a clout regimen. Glad i have a 10g hosp tank. Everybody else is fine, and they seem to really like the background. We need to stock out a bit more, as we have too many hiding spots. I wanted to get more acei but now will wait until i'm sure the tank and my current one is healthy. I'll try to get pics up tonight

--chris

[WhiteDevil]

those measurements are the same as my 40g Tall.


sounds neat, id like to see some pics.



are there build journals on AC?

[terrapin24h]

all--
Here is a pic of the tank. We've just added a few more acei to it this weekend. Everyone seems to be settling in well

--chris