Cichlids question for 56 gallon?

[ChaosWolf]

im going to go to fish store tomorrow n see what they have to know what to plan for i will read over that site when i get a chance thank you so much n also since im new to these i don`t know if i should really be looking into a breeding pair if i don`t get a male a female would 2 males be ok? for ciclids or should i be looking for more then 2? im so confused now lol but the general knowledge of all the types of fish i could add with them is helping alot. i do have 1 question thought would a couple cories be ok? my dad loves cories and he keeps wanting to stick them in already..He dosen`t understand cycling a fish tank because he used to have them n never did such a thing but from what he telling me it sounds like he mainly had hardy fish.

And yeah i love The Ark its such a very very nice store its where i get my plants for my tank so far and they have such a nice stock of fish and salt water ones too are just so pretty! they made like a big cove with salt water in it which they don`t sell but display its so pretty xD I would love to do a salt one tank in the future but atm i could never afford a nice big one at the moment.

Compared to Pet Smart and Pet Co it dosen`t have that huge chain of overstocked overbreed n half the time sick it seems like to many floating fish when i vist those 2 places.

if i can i would love to start off with the German Blue Rams or well we will see i`ll let u guys know what i can find there tomorrow.

[Sandz]

Ok seems you are set on GBR's. Lets narrow this down a bit. You have 56 gallon pretty cubic floor for this tank. Get 1 GBR and only 1. Pick out your favorite cory species and get 10. GBR will have no issues on the issues talldutchie and I are talking about on the aggression. I still agree that celestial pearl danios or cardinals make an excellent addition to the tank and same with a small angel. I specify small because it will allow you to get it raised up with the other fish in the tank.

Do NOT get two males of any cichlid. At least while you are starting out. You can be soured quickly by two males that fight to the death.

Take pictures when you go. I would love to see the store.

[ChaosWolf]

ok i`ll bring my kindle when i go then to take pictures. um isn`t 10 cories to many? i was thinking about only 4-6 of those and i do like the look of the celestial pearl danios but i don`t think i ever seen them around here but i have seen the cardianl tetra's alot.now for Angels i have a hard time finding them but i can look n maybe find a small one.Uslay when i do find them they are huge n old thought.but i`ll keep n eye out for one.Also dose that mean theres just going to be One Cichlid in tank as end result then?

[talldutchie]

A 56g has quite a lot of floor space. 10 cories should be possible.

[Sandz]

10 corries is fine as Talldutchie said. They are a schooling species and need to be in groups. You have the real estate for it.

I would be befudled if a shop like the Ark didnt have 5 different kinds of dime sized angels... but I have been wrong about stores before.

Also.. im giving suggestions... dont let me plan your tank for you. If you do some research and find some cool fish you like, lets talk about them and their potential for your tank. There are a lot of options out there.

Oh also, on the One cichlid thing... if you had an angel and a GBR you would have two. The cichlid world is a weird one... They school in large schools to mitigate aggression... GBRs can be found in the 100s... But when they pair off... they defend their little territory hard! In the wild you can see schools of all kinds of cichlids... but overall they are ok on their own as well. Lets work on your 56 gallons and stock light and let it grow. This is a multiyear thing... lets take time getting it set up.

[ChaosWolf]

when i went to ark last time i was only looking for Rainbow Fish but i could only find females n a sad looking male so i started looking into other fish n thats when i found out about cichlids xD and well for angelfish i have only looked at petsmart,petco and Alship but uslay petsmart n petco don`t have them n alship has older ones. The Ark i only have been to once because i never knew about it and a employee in petsmart recommended it hehe.Well snice i have no experience with cichlids all the help n ideas are welcome by telling me which type of fish i can base it around that to figure how to do my tank and well with 10 cory my dad is going to be supppppeeerrr happy haha! Also i haven`t had a tank snice i was a kid n well i told u about my dad so i had alot of dead fishies n gave up on it and this time i found this tank and want to do it right so i found out about cycling so hopefuly no dead fish like my childhood days...So you guys are a very big help to me.

and ok little by little understood!

[Sandz]

Well great! And I think you are going to be very happy with this tank. Can we get a clearer picture of it? Try taking it at an angle and close the blinds.

Even with a fishless cycle I like to let a tank grow into its full potential even though you could technically drop all fish in at once.

[ChaosWolf]

the only thing that bugs me if the water is brownish but its from the log ._. i rised it off n changed the water when i was soaking that log so much n it still turned my water in take I had it in a bucket for 3 days with water i dumpped the water out n rissed it off around 4x daily. oh well hopefuly it will improve with time.
Ok heres the pictures for you n Also i only have a kindle to take pictures with so im trying my best.





Hope these are better!

[Sandz]

Very cool! Yeah that log will leech for a good while. It took one of mine 5-6 months before it quit! Like the overall look. Also the tanic enviroment will be nice for any amazonian fish you end up with.

[ChaosWolf]

well i still feel it needs some more plants thought because well i accidently bought some mondo grass it was labled "kyoto" or w/e n well it kept dieing and then for some reason my huge hairgrass died too so it feels more empty now so when i go look at fishes i`ll look at plants too tomorrow hehe xD