Starting 55 Gallon Cichlid Tank - Input/Suggestions Appreciated

[jrowephoto]

Hey everyone,

I'm new on the boards, and I'm getting back into the love of messing with my aquarium. I have a 55 Gallon tank with gravel filler, standard filtering (i'll post brand/etc if needed) and heater. I had some rocks we were going to use in our flower gardens, but I acquired them and my wife agreed to allow me to use them I think they look ok, but I am open to any suggestions.

I only have one fish now, which is a Jack Dempsey Cichlid named Dude (my wife named him). I only have one lighting ballast working now, which is why it's centered. I have ordered some new lighting, it will be in tomorrow...i'm very excited to get it installed. (I went with Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus) and I also bought two wavemakers to hopefully help keep the junk out of the rocks and add a little movement (I went with 2 of Hydor Koralia Nano 425 Aquarium Circulation Pump). I am very anxious to get a lot more fish in, but I wanted to post a few questions that some of you might be able to help with.

1) I have posted a previous question about this, but given the size of my Jack Dempsey what other breeds of cichlids do you feel would be a good fit for him?)

2) I have lucked out and a friend of mine has a 12in pleco he's wanting to get rid of, so i'm going to pick him up today. This should not be a problem with a JD, would it?

3) I've heard a lot say to create hiding places, and i've heard creating hiding places causes aggression/makes them territorial. What is best practice for a 55 gallon community cichlid tank? I really would like to start quite a collection of Cichlids, but I want to be careful and not jump in too $fast and waste a lot.

4) My water is fairly clear, but it still has a light haze to it as you can see from the picture below. I just did a water change this past Sunday. Any pointers?

5) Any pointers / gotchas / for someone starting a tank this size with Cichlids, or resources to point me in, i'm all ears/eyes

I appreciate any input, here's a couple of pics of my tank and my first Cichlid, Dude the Jack Dempsey

Thanks for your time!

 

[Doctordetroit]

Had ok luck with convicts with dempseys. Wouldn't add more than a few with a 55

 

[HEMP111]

What is standard filtering? HOB, canisters..... Could be anything, because we all use different things and a lot of us use combinations of things (me included). That's part of the fun, figuring out what you want to do and how to get there. I would say that what ever you are using is not turning the tank over enough to clear it up, or you are not using a filter media that is fine enough to get the small stuff. That being said, I haven't done SA Cichlids in many years so the stocking I have no knowledgeable advise on.....

 

[BMac91]

With a 55 gallon your stocking will be pretty limited. JD gets a decent size and are typically jerks. Agree with the above that some convicts could go in there, just know they breed like there is no tomorrow if you happen to end up with male/female combo and they will very much give the JD a run for his money during breeding time. I have seen them take down full grown 15-16" Oscars during breeding time.

If convicts are your thing, I'd probably add 2 decent sized ones and no more. Would drastically reduce your chances of m/f combo.

 

[carbene]

you might want to go with dwarf cichlids with a 55 gallon tank. i wouldnt put a jd in anything less than 75gal and dont get the pleco!!!

 

[MonsterFishCreeper]

I personally don't see under gravel filters as effective and I would suggest removing it and adding a canister filter or some very large HOB filters. For instance, on my 55 gallon I only have a single 6 1/2" green terror and I have two aquaclear 110 filters on the tank. Don't pay much attention to what size tank the filter says its good for, they are woefully under powered based on those numbers, especially for large fish. For a cheap and decent canister check out the SunSun 304 but I would suggest leaving your other filter on with it.

Avoid the pleco they aren't great at algae control once they get decent sized and common plecos get too big for a 55. They are also known to be poop machines. If your interested in having multiple fish my honest suggestion is to trade the JD in or give it to a friend with a bigger tank because they get quite large and aggressive, he really won't leave much room for any other fish.

Some species to look at for a 55 - This would be for an empty tank not in addition to the JD.

Single male green terror

A pair of Severums (as long as they are friendly to each other)

A pair of Sajica's with some dither fish.

A pair or trio of Rainbow cichlids with some dither fish (love these guys)

Small school on convicts (they breed like rats you've been warned)

Some of the thorichthys species.

Small school of Honduran Red Points.

School of cryptoheros nanoluteus

Several apistogramma you could probably have quite a few.

There are many many choices here but it is easy to overdo it in a 55 gallon and the fish will suffer for it so do your homework and enjoy the process. A 55 definitely has viable stockings but it's smaller then it looks at first.

 

[HEMP111]

+1 they don't work well at all.... I would go cannisters at least.

 

[Doctordetroit]

Your Jd is cool looking. I know the feeling, and he is why you are stoked about the new tank setup. He will be fine for a while if you just add a couple small fish that he won't beat the crap out of. Don't get rid of him, just keep in mind that you will have to get a bigger tank someday to see him reach full potential. I would add more efficient filtration as recommended. And enjoy your beast. Don't trade that dude in.

 

[BMac91]

Once you have more efficient filtration on, the tank will clear up nicely as well.

 

[jrowephoto]

I apologize, I did not give enough detail on my filtration. I have a 30-60 Tetra Whisper filter (HOB), rated for 60 gallons but as stated I am sure this isn't turning it over well enough.

A friend of mine had a large pleco he was needing to "rehome" bc his tank was too small, and so I now have him and four firemouths and all is going extremely well. The firemouths get a bit nippy with each other, but for the most part all are living very well with each other.

I just last weekend added a tiger Oscar to the mix, and him and the JD are inseparable. I am eyeballing a 100 gallon for the future and as they get bigger will move them over, but all seems to be doing very well now.

What kind of filter would you all recommend adding to this mix? I don't want something that will break the $bank, and don't want to cheap out, but want something that will help clear the water up.

Thanks so much!