Ideal aggressive fish for a 55 gallon tank?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I had a male JD in a 55 by himself for years and he was so boring and skittish!

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Sorry for the late response, it's been a little crazy the past few days but I appreciate everyone sharing their opinion! Last night I finally got the chance to look up the fish mentioned here and a few others I found on the Top 21 Most Aggressive Cichlid thread. I have to agree with some comments about the JD being shy and skittish. I had one before and all it did was hide in his cave unless I drop food. Not sure about firemouths too since they're a little too small :( Thanks for the suggestion though!

Here's a list I came up with in order preference. But I know sometimes the max size listed on a site isn't the right one so I would appreciate everyone's thought whether it's possible to keep the fish in a 55 gallon for life. I do plan to upgrade to a 90 gallon next year but unexpected things can happen in life so I don't want to take a chance and compromise the fish I'm getting if I can't get it a bigger tank.

1. Amphilophus festae
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=503
2. Parachromis motaguensis
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http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=10
3. Nandopsis grammodes
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http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=20
4. Nandopsis tetracanthus
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http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=3
5. Nandopsis salvini
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=26


What do you guys think? Everyone's opinion is very much appreciated!
 
Toss the festea out. They're absolutely beautiful but way too big for a 55. You could prolly keep a female in a 75/90 but not a male.
IMO the rest would be ok in a 55 for a while. Salvini would be ok in a 55 for life.

If you're looking for a glass banger, which I think you are, a red devil/Midas will suit you. I had mine in a 55 for a while then put him in a 75 a couple months ago. If you plan on upgrading within the year red devil/Midas I think is the way to go.

Feel free to check mine out youtube.com/defbored. There is a couple videos of him in there.

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just to clarify ......I HAVE AN 8" inch male JD,, he's as glass banging wet pet as they come:popcorn: IT'S ENVIRONMENT AND(fish) ATTITUDE....others results may vary of course
 
my JD are not skittish either, but you looking for one fish in the tank, I would say a female jag, not a male. my female is alone in a 95g, she owns the tank has no problem letting me know that.
 
Thanks, guys!

Maybe I just had a rotten luck on the JD and got the shy one. I understand that a fish's personality varies greatly and I didn't mean to imply that other people's JDs are the same. I hope I didn't offend anyone.


ehh said:
Toss the festea out. They're absolutely beautiful but way too big for a 55. You could prolly keep a female in a 75/90 but not a male.
IMO the rest would be ok in a 55 for a while. Salvini would be ok in a 55 for life.

If you're looking for a glass banger, which I think you are, a red devil/Midas will suit you. I had mine in a 55 for a while then put him in a 75 a couple months ago. If you plan on upgrading within the year red devil/Midas I think is the way to go.

Feel free to check mine out youtube.com/defbored. There is a couple videos of him in there.

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Click to expand...

Thanks, ehh. Beautiful Red Devil you have there. :) I have a friend who owns one and he said it's a two person job to do a water change lol. One to clean the tank and the other to block the fish from biting his hand. :grinyes:

Question for you though...Do you think I can keep a salvini pair in a 55 gallon or is that pushing it? Also, when you said the others will be okay in a 55 for awhile, how long do you think I have before I would need to upgrade? Especially in regards to second fish on my list. I really love pattern and color they develop as an adult.

I also just found out about this fish called "Freddy". I guess it's a cousin of the Parachromis motaguensis because they look very similar. It's called Parachromis friedrichsthalii. Can someone please explain their difference and if it's possible to keep one in a 55 gallon?

Here's the link to it's profile:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=7

I guess I should have posted this in the CA/SA section to begin with lol. Sorry for the mistake.
 
I think they will all do fine in a 55 long term. Just remember that every now and then you get a beast that hits the max size. And a 12 inch fish in 55 doesn't work out too well.
A pair of sals well do fine in a 55 long term. For the sake of experiencing an aggressive fish though I think you should go with the grammode. The only time you'll see the salvini aggression is when they have tank mates or when the male decides he wants to kill the female.

I'm not experienced in the parachromis. Nor have I heard too mush about Freddies or the other one you listed. But I'm sure others here are.


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I had to look up the fish called "Freddy". Beautiful looking fish. The problem with this guy is he will be 12" full grown and will have trouble in a 55 gallon long term. The article I read also said they are susceptible to dying in poor water conditions. That big of a fish will pose a couple problems in a 55. One, he won't be able to comfortably turn around at Max size and two he will foul the water resulting in major water changes a couple times a week if not more. Of course if you upgrade your tank to a bigger size, say even a 75, I think you could do it and just grow out the "Freddy" in the 55. Hope this helps and sorry if its not what you want to hear. I know how fish keeping is, you want something so bad but you just can't keep it.


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