55 Gallon Stocking Help

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kinderteachersc

Feeder Fish
Jun 26, 2012
3
0
0
Lancaster, SC
Hi everyone! Sorry in advance for the length here but I want to make sure I cover everything.

I have a 55 gallon tank that my husband purchased for me from someone who was moving. It had a variety of interesting fish in there, but we have since learned from doing some research that the previous owner had combined several fish that really were not meant for our size of tank. So, after lots of thinking and research and planning, I'm trying to start over. I've sold most of the fish except for the two I really want to keep and believe will work in this tank (a syno erupterus and a little syno hybrid) and am now starting the big debate on what to do next once the buyers have picked up their new fish.

My husband likes more exotic looking fish - bright colors, aggressive fish, etc. but does not like all of the fish to have the same body shape (i.e. be the same basic fish but different colors)

I like more exotic looking fish too, but more importantly, I like fish with personality. But I've had the basic tropical fish in the past (swordtails, platies, neons, cories, etc.)

Basic water parameters are as follows: pH 7.0, Water is pretty hard, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 20 ppm nitrate. Currently there is gravel substrate with a large driftwood piece in the center and smaller driftwood pieces to the sides. Other decorations can stay or go. Only fake plants in there currently as previous fish demolished anything plant-wise put in the tank. I have two tanks with sand and am wanting to switch this tank over to sand as well (PFS).

My other tanks have live plants and I am really starting to like the look of planted tanks, but since I'm still new to plants, keeping live plants in there is not a must.

I'm running an Aquaclear 70 and a Marineland Penguin 350. Basic dual light strips.

I've debated several options including a Tanganyikan cichlid tank, an mbuna tank, and a community tank revolving around angels, but am still not in LOVE with anything I've come across yet. Please share what you've had/have and love or any other suggestions you may have. I'm open to anything! :) Thanks so much!
 
To be honest your water isn't quite hard enough to keep African cichlids comfortably. What about an Angelfish tank with some Rams or Apistos to fill out the bottom?

My favorite flashy setup for a 50g is 3-4 Angelfish, 3-4 Rams (or Apistos, but I just prefer GBR's), and 6-8 Cory's of your choice. It provides motion at all levels of the tank AND you have some actual interesting fish instead of mindless guppies/swordtails etc. You could even increase the numbers of all the fish I listed but I always under-stock.
 
I thought about that kind of setup but hesitated for a couple of reasons:

1.) I'd really like to keep my synos and wasn't sure how theyd do with rams / apistos
2.) I have tried GBRs, apistogramma agassizi, and bolivian rams all from a new LFS and all have died except for the Bolivian I got at Petsmart. Still not sure if that's a statement to the quality of the LFS or just that my water parameters aren't good for dwarf cichlids. (the Cories I got from the same LFS are doing well). I'm sad about that because I love the look of rams and would like for them to work for me but maybe I'm missing something or need to get them somewhere else. I assumed it was because of the hardness of my water (10ish the last time I checked) since rams tend to like soft acidic water.
3.) I've read that Angels can be very territorial and aggressive should they pair up and breed and am concerned about stocking a trio or 4 and then having them kill everything else. Valid concern?

This is probably turning into my favorite option if I can get to where I feel comfortable with the above concerns. I guess I could rehome the synos but I'd really prefer to keep them :(


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If you like the african cichlid idea mix in crushed coral in the substrate, or get a media bag and fill with cc and place in filter. The CC will act as a natural buffer for your water and make it more acceptable for africans. Just add some check ph after like 24 hrs and see if you need more. Then just continue checking and adding until you get the right ph.

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go Cichlid , you wont regret, georgous and exotic fish all over the place...

im building a 55g , waiting on a few parts to come in ...however my stocking is looking like...

12 x Saulosi
1 x Cyrtocara Moorii
6-8 x Blueberrys

or if i can find at decent price i will be ripping the tank apart and going for a Cyprichromis (a type of sardine from Lake Tanganyikan) tank

if you want color and variations, Malawi Mbuna & Hap Cichlids are the way to go ...
 
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