55G African Cichlid Tank

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eatingleg4peanut

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 21, 2010
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Maryland
I need some help...

I am going to get a new 55(maybe 75) this weekend and I am wanting to get african cichlids for the first time. I want to go with a blue theme , I am used to keeping American cichlids and I am aware that africans have different living conditions than americans. I am looking for what products I need to buy to have their water condition good.

I am considering these cichlids to go along with the blue theme, as they are readily available by me. Please let me know if they are compatible and how many I can have in the tank.

Kenyi
Electric Blue
Acei
Auratis
and maybe a peacock if I see one thats the right color
 
Just keep the water conditions consistent and you will be fine. IMO, there's not need to buffer the tanks. You run the risk of harming the fish with parameter spikes if you are not careful.

Also, You might want to looking into the stocking you have listed. Some of those fish can be quite aggressive while other will be passive.
 
If you get a peacock, you will have to feed the tank two different diets: The first four on your list have vegetable-based diets while peacocks are meat-based. They would probably eat anything, but a bulk of their diets need to be made up of their base.

The aceis might actually have some problems hanging with the others. Aceis tend to be on the more peaceful side of the spectrum -- although I have them in my tank with the others and have had no problems.

Don't worry so much about getting the water parameters exactly what it is in the wild. I agree with Pharoh - much better to maintain stability. Plus, I've never done anything to my ph and everything is just fine, including unfettered breeding!
 
How many Electric Blues can I have in it?
 
You could have a decent group of Electric blues, but the goal would be to have at least 3 females for every male. Of course, if you were doing an all male tank, you might be able to work things a bit differently.

As far as aggression, I was referring more towards the Kenyi and the auratus. They can be a bit nasty.
 
I would stay away from kenyi and auratus unless you are doing groups of these fish. Kenyi are especially large and aggressive mbuna and generally prove to be tankbusters over the long haul. If you do a group (1M/3F), then the aggression may keep in check though. Plus, male kenyi turn from blue to orange.

If you're going with a 75, I would get a couple groups of fish. A quad each of electric blues and Ps. sp. Acei whitetail/yellowtail would be a nice setup. This will spread aggression as well as let you witness some neat behavior. Just beware though, electric blues are really good at devouring fry, so if you're interested in trying to breed, provide lots of rockwork for hiding spots. :)

Stay away from getting multiple blue haps/peacocks or multiple blue mbuna of differing types. They will fight. Mixing color will make conspecific differences more apparent to help minimize aggression. That is why I would recommend getting a couple of groups to start with and going from there.

What part of Maryland are you in, BTW?
 
If you considered getting fish online or finding local breeders I highly suggest demasoni. A large group of 15 or so in a 55 would be stunning. You could add another species like Ps socolofi to finish off a very nice blue theme.
From the list you have kenyi are super aggressive and auratus are not much better. Electric blues usually refers to electric blue haps which I think get a bit big for a 55 gallon and don't seem to thrive in a mbuna tank. Acei are more dark purple than blue.
You could look into cynotilapia afra species. Many of them are a gorgeous blue and most stay small.
 
eatingleg4peanut;4387263; said:
Kenyi
Electric Blue
Acei
Auratis
and maybe a peacock if I see one thats the right color
Click to expand...

Peacocks are the only ones that should be kept in a 55g, the rest need a bigger tank. Ps. acei could work in a 75g, but the rest are best suited for a 6' long tank. The M. auratus/M. lombardoi are not fish I would recommend for a beginner - once they get around 3-4" they will start killing off other fish in too small of a tank. Even experienced keepers have had troubles with M. auratus in a 6' tank.
 
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