Are these fish compatible in a 55 gallon aquarium:

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Feeder Fish
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This aquarium has at least 200 gph of filtration servicing it.
It is serviced by a 50% water change weekly.
It is the aquarium I have under my profile, in case you want to know what currently occupies the tank.
The following species I want to have in it are:
5 Eureka Red Cichlids, 1 male 4 female ratio
8 Yellow Lab Cichlids of random identification ratio
1 Maingano Cichlid male or female ratio
1 OB Peacock Cichlid male or female ratio
1 Yellow Sunshine Peacock Cichlid 1 male ratio
1 Livingstoni Cichlid identification unknown ratio
1 Hongi Cichlid 1 male ratio (can be removed)
1 small pleco, uh I forgot he was here this is a last minute idea probably bristlenose, he isn't a common pleco of course!

Is this combination possible? I have a canister filter that operates under this aquarium when it is usually running was it 200 gph or something I know I at least have 200 gph being filtered. I have three weeks or more to discuss the possibilities concerning this. I am perfectly capable of conducting enough water changes necessary to run an aquarium of this inadequate size. I am planning on moving the 2 Star Sapphires to a different aquarium when they are too big to remain in this aquarium. I also have an Emperor Marineland filter that filters out 50 gph but I don't know what it's called aside from that, that's all the filtration information I can provide you. Do you think this tank is too small for Peacocks, lol I have seen pictures online of a tank with 78 fish that size (many were Mbunas) in a 55 gallon it's doable but this is a lot less fish.
 

Deadeye

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I didn’t have luck mixing peacocks and mbuna, but that was a much smaller tank.
Just my experience.
 

DJRansome

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So if they kill each other in 6 months you want to try it?

I would exclude mbuna except yellow labs or acei. No maingano, no hongi.

I would decide on having females or all-male. If you have female peacocks for one species in the tank do not have any other peacock species in the tank.

If you mostly want an all-male hap and peacock tank I would stock one of each, male only, fish that look nothing alike.

I am not clear on the dimensions of your aquarium. Of course you would need enough GPH and need to do sufficient water changes for any size tank with any amount of fish...this does not buy you a larger stock list. The Livingstonii also requires a 72" tank.
 

BigBeardDaHuZi

Exodon
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Your stock list is really heavy and the fish you want get pretty big. If you are wanting a peacock tank - or a peacock and hap tank - you might want to upgrade to a bigger tank. A 125 or 150. A 55 is really not big enough for most of those fish.
If a 55 is what you have to work with, maybe consider changing it to a mbuna tank? Add a couple colonies of yellow labs and rusties - or maybe some saulosi - and a ton of rock work to make them at home. A well done mbuna tank can look like a freshwater reef. Give it a look.
Another option would be to set up a breeder tank. Pick one of the peacocks and stock it at 1 male/4 female ratio.
 

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Feeder Fish
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I am not intending to keep star Sapphires or Livingstone cichlids in this tank for very long. I forgot to include a Jewel cichlid (I have a Jewel cichlid already) so no Hongi of course. I currently have peacocks, namely three Eureka reds, and an OB Peacock. I am not of course intending to keep the livingstone or star Sapphire in the tank when they are 6 inches maybe. Don't these species grow super slow?

Okay, I am aware of Mbunas. I am well knowledgeable about this, however, I am convinced concerning this tank.
Here's what I meant concerning the fish killing each other: I think if after the hierarchy is established, the tank will do quite well, provided there are no fish too weak to deal with dominant fish, or anybody getting targeted. I can always remove either the targeted or the targeting.
All I have to work with is a 55 gallon aquarium. I think I like a mix of Mbuna and Peacock, and of course, I think it is able to be done provided the Mbuna are smaller than the peacocks. No Maingano, unless I add the aggressive fish LAST in a group with the Hongi and some other aggressive fish from the list?
It's a standard 55 gallon on a metal stand. I bought it from a local fish store 48 inch long by 12 inch wide by 18 inches high what else??
pH usually hovers around 8.5-8.8 I don't think it bothers the fish too much since they're Africans anyway.
It depends if I really want the Maingano I will add him in the last group of additions, which means the Yellow Labs are coming first. (I really want the Maingano lol did it before with four fish two peacocks did really well surprisingly in a 36 gallon bowfront I'll do it again in a 55)
Could you list which species aside from Livingstonii and Star Sapphire which ones aren't going to fit into this tank?
"A 55 is really not big enough for most of those fish."
"If you mostly want an all-male hap and peacock tank I would stock one of each, male only, fish that look nothing alike." Love this statement, but not going for all Peacock and Hap I am trying to mix Peacock and Mbunas mainly I would love an all Peacock or Hap (Is this getting confusing??)
Like I've said I have enough time to decide on this not looking for much more than the species I've listed above willing to remove any that I only have one fish of the species I want in the first post, I particularly want the 8 Labs and a couple of random choice Africans for added color and a single Display fish (I think it will work quite well)
 

Deadeye

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With Africans there really isn’t one centerpiece, it’s more about how they all come together that makes it good. It’s more of the ca/sa cichlids that are the centerpiece type imo.
As for the hierarchy…I thought that it would be simple once established…but noooooo
Basically every change would lead to new aggression. Once everything was going well I thought it would be a good idea to add some wood to my tank, and that caused a chain reaction starting with my auratus kill the dominant zebra. Between the all out war that broke out and a parasitic infection, there was only one survivor…
I guess the moral is that it doesn’t stay peaceful for long.
Also, I think that majority of African cichlid tanks fail due to underestimating how much water changes are necessary. It’s well known that they need to be overstocked, but few realize that the tanks also need high water changes to make up for it, and no amount of filtration can compensate for it. I say this because this was my issue for why I could never have a thriving mbuna setup.
 
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DJRansome

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Usually people want recommendations of fish likely to work and the whole idea of asking for advice is to minimize having to take them out. If you have no problem netting fish and traipsing to/from the LFS to rehome them every other week then your stock list can be anything you want. In a 55G a mix of peacock males and yellow labs has a good chance of success.

What we are telling you is that your eureka females are likely to be targeted (for example). Also the star sapphires and the yellow peacock. I would also skip jacobfreibergi like the eureka in a 55G because they are larger and more aggressive than the stuartgranti peacocks. IME mbuna like hongi and maingano are not ideal with peacocks and haps regardless of comparative fish sizes.

Whether a fish works well in a certain tank size is not related to maximum size (years in the future), but spawning size. Example a yellow lab will get to six inches but they spawn at 1.5" so that is when they need an appropriate tank to manage aggression.
 

aussieman57

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For a 55 why not take a look at the Lake Victorian Haps. I used to breed these years ago. They have great coloration and don't get as big as Malawian peacocks & Haps. They are colorful, active and easy to breed.
 

Fish-Keeping Assist *Bot

Feeder Fish
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I do like the Victorian Haps, I already have a few species of fish. Are the jacobfreibergi cichlids really that aggressive? I certainly didn't think so, but in any case, they are females, at least I hope so. If I can figure out how to get pictures on here, that will happen. Star Sapphires I have... Yellow Peacock don't have, Maingano don't have Red OB zebra do have no super aggressive fish like auratus who are known to be fish killers.
Hongi will probably skip over.
Thinking...

I'll keep the female jacobfreibergi cichlids but

Star Sapphires will be moved elsewhere before they get too big including the livingstoni and anybody else who happens to get too large (my ideal size for 55 is no bigger than 5-6 inches)

That leaves Jewel Cichlid, Red OB Peacock, Yellow Labs, the additional Eureka reds ratio, the pleco, (I am still convinced on the Maingano but if you insists, my personal experience has been that they'll probably do ok in a tank like this with 8 yellow labs if he didn't kill two Peacocks and some random zebra as adults in a 36 gallon bowfront.). huh I've run out of fish. lol
I mean centerpiec.e fish as in one fish that I really like that fits in with the africans but stands out a bit more, not that he has to be dominant or whatever you mean by centerpiece

Do you have any suggestions that will go with the fish I have decided on so far, because I'd still like to have around 18-23 africans unless that's too much which I don't think it is personally.

I like Demasoni lol.
 
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