is this bad?

[Mac_1069]

hey guys kinda new here thanks for any answers ive found this place real helpful hope to continue for years to come as i dive more into aquariums.

anyways i have a 55 gallon freshwater with 1 bumble bee cichlid 1 electric blue johanni and 1 electric blue Hap cichlid and a green spotted puffer and a common pleco

there all resonable size, non over maybe 2.5 inches

is this to much for this tank is what im ultimately asking.

i was lookin to put a fire eel and maybe 1 more GSP but not sure

 

[knifegill]

First you'll want to separate your brackish fish from your freshwater hardwater and your freshwater softwater fish or figure out which you'd rather keep.

If you go brackish, the GSP is probably best kept alone.

If you go fresh softwater, the fire eel may or may not eat your cichlids, but will definitely outgrow your tank before long or die trying to. The common pleco alone will eventually outgrow your tank, too, but you've got time on him since he's still small.

I confess I'm not familiar with bumblebee cichlids.

If you go freshwater hardwater, the hap and johanni would be a good start to a colony of Malawi cichlids.

But your current mix is a ticking time bomb. If the GSP succumbs to infection from osmotic stress he could start a domino effect of disease in there.

 

[Mac_1069]

i know that sooner or later i have to upgrade i was hopin to make it atleast a year maybe with them. my pleco is tiny, i know they can get huge. my bumble bee is supposed to be very dominate but he is the smallest outa my cichlids.

i got the puffer from a friend who had him in a 10 gallon tank, traded for a bala shark.

can ant puffers live with cichlids ive lately really like the fahaka's, but my GSP is cool as hell really active and real vibrant colors

 

[Mac_1069]

also i spent about five days slowly transitioning my puffer from brackish to fresh if that makes a diff

 

[fisher12889]

also i spent about five days slowly transitioning my puffer from brackish to fresh if that makes a diff

No it doesn't make a difference. Sure, the puffer might live for awhile, but it will never thrive. When people say they need brackish water, that means they need brackish water, not fresh.

 

[Mac_1069]

No it doesn't make a difference. Sure, the puffer might live for awhile, but it will never thrive. When people say they need brackish water, that means they need brackish water, not fresh.

do fahakas live well in freshwater with cichlids, my cichlids now dont mess with my puffer at all

 

[fisher12889]

do fahakas live well in freshwater with cichlids, my cichlids now dont mess with my puffer at all

Everything I've read leads me to believe that no puffer should be kept with other fish. The issue isn't the other fish picking on the puffer, its actually just the opposite. Puffers have very strong jaws that can crunch bones and shells, and they WILL use these on other fish.

 

[Mac_1069]

Everything I've read leads me to believe that no puffer should be kept with other fish. The issue isn't the other fish picking on the puffer, its actually just the opposite. Puffers have very strong jaws that can crunch bones and shells, and they WILL use these on other fish.

it was actually kinda funny i threw in a couple tiny feeder fish to test my tank at set up and my puffer actually killed them all i was thinkin my cichlids would lol

 

[gazelle]

First you'll want to separate your brackish fish from your freshwater hardwater and your freshwater softwater fish or figure out which you'd rather keep.

If you go brackish, the GSP is probably best kept alone.

If you go fresh softwater, the fire eel may or may not eat your cichlids, but will definitely outgrow your tank before long or die trying to. The common pleco alone will eventually outgrow your tank, too, but you've got time on him since he's still small.

I confess I'm not familiar with bumblebee cichlids.

If you go freshwater hardwater, the hap and johanni would be a good start to a colony of Malawi cichlids.

But your current mix is a ticking time bomb. If the GSP succumbs to infection from osmotic stress he could start a domino effect of disease in there.

^^ X 2
ummm ya haha pretty much summed it up there

 

[swede]

from expirience, without brackish water, your puffer will gradually decline and die... if the africans dont kill it first. your best bet is to find another tank for him that will be brackish asap