lower jaw polys in a 55gal?

[clm08k]

Hello everyone, I'm trying to get back on the poly train. upgrading my 55gal is tentative because it is limited by my living/financial/career situation... The upgrade of a 75 is possible, if I can convince my parents. But currently the answer is :"no tanks bigger than a 55g until I move out and get long term career going."

Is it possible to have any of the smaller lower jaw polys comfortable in a 55g for a year, maybe two years? I would never want to make a fish uncomfortable or stunt its growth. Just realistically, upgrading might not be possible for 1-2 years.

 

[jaws7777]

Its tough but i think doable for a cb endli but that depends on genetics. My cb is probably a yr old and still under a foot. Maybe 9 to 10 inches.
Dont feed too much, get it real small and it should work.

 

[clm08k]

oops I meant upper jaws lol. Will see if I can get this thread deleted and make a new one with the correct wording. I think 55g is way too small long term for a lower jaw.

meant to say smaller UPPER jaws:
delhezi, palmas varieties, moke, retro, buettikoferi, or senegal.

 

[ShanerBock888]

Maybe a sen or del? I have a sen that's about 8 months old and is probably about 8-9". A 55 is 12" wide so that would leave a couple inches. Still a little tight though. You'd probably be better off doing a 40 breeder, which has a 36x18 footprint. Yeah it's less gallons but the footprint is much better suited for a bottom dweller like poly. I think you'd be totally fine keeping maybe 3 dels or sens in a 40b for a year or so

 

[jaws7777]

Any upper jaw other than teug, ornate and weeksii. Though others said weeksii are slow growers.

 

[clm08k]

Maybe a sen or del? I have a sen that's about 8 months old and is probably about 8-9". A 55 is 12" wide so that would leave a couple inches. Still a little tight though. You'd probably be better off doing a 40 breeder, which has a 36x18 footprint. Yeah it's less gallons but the footprint is much better suited for a bottom dweller like poly. I think you'd be totally fine keeping maybe 3 dels or sens in a 40b for a year or so

You are absolutely right the 55 is definitely too tight long term. Want to figure out if theres a way to still keep polys though before I can get my big tank. 40 breeder isn't a bad idea.

 

[kno4te]

2-3 upper jaws would do well in there. Retro, del, senegalus, and gold dust.

I think this was asked prior. 2 was the best choice. The palmas group wasn't advised including the larger upper jaws just because of the width of the tank.

 

[magpie]

If you're going the route of 40 B you might consider going 65 gallon to get the extra height in there for more swimming room for them and other fish.

OR are you sure you can't "sneak" in a 75? It's the 4 foot length, which honestly is what takes up the most room in a house. Then you have your 4 foot length (same as 55) but your 18 depth which is much better.

IF you could do 75, it is most definitely the best choice and then you'd have more breathing room so to speak for multiple species for lets say the end of the timeline is 2 years... I have a 65 and it works but I really wish I had a 75 because it opens up many more options despite only being 10 gallons more.

 

[ShanerBock888]

If you're going the route of 40 B you might consider going 65 gallon to get the extra height in there for more swimming room for them and other fish.

OR are you sure you can't "sneak" in a 75? It's the 4 foot length, which honestly is what takes up the most room in a house. Then you have your 4 foot length (same as 55) but your 18 depth which is much better.

IF you could do 75, it is most definitely the best choice and then you'd have more breathing room so to speak for multiple species for lets say the end of the timeline is 2 years... I have a 65 and it works but I really wish I had a 75 because it opens up many more options despite only being 10 gallons more.

Yeah that's a great point. a 75 is identical to a 55 in the way that it occupies space. Just explain that to your parents - it's the same exact length, just 6 inches wider, which you won't even notice

 

[Polyaddict86]

You should be fine with cb endli and ornate, since you have a plan in upgrading in the future, you can get away with 2 cb endli and 2 ornate, they slow down in growth after 9"-10". Just dont do power feeding.