my 55g

[cichlid fiend]

nicely said

 

[Aenemax13]

Well I don't Know about 150 gallons. With two Festae chances are 150 gallon isn't big enough for any other fish and if they are two males it's bad but two females it's worse. I would say 6x2x2 is your best bet. Even then it will be sketchy. Yes it's a big step for a 55 but if you want to keep the fish it's the right thing to do. Severums might be toast when the Carpinte and Festea get bigger.

Problems with reintroducing fish I have noticed if there is a set picking order in the tank and you add a re-intro it screws it all up as now lower pecking order fish are asserting dominance and it's just a fiasco of dominance.

i see these truths but festae grow so terribly slow and i already have a 135 waiting for them that should suffice for a few years.

i was thinking the same about the natual pecking order. hmm we'll see how it goes only time will tell

o and the severums are well off carpinte don't care much they are about 6" and 4"

thanks

 

[japes]

lol i know all of this i have a 135 gallon, its just not setup. the concern was the smaller festae hehe. has anyone ever seperated a less dominant fish and raised it alone. how was the growth rate? change of temperament?

Set up the 135. You'll get faster growth out of all the fish in there - just get ready to remove the Severums as soon as the Festae decide they want to kill everything in the tank.

natual pecking order

Huge aggressive Centrals don't have natural pecking orders with large peaceful South Americans.

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

like japes said, move them to the 135 now, not only will growth be better, but you can also maintain better water quality there than in an overstocked 55

 

[heavyhitter]

i love this site / u guys no ur stuff but are quick to point out when a tank is over stocked / like all of u started with monster tanks / come on people, we all started some where

The idea is to start off "right". Not to start off with an enviroment that is harmfull and negative towards the fish and one that will call grief to the beginner which would turn them away from the hobby.

A 55g is a small tank and is big enough to house 1 medium size cichlid happily.