New 55 grow out tank

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Wayne S

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MFK Member
Apr 9, 2018
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hi , I’m new to American cichlids by the way . I have a 55 gallon tank with a fx4 on cycle I will all so be getting a 6x2x2 at the end of the year . I would like to use the 55 gallon as a grow out tank would like some advice on how many fish I could keep in it to I get the bigger tank . Fish I’m looking at are around 2 inch’s
Fish I would like (not saying I’m going to get them)
Gt , jd ,jag , severum
Would this be to many to grow in a 55 gallon or not enough. Or would I end up losing fish . Thankyou I know you’ve probably seen loads of these post !! Any advice would be much Appreciated
 
Hello welcome to MFK
I would plan your stocking out in the long run, what fish you want and what your goals are. Community tank? Biotope? Breeding pair?

Then I would pick your one favorite fish and grow only that fish out, with some dithers. The fish you listed, mostly grow quickly. For example, a 2" jaguar, could easily be 9"+ by the end of 2018. And I would not want to be another fish sharing a 55 gallon with a 9" male jaguar.

The other reason for recommending you don't buy a bunch of fish to grow out together, is that life is unpredictable, and while you may have every intention of getting a 6x2x2, it might not work out the way you want it to. Are you going to get this tank custom built? If so, are you aware of how much something like that costs? If you are just hoping to find a used tank, it can be very difficult to find a decent used tank bigger than a 125 unless you live in NJ or SoCal.
 
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Gourami Swami said:
Hello welcome to MFK
I would plan your stocking out in the long run, what fish you want and what your goals are. Community tank? Biotope? Breeding pair?

Then I would pick your one favorite fish and grow only that fish out, with some dithers. The fish you listed, mostly grow quickly. For example, a 2" jaguar, could easily be 9"+ by the end of 2018. And I would not want to be another fish sharing a 55 gallon with a 9" male jaguar.

The other reason for recommending you don't buy a bunch of fish to grow out together, is that life is unpredictable, and while you may have every intention of getting a 6x2x2, it might not work out the way you want it to. Are you going to get this tank custom built? If so, are you aware of how much something like that costs? If you are just hoping to find a used tank, it can be very difficult to find a decent used tank bigger than a 125 unless you live in NJ or SoCal.
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Thankyou for your reply , the 6 foot tank is at our office , moving buildings at the end of the year so I’ll be taking it home . Will leave the jag for now then . Still reading up on everything . Thanks
 
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If you have the 180 gal then I recommend growing some out in the 55, nothing worse then looking at tiny juvi fish in a big tank.
As was said above, work out if you want a breeding pair of jags, other ca cichlids or a sa community.
 
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Thanks for the reply I definitely want a few ca . I may look at getting the list above but leaving the jag out . With adding a few ditches .
 
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Green terror and severum are South American, jd and jags are central American. Generally central American are more aggressive and do better being kept as compatible pairs, South American are better at using in community tanks but can still be tricky at times.
 
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I believe with the exception of the Jag your stock list would be fine. However, I think you may want to browse this forum first for a while and check out others tanks. I’ve kept mixed tanks before and had all the fish you’ve listed above. But with alittle digging around on this site you may find fish you’ve never heard of, or scapes and setups you didn’t think of. You get completely different behavior from a fish that’s kept in a species only tank vs a mixed tank. That’s not to say one is particularly better then the other, just different.

Look around, get some ideas. The fish you listed are just fine, but very common and you may find something that catches your eye. I think we all have done it at one time or another. Thought we had our stock list done, then saw a different fish that we just had to have.
 
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Covetous said:
I believe with the exception of the Jag your stock list would be fine. However, I think you may want to browse this forum first for a while and check out others tanks. I’ve kept mixed tanks before and had all the fish you’ve listed above. But with alittle digging around on this site you may find fish you’ve never heard of, or scapes and setups you didn’t think of. You get completely different behavior from a fish that’s kept in a species only tank vs a mixed tank. That’s not to say one is particularly better then the other, just different.

Look around, get some ideas. The fish you listed are just fine, but very common and you may find something that catches your eye. I think we all have done it at one time or another. Thought we had our stock list done, then saw a different fish that we just had to have.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply . I Have looked at a few different fish all the ones I like get huge lol . I kept rainbow snake heads before .
I will keep looking and reading up on what I want .
 
6x2x2 is a good size tank, You would be able to put lots of smaller fish in there and have a community. Most of the ones that get huge, like dovii, umbee, amphilophus species, etc. will be a lot harder to get to share a 6x2x2. It's still do-able (not with dovii or umbee to a degree but it's a balancing act that requires a lot of trial and error, which can be frustrating with large, often expensive, fish. It barely ever works with your first attempt if you take any risks, so be ready to re-home fish that don't behave.
 
Gourami Swami said:
6x2x2 is a good size tank, You would be able to put lots of smaller fish in there and have a community. Most of the ones that get huge, like dovii, umbee, amphilophus species, etc. will be a lot harder to get to share a 6x2x2. It's still do-able (not with dovii or umbee to a degree but it's a balancing act that requires a lot of trial and error, which can be frustrating with large, often expensive, fish. It barely ever works with your first attempt if you take any risks, so be ready to re-home fish that don't behave.
Click to expand...

Trouble is fish I seem to like either don’t go together or don’t play nice lol .New Guinea Tigerfish ,ornate etc need to decide what way to go . Thanks
 
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