Setting up a 55G Lake Malawi Tank!! [ADVICE NEEDED]

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
J

Joe21

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 19, 2011
38
0
0
USA
I'm about to start setting up a African Cichlid tank soon in my 55 Gallon. My question is, how many of each species can I put?

STOCK LIST HELP:
I can add about 15-20 fish from what I've gathered. So far I'd like to add:
- Demasoni (don't know how many I can add?)
- Electric Yellows (don't know how many I can add?)
- What else do you suggest I add?

I need more fish suggestions to add to my list. Also, please state how many of each. Thanks!

OTHER SETUP HELP:
1. What kind of substrate is the best? I was thinking aragonite or play sand. Will play sand keep pH up?
2. Is an Rena XP3 or XP2 filter a good option for this setup?
3. What kind of heater should I get?
4. Lighting wise, I want to add kind of a blue tint. I don't have any lights for the tank yet. What should I buy?

Thanks a ton to whomever takes the time to answer any of my questions.
 
u can try pool sand its much cheaper and does look good just ring and pour basicly.for filtration i would definatley get xp3.the more fish the more filtration u need and they are rated at 350 gph lighting try to get at least a t8 ficture and actinic and white light would be nice jebo i think sales them and pretty cheap too ive heard
 
Demasoni are very aggressive with one another so they need to be stocked in higher numbrs to help spread out aggression. Otherwise they kill each other off until you only have one. 12+ seems to be the magic number but I would go a bit more to be safe.

So 15 demasoni and 6-7 yellow labs. It will be a stunning tank for sure! For other fish look into a small group (5 or so) of syno petricola.

For substrate you can use either but play sand is a PAIN to clean and is inconsistent in size. I don't know where you are located but I found some Handy Sand at Menard's and it's awesome. It's the consistency of sugar and wasn't verty dirty at all. An even better option would be pool filter sand. Both will be a lot cheaper than argonite but won't buffer your water very well.

For the filter I can't help much since I've never owned either.

For lighting I would go with something like this:

http://www.kensfish.com/deepbluesolarmaxlights.html

It's a T5 with 2 bulbs and moonlights. I have one for my 80 gallon and I love it. So much so that I ordered another one for my Tanganyikan tank.
 
Thank you both for the info!

A few more questions:
1. Is it worth it to invest more in a substrate that buffers the pH or just stick with the cheaper one?
2. How much of a difference does it make, other than costs?
3. Does it matter if I get males/females?
 
Joe21 said:
Thank you both for the info!

A few more questions:
1. Is it worth it to invest more in a substrate that buffers the pH or just stick with the cheaper one?
2. How much of a difference does it make, other than costs?
3. Does it matter if I get males/females?
Click to expand...

1. Yes absolutely in my op, cleans so much easier and looks WAAAYY better than sand
2. see above, also easier to clean with vacuum, sinks back down and doesn't get sucked out during cleaning
3. yes, more females than males will keep the aggression down, if you cannot get a choise of gender, try to pick species that look very different from each other to reduce aggression.

OVERFILTER!!! and chg water (25-35%) weekly
 
A few more questions:
1. Is it worth it to invest more in a substrate that buffers the pH or just stick with the cheaper one?
2. How much of a difference does it make, other than costs?
3. Does it matter if I get males/females?
Click to expand...

Depends on what your PH is out of the tap. Mine is 8.0 so I don't bother with expensive buffering sand. With that being said most cichlids you get now a days are captive bred and can adjust to most PH values. I would say anything above 7.5 should work. You can also use lime stone to buffer or add crushed coral to your filter to help.

There isn't much difference between the aragonite sand and pool filter sand you can find elsewhere. Well besides the buffering as I mentioned before. IMO there is nothing wrong with using cheaper sand. Just make sure to wash it(which you would have to do with the aragonite anyway).

For the species you have picked out it doesn't matter too much. Labs won't care too much and the demasoni in a large enough group won't give each other too much hassle. Though your dominant male might kill off some of the other males. It never hurts to have more females than males but with both species you mentioned it's difficult to tell them apart. You're better off getting a large group of juveniles and removing extra males as they become apparent. This is also a cheaper routs since adult fish tend to be a lot more expensive.
 
Thanks for all the advice!

What else should I get for filtration since the XP3 is not enough?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom