Suggestions for overhauling a 55 gallon

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

TheBigB

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Nov 1, 2011
503
3
33
North Texas
I told my mom I would help her overhaul her 55 gallon. Im looking for some suggestions. Right now she has African cichlids and likes them ok, but her scape is lacking. I dont know much at all about africans, as Im into CA/SA. She loves my tanks which have a more natural river theme.

She told me she wants it to be easy and pretty, and sits infront of a window that she wants to be able to look through.

Here are a few ideas. Please feel free to add your own

1. Research africans to adjust her stock correctly and add or subtract accordingly. I would most likely buy her a bunch of rock to do the classic stacked rock style you see often with africans. Although I'm not sure she has liked her cichlids, but maybe she would with a better setup.

2. Start from scratch and sell her current fish. Do a more community style with schooling Tetra's, shrimp, and snails while switching her gravel out for sand and river rock.

3. Do a pair of smaller SA cichlids?

Any suggestions?

Thanks
 
SA sand and driftwood setup with a few Angels and a decent sized shoal of tetra's could be cool and easy to do. It would also provide a change from the traditional cichlid tank; sure, I know the Angels are cichlids but their body line/shape isn't the same as the fish she has now.

I'm also a fan of African tanks that are done "right", so I am not completely opposed to the African reef setup.
 
I just googled the Fort Worth Water Quality report, and your tap water is perfect for African rift lake or Central American cichlids. pH 8.1-8.4, alkalinity 100-250ppm, these are parameters many rift lakers would kill for, but not great for soft water species like tetras, or angels, or many other South American fish.
Keeping fish that prefer your normal kind of water is best practice.
 
i agree with duanes here if those are your water parameters i would stick with the africans, my father in law has hard water like that and he can not keep angels alive for anything maybe 3-4 months and sure you can soften the water and what not but i dont think its worth it in the end. If possible get a nice amount of texas holey rock and make is like a reef like PDRed302 said and i think your mom and you will be impressed. When i was first reading this my first idea was angels and maybe rams but after reading duanes post i would avoid that all together. Hes right i would love to have your water. i have great water straight out of the tap but i have to make sure that i harden my water. I have a 125 mbuna set up. what type of africans does she have?
 
jkusnierz said:
i agree with duanes here if those are your water parameters i would stick with the africans, my father in law has hard water like that and he can not keep angels alive for anything maybe 3-4 months and sure you can soften the water and what not but i dont think its worth it in the end. If possible get a nice amount of texas holey rock and make is like a reef like PDRed302 said and i think your mom and you will be impressed. When i was first reading this my first idea was angels and maybe rams but after reading duanes post i would avoid that all together. Hes right i would love to have your water. i have great water straight out of the tap but i have to make sure that i harden my water. I have a 125 mbuna set up. what type of africans does she have?
Click to expand...

She has 2 Yellow Labs, 2 Yellow Lab/Borleyi crosses, 1 Jewel, 2 Auratus, and I think 1 Demasoni.

If we do decide to go with Africans what would you suggest? Also, how many would be a good number to stock? I am in the process of doing some research on the subject, b/c I have never kept Africans.

Thanks
 
i personally would get rid of the Auratus and demasoni. The jewel i am not personally a fan of only due to the behavior and they can be a nasty fin nipper if you don't keep it well fed. Auratus and Demasoni and just psychos. In my 125 Mbuna gallon tank i have 40 fish and am looking to take more out to make a proper male to female ratio. The thing with Africans is over stock and over filter over stock will help with the aggression level and with the over stocking means you need more filtration. i would think give or take 15 maybe to 3 groups of 5. In my tank i have the semi-aggressive type (labs, acei, rusty etc.)just make sure to have plenty of hiding/holes./caves in your rock work so if there is a chase the one being chased can zig zag his way away from the chasee. Good Luck keep us posted!
 
Ok well I will see what she wants to do, but I'm pretty sure whatever I say will go. Thanks for the tips. Now that I've done some reading on her fish its easy to see why the Auratus has been so aggressive. They may be the main problem for her....

I will post some pictures when I figure out what to do...will probably be a few weeks though..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom