Another 55 Gal.

[SlyPolak]

Ok, so my girl surprised me by getting me another 55 gal. with everything included. BAUTIFUL stand that is not the same height as the tank (THANK GOD) so it doesnt sit on the floor... with adequate filtration, heater, lights etc.... All I need now is gravel and some more decor..... As soon as I figure out what I want I can almost do instantly because I plan on seeding it with plenty of mature filter media.

ANYWAYS to get to my point here, what do you guys/gals would think will look good in it?

I'm not going to make it planted because thats what my other tanks are and I want to have a little more "options" on stocking. I dont really want anything common like mollies, platys, and the common tetras BUT I was thinking of sticking my pair of senegalus bichirs so nothing too small. Maybe some kind of cichlid as long as they do not get too big for a 55 but wont kill my bichirs either! But then I would maybe also like a nice community because the bichirs could always stay in the tank they're in now.... What do yall thing could mix with a "blood parrot" cichlid??


SO come on people!!! Throw some ideas at me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All are appreciated...............


EDIT::: ALSO! Does anyone know of a good online fish store that delivers to Orlando,Florida (USA) that has a nice selection???

 

[SlyPolak]

I have done some reading on the net and came up with some fish I would maybe get. Now please dont go screaming at me because I know that a 55 gal. is not nearly big enough for all these fish, but I am just throwing out some names to see what yalls thoughts are!! I still like the idea of some Blood Parrots, (and I know they are "man-made")...

Yellow Acara-(Aequidens Metae)
Redbreast Acara-(Laetacara Dorsigera)
Diadem/Pendex Cichlid-(Aequidens Diadema)
Rainbow Cichlid-(Herotilapia Multispinosa)
Festivum-(Mesonauta Festivus)
Dwarf Pike-(Crenicichla Regani)
Keyhole-(Cleithracara Maronii)
Dwarf Flag-(Laetacara curviceps)
Yellow Flash-(Thorichthys Maculipinnis)
Blue Eyed Cichlid-(Archocentrus Spilurus)
Blue Acara?


Are JD's peaceful??
THOUGHTS? SUGGESTIONS??

 

[Wills]

Thats a pretty good list of fish for your tank to be honest. How many liters is this tank and what are the dimensions? In this size tank as much as we need to consider fish that wont harm the bichirs we also need to avoid cichlids that would get eaten by the bichirs - so thats things like the Laetacaras on the list and also the keyholes and maybe the dwarf pikes but they might be too fiesty to get eaten....

How big are the bichirs at the moment? If they are Juvis I would perhaps be tempted to do a stocking like this -

2 x Yellow Acara or Rainbow Cichlid or Festivum or Yellow Flash (quite rare but T.Meeki, Aures and Ellitoti are usually avaliable) or Blue Eyed Cichlid or Blue Acara - basically a pair of mid sized cichlids but with the Blue Eyes make sure they are Cutteri and not Sajicca as if the Sajicca breed they will destroy everything in the tank, from what I have seen they can destroy pretty much anything when breeding. Also avoid the A.Diadema due to their behavoir in this size tank.
4 x Dwarf Pike - either C.Regini or C.Northo (spelling)
8 x Black Ruby Barbs or Buenos Aires Tetra - or similar dither fish I would perhaps take a que from the Senegalus natural habitat to find out what they coexist with well rather than sticking to SA/CA fish - also most Asian schooling fish tend to stay in the upper half of the tank rather than around the base where you would expect SA/CA fish to dwell
3 x Hoplo Catfish or Pictus Catfish
2 x Senegalus Bichir

As for places to buy online in the US have you seen Aquabid? Also try tangledupincichlids which is the website of a guy called Jeff Rapps a legendary cichlid breeder and distributor amazing website and if I lived in the US I would just pour money on him for the fish he has m

Wills

 

[SlyPolak]

Thanks for the response........
The tank is 55 US gallons / 208 Liters with some change....
The dimensions L/W/H in inches -- 48 1/4 x 12 3/4 x 21 ~~~ The dimensions L/W/H in centimeters -- 122.6 x 32.4 x 53.3
The bichirs are about 8/9 months old but top out at 7 or 8 in inches and 17.8 or 20.3 in centimeters, I have not seen them grow in 2/3 months and believe it or not have been housed with a number of honey gouramis without eating ANY!!
I would love to have a South American or Central American theme but am having a really hard time finding whats suitable!!!

I am really liking the look of the Thorichthys family like T.Aureus, T.Meeki and T. Ellioti....
Also like the look of this Dwarf Pike- Crenicichla Regani also the Blu Acara- Aequidens Pulcher....
By Blue Eyed Cichlid did you mean Archocentrus Spilurus because I think that is also a stunning fish.
I like the "Cutter's Cichlid- Cryptoheros Cutteri but could not find a "proper" actual name versus scientific...
What do you thing about throwing a pair of Blood Parrots into the mix??

I dont really want to go with the Ruby Barbs or Buenos Aires Tetra because I see that they stay pretty small. I keep looking for more "brightly" lit species from SA or Ca and the database on the net is just too conflicting, I would LOVE more suggestions.

 

[SlyPolak]

I was thinking ............. and my girl says she really wouyld like a "cichlid tank" but what she means are the "assorted" South African cichlids that originate from Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...... most of them look like they are from the Melanochromis or Psudotropheus family. But I think mainly the Psudotropheus, I was wondering if any fish from these 2 families will mix with my senegalus bichirs??

 

[Wills]

Hi no probs for reply, I have to admit my knowledge of African Cichlids is 0 so I cant really comment on how the bichirs would mix with them. But I do know it is possible to get lake tanginika eels if you wanted an odd ball to mix with these.

With a South/Central American cichlid tank you are always going to keep less cichlids than an African Cichlid but there are advantages to this, firstly if you have a cichlid community you can usually have a variety of tank mates of other species ie the bichirs and in my experience of what I have seen SA and to be fair particularly CA cichlids are more personable and interactive than their african counter parts. And also if you plan the tank carefully you can get just as much colour as the africans IMO.

The schooling fish in an American cichlid tank are quite important they are used as whats called dither and target fish. The dither fish are small fish that will school around the top of the tank which tells the cichlids the water is free of predators, target fish are usually a little larger usually barbs and danios are used for this and are just that moving targets than can swim out of trouble fast and wont fight back - the reason I suggested the barbs and the buenos aires tetras is to avoid the bichirs eating them? But if you are comfortable with them being around smaller fish maybe some of the brightly coloured disk tetras from South America would work like Bleeding Heart Tetras or Flame Tetras, I have some Lemon Tetras in with my Cichlids now and they are fantastic, really supprised how much I like them

The list I provided above was based on the fish list you supplied but if you like I can chuck a few more ideas towards colour if you like I would stick with single male specimens in this size tank as it avoids issues with breeding. I'll have a think.

Wills

 

[SlyPolak]

Thanks, the more suggestions the better... I still have an open mind on what I will place in the aquarium and the only reason I might of considered the Malaw Mbuna Cichlids like the Pseudotropheus is because of the wide range of colors they have. If you can think of more colorful SA/CA that are somewhat peaceful I would love to have a look-around. Also, now with the more reading I have done I see what you mean by the dither fish you mentioned. The only reason I thought "no" is because the bichirs, but as long as the fish are fast enough they wont bother them at all as I have seen with the honey gouramis. (not one has been eaten).....
Again, thank you !!

 

[SlyPolak]

Bumpitty

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

How about an African riverine setup, with a bed of various sizes of stones/boulders, some bogwood caves and perhaps the odd Anubius plant than can withstand the River Zaire current? About 23C, lots of water movement from powerheads and filter (10x volume per hour ideally of actual flow), low-medium lighting (plants won't need it and some fish prefer mellow brightness).

Fish that come to mind are...
3x African Butterfly Fish (providing you keep an area of calmer water they should be fine)
8+ Yellowtail Congo or Congo Tetra
10+ Debauwi Catfish (although they would almost certainly be P. buffei in LFS)
3+ Cameroon Fan Shrimp (if it is going to be a peaceful setup and once tank has matured six months)
5+ Upside Down Catfish (Synodontis nigriventis)
1x African Leaf Fish (C. acutirostre, you would need a 5-footer to hold more than one, which ideally should be 5 added together to spread aggression) or 3x Congo Bushfish (Microctenopoma congicum)
2x Lionhead Cichlid or the caricature-like tinanti (I can personally recommend getting a group of youngsters to allow a natural pair to form, but then be ready to move the others if the pair spawn)
1x Synodontis brichardi (I'm still researching the possibility of a group scenario in my 5x2x2 to go with one I bought this last week, as they are very peaceful Synos and there are four left at LFS that have all been together for over a year)
2x Gardneri Killifish (not got these but I suspect they would be better in a peaceful setup, hence I bought Golden Wonders instead)
2x Nanochromis nudiceps (or more likely) parilius

I'm not suggesting you get all the above, simply a selection of species to look at and then choose a compatable mix, depending on how peaceful you want things to be

 

[SlyPolak]

That sounds very interesting... I allready have a pair of African Butterfly fish and a few Synadontis in my other tanks. I'm going to have to look into some of the other fish you listed... Thanks for the help!!!!!!!!