Brand New 55 Gallon Set Up - Need Cichlid Recommendations!

[GTOAviator]

Hello everyone! I've got my new 55 gallon aquarium set up with a pretty sweet rock wall back drop http/www.amazon.com/Universal-Rocks-Flexible-Aquarium-Background/dp/B005GZ1XH8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_petsupplies_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0K00HM5DP6FWN15B7TEW
 
I'm thinking about doing a fresh water setup with the intention of assimilating a community of South American cichlids (although not too many given it only being a 55 gallon). One of my friends recommended an Oscar, but they grow huge and I wouldn't feel comfortable having other community fish around it in fear of them being attacked.
 
Alternatively, I've discovered the Keyhole Cichlid http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile64.html 
My local fish shop has some and they look really cool. They don't seem to be aggressive and don't seem to grow very large either.
 
Does anyone have any other non-brackish water cichlid recommendations for a 55 gallon community tank?
 
The other fish I plan to throw in are some five banded barbs and a few clown loaches
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/puntius-pentazona/
http/tamarind.hubpages.com/hub/Clown-Loaches
 
Thanks in advance! 

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

Have you fishless cycled it? I dont have the link but someone will. You need to cycle it before you add fish, and clown loaches get too big, they grow like 12 inches long each and enjoy groups. 
 
Oscar cichlids get too big for that tank anyway.
 
5 banded barbs enjoy soft pH, that is dim. Im not sure about SA cichlids but I know alot of cichlids like very high pH

 

[DrRob]

Keyholes are lovely fish. They'll be happy in a 55 gallon. It's also worth looking at the dwarf acara (Laetacara curviceps) and common apistogramma species (although less common in the USA I believe than in the European markets), as well as the rams, bolivians being the best starters there, and colouring up beautifully compared with what you see in the shops.
 
Please don't put clown loaches in a 55 gallon, they get to a foot each.
 
I don't know a lot about 5 banded barbs, except that they're a peaceful, if a little large compared to a lot of common tetras, community species that likes it dim and heavily planted. Overall I'm not sure why I've not had a tank of them, except that they've not been around whilst I was stocking. Most barbs do like a nibble on soft plants, if you're planning a planted tank, and 5 banders will appreciate the shade that floating plants offer.