How many fish?

[CFC]

Remember that cichlids are territorial and will attack each other and other fish if the tank is not big enough for them to define their own territory. Going on that you will be using the 55g as the cichlid tank i wouldnt suggest more than 3 species of african cichlid with a pair or trio of each species (depending on the breeding habbits of the individual species) no more than one species of central american or large south american cichlid (either a pair or a single fish depending on the species) or no more than 2 species of dwarf south american cichlid (again numbers of depending on the breeding habbits of the individual species).

 

[mhoward1999]

I would just like to jump in and say... I know it's "just" a rule of thumb, but one inch of fish per gallon of water is a good guide. You should not take the current size of the fish to decide how many to put in your tank, but the adult size. I know many folks overstock and do fine, but it's usually experienced fish keepers who know how to stay on top of everything that get away with it. Personally, I prefer to ere in the side of understocking rather than overstocking. Also, if you decide to get cichlids, I would encourage you to do some research on the exact fish you would like before you buy. My experience has been that it's not a good idea to mix cichlids from different origins. ie. South America and Africa. I don't even mix cichlids that come from different lakes in Africa. All that said, I am by no means an expert on cichlids, but I have owned them in the past. I think they are beautiful fish, and I am just telling you all this to try to be helpful and try to help you avoid heartache down the road.
-Sincerely-

 

[bccromer]

Well I was thinking of doing the 55g cichlids and the 75g the others anyway cause the 55g will fit in the living room where more people will be and it is more colorful. I have been looking at the Mbunas as far as cichlids go. As far as the other tank, I am trying to sell it and if I can sell the fish with it I will and will get new ones, or I will trade them in for store credit and get more later when I get everything setup. Here is my question though. In the 75g tank I will be going with 4 clown loaches, 1 pleco (what is a smaller version of the pleco?), 3 or 5 silver dollars (which would be best?), and would like to go with 9 barbs (3 tiger, 3 green, 3 albino). If I do the 3 silver dollars can I then add another type of fish in there? If so what would go well with the tank. Or would it be better to do the 5 silver dollars and just have them, barbs, clown loaches, and pleco? Thanks for all the help guys.

Brad