How many??

[OscarCichlid]

How many Mbuna Cichlids should i put in a 55 gallon tank along with catfish.
Right now i have 2 Channel Cats, 2 Plecos, 1 Pictus Cat,1 Blue Gourami, 1 Gold Gourami and 1 Clown Loch. The Gouramis are going to be moved and i would like to make it a cichlid tank so i was just wondering how many i should keep.

 

[playfulalliecat]

With the two channel catfish, you don't need to add anything. In reality, you need to start digging a very large pond. Channel cats are very large growing fish. They live in ponds, lakes, and rivers in the US. I'm surprised you haven't seen some huge ones in NJ. A neighbor of mine went fishing and came home with one that was 4 feet long! That is actually a small one. I have seen them at around 6 feet after being caught in a river. This is not a fish for the home aquarists. I would recommend taking them back to where you got them if that is possible. Do not release them into the wild as aquarium fish are exposed to chemicals that aren't safe for human consumption therefore you wouldn't want someone to catch and eat them.

JMHO,
Allie

 

[OscarCichlid]

Thanks for the info but i already knew that when i bought them. The biggest ive seen in NJ was about 1.5 feet but i already talked to the manager of my lfs. They have an indoor pond in there and since im in the store buying sumthin just about everyday he said that i could put them in there when they get to big. The pond and the fish in it are not for sale so i will still be able to visit them everyday..

 

[playfulalliecat]

Glad to hear it. Too many people in this hobby get fish like this which will only be growth stunted and die because they get too large for the home aquarium and even garden ponds. It is sad that some businesses will do or sell anything to make a little money. In reality, this will hurt the business more than help it. Ok enough of my soapbox.

Depending on the variety of mbuna, you can possibly keep up to six. Africans do get a bit more aggressive so that could present a problem. Without knowing exactly what you wish to keep, its hard to give sound advice.

Allie

 

[thecichlidaddict]

You are pretty much looking at about 12-18 mbuna in that tank, but it depends on a number of factors including how the tank is decorated, what kind of mbuna you are going with, and what filtration you are using along with how often you do water changes. Mbuna take well to overcrowding, but that doesn't mean the aquarium will stay healthy if you and your filtration can keep up with it.

I'd suggest first deciding on species, or a general idea of species, and then looking at numbers.

 

[OscarCichlid]

I have 1 Emperor 400 and 1 AquaClear 300. I could add more filtratoin with a fluval 204 that i am planning on buying. Right now my tank is heavily planted with fake plants (Gouramis ate all my real ones) but i will probably change that to those large rocks that i keep seeing in freshmikes tanks. I really love the way that they look.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

You don't need more filtration then what you have, that is plenty for a 50. Just remember, more fish = more filtration = more water changes.

I agree, rocks can look great.