# Idea for 55 gallon



## cantonga (Apr 10, 2005)

I have set up a 55 gallon and want to keep chiclids from lake malawi. I have sand as a substrate and 60 lbs of lace rock. I am looking for stocking ideas. I saw an article about keeping all males haps,pea****s, and mumba, has anyone else done this and what do you think of this idea. Thanks in advance.


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## IloveCichlids (Jul 11, 2005)

If you want Mbuna, stay away from haps and pea****s and vise verso. Mbuna are fin nippers. What kind of sand do you have? Is lace rock a type of limestone? I am just wondering about your buffering capacity to keep the pH up. I have a 120 with all male Haps and Peackocks 
http://www.fishforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4039


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## cantonga (Apr 10, 2005)

i am not sure if the lace rock is a type of limestone but i am adding crushed coral to the filter and might use additives if necessary. thanks for the info


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## Orbital (Jun 11, 2005)

55 gallons is not really big enough for many of the Malawi haps, alot of them get to be 7"-18" of size. I'd stick with Mbuna or Aulonocara (Peac0cks)

You could do Mbuna and Aulonocara in the 55, just have to be careful of the Mbuna types. They can be too aggressive for some types of Aulonocara. I have a 30 gallon that houses Hongi RT and Ngara flametails










BTW Lacerock isn't limestone, pretty sure anyway.


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## goodie (Sep 2, 2005)

Dont put mbuna with haps/peac0cks. Male and female mbuna have good color, female hap/peac0cks do not(dull brown to silver). If you want really good advise on cichlids you should check out http://www.cichlid-forum.com/index.php


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Nice tank Orbital, but the way you've stocked that tank isn't doing most of your "hongi" any favours, as you can see their colour has been repressed and they have been restriced to the upper surface area of the tank. This limits their growth in the long term, and plus their colours aren't at their full potential due to stress. A larger tank or alternative stocking levels will reduce your problem.
Just some cichlid advice from a cichlid man.

Cantonga, sounds fine. What filtration are you using, this will give me an idea on stocking levels.


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## cantonga (Apr 10, 2005)

I am using a penguin 330 with bio wheels, i might add another if i need to. I really want a tank with good color and if i do male and female pea****s will I have to worry about lots of babies running/swimming around?


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## goodie (Sep 2, 2005)

If you take care of your water you most likely will see females holding. If you dont want hybrid babies I would suggest that you keep only one type of pea****. Almost all female aulonocara/peac0cks look the same and will breed with different male aulonocara/peac0cks. As far as the babies making it past fry, that will mostly be kept in check by the other adult fish picking them off. But you'll still have the few who learn quick and survive.


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## Orbital (Jun 11, 2005)

Thanks for the advice Cichlid man, they don't normally sit at the top and not one of them has any bites or split fins. So I'd say they are pretty healthy, none have loss of appetite. I do plan to thin out a couple of the males though, and stick them in my odds and ends grow out tank. I want to see how well they color before I send them to the LFS, or sell at a swap. They just get excited whenever I'm near the tank, as do most of my fish. They think they are going to get fed whenever they see me. ;-) I've grown those out from around 1.5-2" of size and they have been in there for around 2 or so years and no deaths or serious war wounds. Just 1000s of babies, as they are REALLY prolific. :shock: I am pretty sure they have reached full maturity size already, as they have reached the size of Jason Selongs adult breeder group size. I do weekly water changes, have two Aquaclear 300's and a ATI Sponge filter IV or V going on it.


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