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here's what I have tried in the past but for whatever reason it matured into a sp. only thing and since I've never been able to stick with just a display type community tank.
Now keep in mind that some of these species require a bit more attention due to their sensitivity.
With the 55g I'm assuming it's a 4ft tank so with a busy community tank you want to try and pick sp. that will fill all parts of the water column to give it the wow factor with a small community within the community. Personally I like the use of column like rocks, Petrified wood or the like that stand tall with different heights to provide for them all, smaller columns and even rubble at the base of these rockpiles to provide for the bottom dwellers/fry/etc.
-Callochromis stappersii/callochromis sp. (Ectodus sp. are another option but I've never kept these {Geoff_tropheus did and might still be)
small colony for the bottom/sand dweller that will cruise the bottom part of the tank/sand bed area while venturing off for food. IME when kept in a small colony with other species of fish they stick together and to themselves for the most part. Get a single male to multiple females and the display would be awesome with minimal aggression.
-eretmodus, tanganicodus or spathodus
these are rock dwellers/gobies which bounce from rock to rock and inhabit the bottom sand/rock area but mostly they perch on rocks like any other goby and would fill the niche. temperament from my own personal experience have been moderate with most aggression directed towards their own kind. I would either stick to a single or a trio but for the community tank probably a loner would work out better since once breeding they become a bit more aggressive to their tankmates. The two last ones are the smaller of the gobies from what I have seen with keeping them all.
-Neolamprologus buescheri or similar (julidochromis malerieri is another I've kept with similar characteristics but more rounded/streamlined finnage) Julidochromis dickfeldi are cool looking too.
Very nice looking fish and a much with the awesome trailers/finnage which commonly associated with the common Neolamprologus brichardi which are ridiculously aggressive once a harem is established and breeding. I like these for their color and finnage, they inhabit the rocky area but more of the crevices and inbetweens. I would think a pair would be nice, I think I've kept the gombes at one point but since they didn't leave a vivid memory then I would say that they did not cause enough headache to be remembered.
-Lamprologus Multifasciatus
A colony breeding shelldweller which stay secluded to the shell bed you offer them. These are far from the aggressiveness to the other sp. that breed in "harems" and are also far less aggressive within the colony compared to others so IME a good choice for a community tank. These could be used to fill in the blanks so to speak.
-Cyprichromis sp.
These will for the most part fill in your mid level/top portion of the water column and IMO be the prime display a large colony of these would add color and all the movement that goes on in the tank since most of the other tankmates stay dormant to their areas. A few males with multiple females per would give the displaying colors and the constant interactions.
-Lamprichtys tanganicanus
If you can find them... back when I was active in the hobby I ran across these a few times locally. Tanganyikan killiefish, don't think I need to go into detail on this since most all killies stick to the water surface. I have not had the pleasure of keeping these but I imagine they are much easier to keep and care for than their counterparts which I have kept.
Feeding for this tank is easily taken care of with the solution being NLS H20 flakes for any of their cichlid, small fish formulas and only the gobies would be a problem when feeding heavy protein diets since they have the long digestive tract like trophs/petros but more forgiving when tankraised is obtained. All fish have similar if not identical water parameter requirements and again, obtaining tankraised or captive raised would be the solution to this. I'm a strong believer of NLS and use it for just about everything and feel that with it anything is capable when diet is of concern.
Now this list for a 55g is based on my definition of ideal filtration being that if it ain't at least 10-20x turnover through filtration it's not enough unless you are keeping guppies... but then again when I had my livebearer 30g community tank it had 2x 2217s. Now stocking limit would be dependent on your filtration and maintenance routine.
Now keep in mind that some of these species require a bit more attention due to their sensitivity.
With the 55g I'm assuming it's a 4ft tank so with a busy community tank you want to try and pick sp. that will fill all parts of the water column to give it the wow factor with a small community within the community. Personally I like the use of column like rocks, Petrified wood or the like that stand tall with different heights to provide for them all, smaller columns and even rubble at the base of these rockpiles to provide for the bottom dwellers/fry/etc.
-Callochromis stappersii/callochromis sp. (Ectodus sp. are another option but I've never kept these {Geoff_tropheus did and might still be)
small colony for the bottom/sand dweller that will cruise the bottom part of the tank/sand bed area while venturing off for food. IME when kept in a small colony with other species of fish they stick together and to themselves for the most part. Get a single male to multiple females and the display would be awesome with minimal aggression.
-eretmodus, tanganicodus or spathodus
these are rock dwellers/gobies which bounce from rock to rock and inhabit the bottom sand/rock area but mostly they perch on rocks like any other goby and would fill the niche. temperament from my own personal experience have been moderate with most aggression directed towards their own kind. I would either stick to a single or a trio but for the community tank probably a loner would work out better since once breeding they become a bit more aggressive to their tankmates. The two last ones are the smaller of the gobies from what I have seen with keeping them all.
-Neolamprologus buescheri or similar (julidochromis malerieri is another I've kept with similar characteristics but more rounded/streamlined finnage) Julidochromis dickfeldi are cool looking too.
Very nice looking fish and a much with the awesome trailers/finnage which commonly associated with the common Neolamprologus brichardi which are ridiculously aggressive once a harem is established and breeding. I like these for their color and finnage, they inhabit the rocky area but more of the crevices and inbetweens. I would think a pair would be nice, I think I've kept the gombes at one point but since they didn't leave a vivid memory then I would say that they did not cause enough headache to be remembered.
-Lamprologus Multifasciatus
A colony breeding shelldweller which stay secluded to the shell bed you offer them. These are far from the aggressiveness to the other sp. that breed in "harems" and are also far less aggressive within the colony compared to others so IME a good choice for a community tank. These could be used to fill in the blanks so to speak.
-Cyprichromis sp.
These will for the most part fill in your mid level/top portion of the water column and IMO be the prime display a large colony of these would add color and all the movement that goes on in the tank since most of the other tankmates stay dormant to their areas. A few males with multiple females per would give the displaying colors and the constant interactions.
-Lamprichtys tanganicanus
If you can find them... back when I was active in the hobby I ran across these a few times locally. Tanganyikan killiefish, don't think I need to go into detail on this since most all killies stick to the water surface. I have not had the pleasure of keeping these but I imagine they are much easier to keep and care for than their counterparts which I have kept.
Feeding for this tank is easily taken care of with the solution being NLS H20 flakes for any of their cichlid, small fish formulas and only the gobies would be a problem when feeding heavy protein diets since they have the long digestive tract like trophs/petros but more forgiving when tankraised is obtained. All fish have similar if not identical water parameter requirements and again, obtaining tankraised or captive raised would be the solution to this. I'm a strong believer of NLS and use it for just about everything and feel that with it anything is capable when diet is of concern.
Now this list for a 55g is based on my definition of ideal filtration being that if it ain't at least 10-20x turnover through filtration it's not enough unless you are keeping guppies... but then again when I had my livebearer 30g community tank it had 2x 2217s. Now stocking limit would be dependent on your filtration and maintenance routine.
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