Stocking 55 gallon tank

[Johnsbra123]

Current: 4 masked Julie's, 2 leleupi orange, 1 pearl white calvus
What else should I put in there? Must be compatible. I'm tired of taking angry fish back.

[HERM]

Maybe a couple plecos , I like rubber nose and bristles nose but there are many to choose from .

[mistahoo]

I would make sure the fish doesn't get bigger than 4" since you have the leleupis and try not to overstock unless you have some nice filtration. Plecos are nice for cleaning algae, but most don't do a good job of it. Catfish and other bottom dwellers could work. Make sure you read up on the plecos and catfish though since there are a lot of species that can grow quite large and eat your smaller ones.

[mistahoo]

I like to use Liveaquaria and some other sites as a base. I look at the fish and if I like them, I'll go and research them on forums (usually here or whatever pops up on google). Other people's experience is much better than those cookie cutter sheets with the usual info.

[Johnsbra123]

I forgot to mention I have a bristle nose pleco, and he does nothing. If you want him I will give him to you!

[brandon_rss18]

You could always go with Kribs. They arnt aggresive at all in my tank.

[troy tucker]

You can give him to me.

[leosoccerholic]

where did you buy the pearl white calvus ?

[Johnsbra123]

I got the pearl CALVUS at fish gallery but they are OVER PRICED. I have learned that you can't trust any fish store, the people at fish gallery care less what you get. I have a beef with them if you don't notice. New question.

Can I add more to my tank? So far I have 2 front, 2 leleupi, 2 pearl CALVUS, 2 Julie's, 1 brachardi, 1 bn pleco(dont like), and a yellow lab fry( rescued from tank). I was think of adding a catfish. Yay or nay? It's a 55 gallon tank.

[Jason]

Can I add more to my tank?

Honestly, that's all up to you.

Less fish = more freedom/less aggression/less waste for the fish that's already in the tank.

That being said, by the looks of all you wanted threads, you seem to be changing your mind A LOT when it comes to picking fish.

I can tell you now that once you buy that fish, you're going to want another one and ask if there's room for more.

My suggestion would be to hold off on any new fish and enjoy what you have now. This will also give your filter some time to catch up to all the new fish you've been adding already.

Give it a few days and after that, you can sell off the ones that you don't like and make room for new ones. Don't just keep adding to the herd and testing what the max is.

[Johnsbra123]

That sounds nice. Thanks Goethe advise. I will hold off. Can I add plants or should I hold off?

[crazy42bmx]

Lol.....slow down a lil. In the furture i see a catfish as an ok resident. Id go with some petracolas their hardy dont get big and are " cool cats". Sounds like a good sounding tang tank post some pics ?

[mnemenoi]

Most of everything I have read and researched concerning tanganyikan tanks places fish into five categories for building a 'community' tank.
1. Rockdwellers - Your Julies and Leleupis, goby cichlids fall into this category. Very Crespicular and can be very aggressive. Larger tanks and dense rockwork can support more then one type/species. Many can interbreed.
2.Open Water - Cyprichromis, Tropheus. Can hug rockwork, but mainly stake territory in open water or above rockwork.
3. Sand Dwellers - Xeno's and Featherfins. Claim territory of open sand and many are sandsifters.
4. Shelldwellers - shellies. Territories are empty snail shell beds.
5. Others - Generally non cichlids from the lake, but a few oddballs fit into this category.

I have heard mud dwellers mentioned before as well, inhabiting a muddy bottom and occasionally utilizing shells for spawn sites. Caudopuncts and some larger shellies fall into this category, from what I have seen.

Each of these groups utilize a different area in the tank and by allowing each a proper location you can have less of a chance when they are fighting for real estate. There are some terrific articles online that covers Tanganyikan community tanks and I recommend researching what species/collection points you choose.

[Johnsbra123]

Wow! That's very helpful! Well I got time right now. Let's see if I can get some pictures up!

[Johnsbra123]

x.jpgx3.jpgx4.jpgThanks to my converter i was able to upload these. Thats my Julie named Jewel, she has a boy but he was in the cave. Im hoping for fry but i have a long ways to go before that.