Author Topic: New Tank  (Read 3598 times)

Offline rustyfocus

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New Tank
« on: November 19, 2013, 11:57:24 PM »
Hi guys. I am fairly new to fishkeeping and extremely new to this group, so hello everyone. I am beginning to set up a 55 gal tank. I really love Peacocks and Haps so I guess I have a few questions....What do you think is a good number of fish to keep in there? I plan on running just a stand HOB filter and don't want it to be too overloaded. Are there any schooling fish which can be paired with cichlids easily? I know that for the most part this isn't recommended but I was wondering what you guys thought. I also am wondering if you guys have any other ideas for a 3D background? I don't want to buy a super expensive one and I am really afraid of doing the cement one...so any other ideas? Lastly what types of Peacocks and Haps are easily found around here that would mesh well together in this small of a tank? Any advice is appreciated!!!!!!!

Offline linuxrulesusa

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Re: New Tank
« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2013, 12:12:50 AM »
I've done electric blue ahlis (scianechromis fryeri) in a 55 before.  I've never done peacocks so wait for others to chime in. 

If you wanted to go for mbuna you could do 12-15 fish...like 1M 3F of electric yellows, 1M 3F of rusty cichlids, and it's late so I forget the other common species people mix.  But I'd shoot for around 12-15 fish in your 55.

Another option is to go for an all male tank but it can be tricky to make sure you get only males while they're still small.

As far as schooling fish, you could look into doing a Tang tank and put some shelldwellers in the bottom and then schooling fish like paracyprichromis nigripinnis or cyprichromis...one of the non-jumbo varieties.  A 75 might be better for the cyprichromis though.

For 3D backgrounds, check the DIY section on here and look for some posts by a guy named Steve.  I'm sure he'd be happy to give you some pointers but his posts are pretty thorough about supplies and tools needed.

Hope these are a few ideas to get you started.

Offline TrailerParkFishTanks

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Re: New Tank
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2013, 06:16:39 AM »
If you want some schooling fish with you peacocks and haps you could look into Congo tetras. They get a little larger than a lot of other tetras so that might reduce the risk of them getting pucked on. I've never tried this myself so there might be others here with better ideas but its worth looking into.
I have about 18,000 rounds of .223 I'm  looking to get rid of, 100 rd bags. 1-4 bags $40 ea, 5-9 bags $38 ea, 10 or more bags $35 ea. I can't put this in the for sale section, its not fish related. No shipping.

Offline four_by_ken

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Re: New Tank
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2013, 09:03:42 AM »
Since it sounds like you are still very open to suggestions... MY suggestion is to look around on the forums a LOT. 

Find out what type of fish you really like and that will narrow it down some more.

Do you want a single species? 
Look into some of the Mbuna.  I always LOVE a demasoni tank.  Beautiful tank and you can put a lot of them in a single tank.  In fact it is encouraged to keep aggression down.  Talk to Stan M., he has some good looking ones for sale.  That would allow you to get a nice size group and keep the price down compared to a local fish store.

Peacocks and haps?
55 is about as small as I would go.  My recommendation here is to make sure you get all males.  It will help with keeping them all happy and also get as much color out of your fish as possible.  If you look to local breeders, you could stock up the tank real well without too much cost.  But, you would have to be patient as you would be buying small fish and they will take time to grow and color up.

Tangs
I dont have a lot of knowledge here, just a few species I have mixed in.  But, you could set up a real nice tang tank.  Some shellies to stick to the bottom.. some of the schooling kind to be at the top.  Toss in some Calvus or Alto Comps.  Hmmm... making me want to set up one myself.




Well... those were just some thoughts that come up real quick.

From experience... the best thing you can do is to research and find out what you like... and then come back to this thread and ask some more questions.



Offline Regalblue

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Re: New Tank
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2013, 09:16:41 AM »
This topic & similar ones have been gone over many times. Search around & read the previous threads.  Here's some good ones....
stocking numbers
http://michigancichlid.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=295.0

Good info about mixing Fronts with Haps .
http://michigancichlid.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=4010.0

good info on which species are what. http://michigancichlid.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=3070.0

good 55 Tanganyika tank thread.
http://michigancichlid.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=2761.0

Offline rustyfocus

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Re: New Tank
« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2013, 11:03:16 AM »
Thanks guys. Pretty safe to say I really don't know what I want. My main issue is actually finding fish. The generic franchise pet stores are pricey and normally don't have anything that really catches my eye. The only other pet store near me that I can find is Preuss and they are fairly expensive. So does anyone know anywhere else near Lansing or Grand Rapids area which may be more help?

Offline four_by_ken

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Re: New Tank
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2013, 04:49:08 PM »
Just start using the Wanted Forum on here.

So many times people here will have what you want.

Almost always cheaper and usually better looking also.