Cichlids for a 55g

iamntbatman

Hah! The guy already called me. I was a little off on the pricing. He wanted $50 for just the tank, but he's willing to sell the entire setup (tank, stand, canopy, lighting, heaters, filters, crushed coral substrate, big pieces of lava rock, AND all of the fish in the tank!) for $150 total. This is a deal I cannot possibly turn down. He has mixed Africans in the tank, including a frontosa over a foot long. The guy said his labs have bred from time to time.

I've looked at a lot of Africans, and I think I just like Malawi fish better. More color varieties to be found. I'll likely be rehoming the fish I'm not after (i.e. the frontosa and other Lake T. fish) and adding more mbuna. I can't believe I won't even have to cycle this one!

All that's left to do is convince some friends to help me haul it. That means I'll have to add on the cost of a couple six packs of beer to the cost of the aquarium.

iamntbatman

Well, by some miracle it looks like I'm going to be the one taking this monstrous aquarium off of this guy's hands. He's apparently remodeling his basement and will be getting rid of *all* of his tanks, including a 55g, 20g, two 10g's and a 5g. If he's selling a fully equipped, fully stocked 125g for $150, I can't imagine how little money he's asking for those other tanks. He said I could take a look at them when I come to pick up the big tank.

So...any advice on this tank? I think the tank and stand will fit in the back of my SUV. I'm going to bring a few 5g buckets to transport the gravel and rockwork in. Will the fish do o.k. in coolers? I have a couple of decent-sized coolers, but I'm just afraid that putting the fish in quarters that cramped could lead to violence. Is there any special information I need to know about setting the tank back up? I've just never had to do this with a tank of this size.

I would be asking all of these questions of the guy I'm buying from, but he seems...sort of clueless. Maybe someone with more money than he knows what to do with, given the swanky D.C. neighborhood he lives in. He couldn't remember the names of any of the fish, and he couldn't give me much information on the filters other than "they're some big pumps." I guess I could be looking at anything from a UGF to canisters to a sump system. I guess I'll find out when I get the tank!

I'll post again once I have it and hopefully try to list off the species in the tank.

okiemavis

If you're worried about aggression, bring lots of bags and bag them all separately. You should be able to buy a bunch in bulk for relatively cheap. I'm thinking they'll be OK because the stress/unheated environment will slow them down, but if you think it's not worth the risk, then it's not.

aquakid

yellow labs and peacocks

iamntbatman

Well...shucks.

I talked to the guy last night on the phone, who told me it would be best for me to stop by and pick up the tank tonight. He told me to give him a call around 6 pm or so to make sure he'd be home. When I called him at six, he had apparently already sold the tank to someone else. He told me he had all kinds of offers for the tank and it just got out of hand, or something. Kinda lame, considering he had sorta promised me the tank.

Meanwhile, I'll continue the craigslist hunt.

jeaninel

Aww..that sucks! I'm sure something else will pop up though. Keep looking!

aquakid

for a Jack Dempsey i would recommend cichlids ONLY from the home lake of the jack demsey.

Also for old world cichlids i would only reccomend carefully mixing species of 1 catfish and the cichlids that originated from the same lake!!!!!!!!

SKAustin

Well, I'll tell you from my experience, You would, in the end, most likely be far happier with the Tanganyikans. Tanganyikan Cichlids are more intelligent and have much better personality than Malawi and SA cichlids. A larger percent of the species are far less aggressive, and unlike their Malawian neighbors, Tanganyikans are slow growers. There are also a good number of Tanganyikan cichlids that stay quite small. You can check out a small variety of the species in the link in my sig. My personal favorites are the Calvus, Compressiceps, and Frontosas. Though Fronties get quite large, and are not suitable for a tank smaller than a 150. There are Shell Dwelling Compressiceps originating from the Sumbu area that stay quite small.

iamntbatman

Hmm well, I'm definitely hooked on the Dempsey, so that's most likely going to happen before any Africans. I do have plans for a smaller shell-dweller tank. There's a thread somewhere I posted a while back called "Solitary Rift Lake Cichlid?" or something along those lines. If I do a bigger African tank I seriously doubt I'd go for a tank smaller than 75 gallons and would more likely be looking at 90+, and as there's a decent chance I'll be moving sometime in the quasi-near future I'm not sure if I want to tackle a tank that large quite yet. The Dempsey tank will likely be the only big tank I'll deal with before that happens. Some day, though!

1077

Have you checked out the Electric Blue Jack Dempsey? I think they are beautiful. And reported to maybe not be as aggresive. :D