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Stocking for my new 55g

3K views 19 replies 5 participants last post by  burnsbabe 
#1 ·
Posted this in another thread but I think its should be here so Ive just C&P it :

So Ive started the cycling process a few days ago now. Trying the prawns in a bag method...measured the ammonia lvl's today and I only seem to be reaching about 0.25ppm Im sure I read somewhere it needs to get a lot higher, like around 4 - 5 ppm (most of the methods Ive read advise using pure ammonia in liquid form). Should I just add more prawns ?

Getting into reading up on the types of fish I want to put in the tank now. I really love the look of about 5 different spieces here they are as follows -

-Yellow labs (cant go wrong for colour and should look awsome against my slate coloured decor)
-Cyno afra (not sure tho cos the females Ive seen in pics look quite drab)
-Rusty's (love the lilac sheen the mature males develop but once again females quite drab)
-Red top Ndumbi (doesnt seem a popular fish but I love it)
-Demasoni (Ive heard very agressive but mostly with its own kind or similar looking species)

So atm leaning towards 3 grps of 8 juvenile fish probably Demasoni, Yellow labs and Ndumbi's, would this mix work ok or should I forget about the Demasoni since they are the most agressive of my selection ?

Im picking these 3 because info on the net seems to suggest the females are almost as pretty as the males.
 
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#2 ·
I am impressed. For your first tank you didn't chose obviously vicious fish that would eliminte your stock. I would honestly scratch the demosoni and the red top and go with the labs, rusty's, and afras(8 of each). Thin out the ratios you need as they get older. OR, I would do 8 labs and 12 demasoni. That is a very popular fish combination you are sure to love. You have to have atleast 12 demasoni because thier conspecific aggression is so high. With 12 the casualties are kept to a minimum or none.
 
#3 ·
Thank you :)

Ive been doing a little more reading and your line of thought seems sound there, the more demasoni I have the better, throwing a good number of yellow labs in for the contrasting colour will be striking. Dont really need a 3rd spieces considering how nice the blue stripes and vibrant yellows are going to look :)

Thanks for the input :)
 
#4 ·
Yeah it's going to look awesome. The labs are very peacfull and will be large and showy and the constant chasing and flaring of the dems will have you entertained for hours. Kepp us updated on how everything goes.

Good Luck!
 
#5 ·
Well the tank finally finished cycling and I did a 70% water change last night. Went to the LFS today and bought -

x8 yellow labs
x2 C. Moorii

Will still be getting the demasoni but will have to source them elsewhere since the LFS doesnt have them.

I realise that getting the C. Moorii probably wasnt a smart idea considering that they need a lot of swimming space but as I understand it that take a very long time to grow I just couldnt resist them. Also its a good excuse for me to upgrade to a bigger tank in the future :lol:.

Ive spent the last hour sitting watching them get used to thier new home, its funny I have to sit really still so they all come out, then my son runs by and <woosh> not a fish in sight lol.

I'll get some pic's up when my hubby gets home, getting them from camera (SD card) to Mac to photobucket confuses me lol (well mostly the Camera > Mac part) :roll:
 
#6 · (Edited)
You should be fine with them and the labs. But they will get big and will require IMO atleast a 6ft tank considering they are open water haps. You will probably need to buy a few more too but It can work.
 
#7 ·
will they be ok when I add the demasoni ? I dont want them to get the snott beaten out of them :roll:

me and my weak will lol
 
#8 ·
hmm they should be fine as long as you are adding 12+ of the demasoni. The demasoni again are pretty peacfull to different looking other species it's eachother they seem to have an issue with.
 
#9 ·
Thnx :)

Im enjoying them so much atm lol everytime I walk past the tank I stop for 10 mins just to watch them. They are little hogs too, about 30sec after putting the food in its gone! Is it normal for them to be hungry all the time lol
 
#11 ·
As promised some Pics of my new arrivals :)











I know I know I went a bit picture daft :lol:
 
#15 ·
Thank you :)

I'll take more pics once I get the demasoni in there too.
 
#16 ·
Excuse me!

Excuse me for reviving this thread from last month. It seemed silly to start a whole new one when my questions are so similar. I have a 55g that I just got my hands on as well and I'm considering two possible setups.

I really love the look of the demasonis that have been discussed earlier in this thread. I understand that a large group of them will break down the aggression a bit and as such there isn't room for too much more going on. Are there other good mbuna species to go with them besides the yellow labs?

My second option (still weighing things) would be to go with a pair of larger cichlids, Jack Dempseys or the like.

I'd appreciate comments or questions.
 
#17 ·
Well my Demasoni and yellow labs are getting on great atm...in fact 3 of my yellow labs are holding :shock:

As for fish that go well with the demasoni, basically anything that doesnt look like them, no blue fish with vertical stripes. The reasoning is they will mistake them for other Demasoni this could cause cross breeding which all good aquarists want to avoid. So maybe somthing like rusty cichlids, red top ndumbi, Scolofi to name but a few. Just check out what you like the look of and avoid those with similar colour/pattern. Demasoni are quite aggressive little fish but its kept mostly to thier own species, so they should get along with a wide range of mbuna just not the super aggressive ones.

I'd avoid putting them in with any CA or SA cichlids its a recipe for a headache considering that they dont have the same water requirements and the mbuna's and American cichlids behaviour will rub off on one another causing more aggression.

hope Ive helped a little :)
 
#18 ·
Thanks for the info. I like the look of they rusties a lot, so that might be the direction I go in.

As far as asking about the bigger CA and SA guys, I was thinking of it as a totally different setup. If you have experience with both, which do you thing is easier and which more interesting/fun? I know that's really a point of opinion but I'm just wondering.
 
#19 ·
In my opinion the africans, they are just so active and full of character and colour but as you said its personal opinion that counts :)

Rusties are lovely if healthy and happy the have a gorgeous colour to them and they are one of the least aggressive mbuna spieces :)
 
#20 ·
Thanks again! The labs just don't do it for me.
 
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