Stocking question on JD's/African Cichlids/etc.

C

cgcaver

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Jan 2, 2005
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Some of you may have read my post about my plans to redo my 55g. Well at the moment, I'm having a hard time deciding between stocking it with 2 Jack Dempseys, various African cichlid species, or possibly even something else. Here are my questions:

1) I've heard you can put 10-12 Africans in a 55g... but yet I see that most can grow to 4"+... so how does that work? Do they have a small bioload compared to other fish or something? Basically, if I decide to stock Africans (yellow labs, electric blues, demasoni, etc) , how many can I put in a 55g? If I have a lot of filtration, can I put more? I currently have an AC500 and was thinking of possibly adding a Fluval204 or some kinda canister.

2) Are there any other fish you guys think I may wanna consider stocking? I'm mainly going for color. Also, can anyone recommend any red, green, etc. colored cichlids? Was hoping to find some other colors to go with the blue/yellow.
 
I don't know alot about Africans, so I'll keep my comment short and allow someone else to give you details. You are probably refering to the practice of overstocking or hyperstocking an African tank. Basically, there are so many fish in the tank that no one fish has a chance to establish a permanant territory. Aggresion is minimized because there are so many "targets" to pick from, that no one fish gets picked on to heavily.

Africans actually contribute greatly to a tanks bioload, and need very good filtration, even more so in a situation like this. Personally I think the only place for this tank is in a display situation. I would think the interesting behaviors that make cichlids great would be next to non-existant in a tank like the one you're describing. Up side would be the ability to pull out a pair and concentrate on breeding, and then return them after the fry have reached release stage, grow up the fry in the breeding tank, sell them, and pull another pair from the display tank.

African experts, correct me if I'm wrong
 
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