55 gallon stocking?

[More_Cowbell]

Hey all, this is my first post in for freaking ever. I had to get rid of all of my tanks and fish last year do to some real crap, so I've been avoiding this place like the (really depressing) plague. I won't be able to get another aquarium for at least 3-4 more months, but I have the money put away for it, and I'm in the very early planning stages of a 55 gallon community tank.
So what I've been thinking about is tetras. I love 'em. I especially love their schooling behaviour. I wanted to have a few schools of different kinds of tetras (I'm thinking cardinals, black skirts, and harlequin rasboras), or maybe just a huge school (20-25) of cardinals.
I also wanted to have a school of either corys or clown loaches.

The setup would be sand substrate, artificial plants (unless it seems like I could handle plants, I haven't had much luck with them in the past), lots of driftwood, and numerous caves and shelters.

My question is this; I would really like to get a single centerpiece cichlid for this tank, but I know that many of them get large enough to eat fish as small as cardinals... SO, I've been looking at Lake Malawi cichlids (because I'm a sucker for color and finnage) and I really like the peacock (aulonocara) cichlids, but I haven't done much research on them yet... I'm hoping for suggestions and caveats.

Thanks guys,
cowbell

 

[Slappy*McFish]

I'd avoid Clown Loaches in a 55g and Malawi Cichlids would be a bad idea with Tetras. Think about Rams, Kribs or Apistos instead.

 

[More_Cowbell]

I'd avoid Clown Loaches in a 55g and Malawi Cichlids would be a bad idea with Tetras. Think about Rams, Kribs or Apistos instead.

Thanks for the advice. You're absolutely right.
Oh my gosh! I forgot how huge clown loaches could get! What was I thinking?!
I did some more research and realized that tetras and malawi cichlids are totally incompatible in terms of water preferences. Doi.
I'm actually a little worried about the loneliness factor of keeping a single male cichlid in a community tank... and I've been thinking about nixing the tetras and just getting a group of cichlids. I really love the ones from Lake Victoria...
heh, I'm a fickle one. I'm just glad I have plenty of time to plan and plan and change my mind a couple hundred times.

 

[Slappy*McFish]

Yeah, sounds like you'd be much happier with strictly a Lake Victoria or Malawi Cichlid setup.

 

[More_Cowbell]

Mm hm, thanks for helping me get my scrambled brains in order.

 

[johnnyxxl]

keep thinking about it myself I have to update my profile no fish my tanks got killed by municipal water supply changing chems

 

[More_Cowbell]

keep thinking about it myself I have to update my profile no fish my tanks got killed by municipal water supply changing chems

Oh, Jeez! What sh*t luck! I wonder if you could get the municipality to pay for new fish? Either that, or you could sue the b*stards.

 

[fishshaped]

55gallon

[what about bricarli. not from malawi but tanganica. still an amazing fish yet mellow

 

[ibr3ak]

If you're gonna do brichardi you'd pretty much be stuck with a species only tank, they'll kill or try to every other fish in with them. I'd do a multi specie tank with species from either of the 3 lakes (sticking to a 1 lake species).

 

[A. Nonymous]

Oh, Jeez! What sh*t luck! I wonder if you could get the municipality to pay for new fish? Either that, or you could sue the b*stards.

Probably not. The municipality has a legal obligation to provide potable water and that's about it. They can make as many changes to the water as they want as long as it remains potable.