New 50 gal ideas

sumthin fishy

sumthin fishy

I eat spam
Aug 22, 2005
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central california
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mike
A coworker has a 50 gallon tank, complete setup, wants to get rid of it. I talked the wife into it. (It seems less work than the algae ridden 90 gal FOWLR another friend is trying to pawn off on me)

All I know about the 50 so far is it has been running a year or so and has "a bunch of 1-3" cichlids". Assuming the stocking is not too eclectic, I may just keep it as is. But if either the stock is a bad mix, or I just don't like the types they have, I'm starting to think of options. I have the things I like, and tend towards, bit I am open to decent ideas. Don't have the money for real plants for now. So what should I do?
 
50 gal as in 36x18x18? That sounds like a good size to allow a bigger group of smaller fish compared to say a 55 with its 4 foot length. Until you know which fish and how many of each it it is hard telling if you may like it as is. If you are redoing it, then the bigger surface area and lower height (again compared to a 55) would make it great for a planted setup. You will have more room for plants and don't need as strong a light to reach the substrate. If you are thinking to convert it to salt (likely since the other tank you are thinking about is the 90), then you got real estate for the rocks. I wouldn't know how to put rocks in a 55 gal with only a foot front to back. Only way might be a boring straight line.
 
I always gravitate toward planted. However, I've seen some really nice tanks, with a simple sand substrate, a little rockwork and some interesting driftwood. If I was putting one like that together, I might do a community, with a school each of tetras or rasboras, cories, hatchets and then a trio of gouramis. Depending on filtration, you could add a few livebearers.

Or, it would make a nice tank for a colony of shellies with 6 or 8 cyps above.

Mark
 
Do you know what, if anything, is coming with the tank as far as substrate, filter, decoration?
 
Update, it is a 55, not a 50. Oh well. Stock is 2 convicts, a JD, and 2 yellow africans I think may be johanni, but the one pic was not very good.

So obviously the 3 SA cichlids will go. Might keep the africans and go that route, but still open to other ideas.
 
Yellow Africans.....auratus, maybe? Or like yellow-yellow? 55g aren't ideal for Malawi cichlids, in my opinion. They want deeper tanks with more floor-space. I had an 80g (?) with 23 Malawi and a red jewel once. Never had another fish kill a fish in that tank, only fry. Hundreds of fry that I could never get to in time :( I would rehome all of them and do a themed tank.

Blackwater mangroves can be fun. Anything Amazonian, really. You obviously don't need to tannin the water to achieve the effect, just wood and rocks. South American biotopes can be easy, easy, easy and really awesome.
 
I think they are johani, but I'll find out Saturday when I pick it up. I'll probably end up going amazon community. Either that or light planted with guppies and a few interesting bottom dwellers. On a related note, anyone in the stockton, CA area want some cichlids? :D
 
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