55G filtration help

[jimbo]

Originally posted by kdblove_99

Oh one last thing how many Mbuna can i put in a 55G, A guy over at Predatoryfish.net said 15-20 is that right? Thats alot of fish.

This guy is selling fish, he's not really concerned about the tank size you're providing for them.
If you're interested in just the colorful males, I would advise not more than 6 or 7 different species. When you're interested in breeding them, 2 males with each 2 or 3 females would be the limit. Perhaps you could try 3 males with 3 females. Just keep in mind that some mbunas can be pretty “aggressive” when creating and defending their territory when they start to breed.
With 15 or 20 mbunas in a 55, you’re going to create an impressive and stressful battlefield.

Edit: It all depends on the size of the fish you're starting with of
course

Jimmy

 

[nattybrack]

I've heard from a lot of people that you shouldn't have a lot of fish in a 55. I went the other way though. The way that I combat the overcrowding is by having a lot of rocks. every fish really can have it's own hiding spot, and like Jimbo mentioned, basically all the fish are young 1.5" on average, and will grow to only 3" (also on average). I tried the tank w/an "appropriate" amount of fish for a while and had dominance issues, this way, my 1 bully (female kenyi) is busy chasing evryone a little and then gets tired.

 

[kdblove_99]

Originally posted by Jinks
ive got 15 + 2 plecos in a 77 Gal

http://fish.stjinks.com

Those look nice jinks. wish you had close-ups any others with pics i need to steal some ideas


Also i think i'm going to go with the penguin 330 that comes with the tank and a Eheim 2213 canister

 

[dcallen]

I'm with Jimmy on this one, I wouldn't suggest more than 7 or 8 fish in your 55 gallon setup. I think 7 or 8 nice males would look very good in your tank. Of course you could start out with more and then move them to another tank once they get larger. Good luck with your tank.