Well I am getting a 75 gallon (18" x 20" x 48") tank together and would like some suggestions on fish. I am looking towards hard water loving cichlids with a lot of color. My wife wants discus, but not with our hard water. So thats the challenge, what african cichlids are appropriate for a 75 gallon tank and are as impressive as the discus?
75 gallon fish?
- Thread starter judobadger
- Start date
How hard is your water? Discus can thrive but not breed in most tap water.
Please post your kH and PH. There are discus breeders that have their fishes acclimated to medium hard water.
If you want to end up with big, robust discus, the hardness of your water is less important than the frequency of changes. Discus folks have best success doing 50% water changes PER DAY, in bare bottom tanks with no tankmates. This is the standard, time proven method of growing out jumbo sized discus.
Once they reach adult size, it is OK to add other fishes, substrate, plants, etc.
So before you get discus, ask yourself if you can deal with the water changes and bare tank.
Please post your kH and PH. There are discus breeders that have their fishes acclimated to medium hard water.
If you want to end up with big, robust discus, the hardness of your water is less important than the frequency of changes. Discus folks have best success doing 50% water changes PER DAY, in bare bottom tanks with no tankmates. This is the standard, time proven method of growing out jumbo sized discus.
Once they reach adult size, it is OK to add other fishes, substrate, plants, etc.
So before you get discus, ask yourself if you can deal with the water changes and bare tank.
Frontosas are beautiful but most if not all will outgrow a 75. They get extremely LARGE, and like to be in groups.
There are hundreds of african species. Some common Malawies with amazing color are:
P. saulosi (in my avatar, males are blue w/ black stripes and females are yellow/organe)
L. caeruales "yellow labs" (bright yellow w/ black fins)
Aulonocara peacocks (many many bright vibrant variations but females are drab)
Maylandia/metriclima "zebras" (many color morphs from red to yellow to powder blue)
The list goes on and on and on. Those are fairly common cichlids, and all can eaisly fit into a 75 gallon. You have a lot of choice with a larger tank like that.
check out this site for more info on these fish:
http://www.malawimayhem.com
-Diana
There are hundreds of african species. Some common Malawies with amazing color are:
P. saulosi (in my avatar, males are blue w/ black stripes and females are yellow/organe)
L. caeruales "yellow labs" (bright yellow w/ black fins)
Aulonocara peacocks (many many bright vibrant variations but females are drab)
Maylandia/metriclima "zebras" (many color morphs from red to yellow to powder blue)
The list goes on and on and on. Those are fairly common cichlids, and all can eaisly fit into a 75 gallon. You have a lot of choice with a larger tank like that.
check out this site for more info on these fish:
http://www.malawimayhem.com
-Diana
i personaly like african cichlids they are very colorful and active they have a cool personality to them
I am thinking about moving some fish into this new setup as well. I have a yellow lab and a aulonochara sp. "eureka" I would like to move to it. Are these two fish compatible? I am wondering since I believe one is a hap and the other mbuna....
Yellow labs go fine with haps because they can handle more protien in thier diet. If you are set on keeping the eureka red, a peacock (which is a hap), then i reccommend stocking the tank around him, and not getting any more mbuna. You can get more yellow labs, or even possibly some P. acei, but those are the only 2 mbuna that get along well with haps because they can tolerate thier diet.
Mixing haps and mbuna can be done, but its a little tricky.
However a 55 is on the small side for many haps, so maybe stick to some peacocks and those yellow labs. You could do a group of the eurekas or do an all-male peacock tank. You might have difficulty getting the males to color up without the females though.
-Diana
Mixing haps and mbuna can be done, but its a little tricky.
However a 55 is on the small side for many haps, so maybe stick to some peacocks and those yellow labs. You could do a group of the eurekas or do an all-male peacock tank. You might have difficulty getting the males to color up without the females though.
-Diana
Haha! Sorry i'm getting people's tanks and questions all mixed up now 
hehehe... you know you spend too much time on this forum when.... 
75 will be fine for more Haps. Your getting some good responses over at malawimayhem.com, as to which ones you can put in the tank.
hehehe... you know you spend too much time on this forum when.... 75 will be fine for more Haps. Your getting some good responses over at malawimayhem.com, as to which ones you can put in the tank.
I don't know...I think I am getting pretty good advice on both forums. Thanks for the help Diana!!!