You could quiet nicely keep mbuna in a 55 as well, I don't get why it's being resorted for SA's in this thread. A footprint of a standard 55 plus lots of rockwork and carefully chosen species would work, it has been done before 
Africans vs. South Americans
- Thread starter Lansirill
- Start date
I've had both and liked both. One thing to consider is that south american cichlids will create far more bioload than african cichlids. My africans were very personable. Most cichlids are personable because they like to eat and they think that is what you are offering every time you come to the tank. Once they figure out you are not offering food they usually go back to what they were doing before you got there.
^^ I agree with ibr3ak. In fact, I think it is better to keep a bunch of mbuna in a 55 with lots of rockwork than to keep 1 single SA cichlid (of most species, certainly not all) in a 55 gallon. A 75 gallon would be like the bare minimum for an oscar, and maybe a 55 would be ok for a single JD or GT etc., with nothing else in the tank.
Most people don't like the idea of keeping 1 fish in a big tank, so that is the good thing about Africans, is that as long as you have great filtration and tank maintenance you can put quite a few of them in together - in fact it is recommended to 'crowd' them a bit, as this disperses their aggression and resembles how they live in the wild. Africans also are some of the most brightly colored FW fish.
SA cichlids, on the other hand, are not so much hyper-aggressive as Africans are, but are very territorial. This means it is extremely important not to crowd them, and in fact if you are to keep more than 1 successfully, usually you have to end up under-stocking for your biofilter so that they all have adequate territory and don't kill each other. But, my personal choice is SA all the way, because of what others have said - they are so personable and interactive. As soon as you come in the room, all their eyes are on you. They are really like a 'pet' so much more than any other fish I personally have experienced.
Most people don't like the idea of keeping 1 fish in a big tank, so that is the good thing about Africans, is that as long as you have great filtration and tank maintenance you can put quite a few of them in together - in fact it is recommended to 'crowd' them a bit, as this disperses their aggression and resembles how they live in the wild. Africans also are some of the most brightly colored FW fish.
SA cichlids, on the other hand, are not so much hyper-aggressive as Africans are, but are very territorial. This means it is extremely important not to crowd them, and in fact if you are to keep more than 1 successfully, usually you have to end up under-stocking for your biofilter so that they all have adequate territory and don't kill each other. But, my personal choice is SA all the way, because of what others have said - they are so personable and interactive. As soon as you come in the room, all their eyes are on you. They are really like a 'pet' so much more than any other fish I personally have experienced.
Its also easier to house ten african cichlids in a 55g than three or four south amercan cichlids. South American cichlids usually have more gerth and more aggression when adult than the africans. So you end up with one SA in the tank because he has claimed the whole thing for himself. SA are usually more brutal in their aggression than the africans are also, at least that has been my experience.
That's another question. if I went with the 55 and SAs, how much could I put in there? So far I've kept fish that are small enough to more or less manage the inch-per-gallon rule but one sev probably is the same amount of mass as, what, 20 bloodfins?
I'd like to keep a sev, an eartheater (I'm leaning towards a Satanoperca,) an acara or (if I don't put the angel and keyholes in there) maybe a jack (although that probably wouldn't work well with the Satanoperca anyways), some catfish, and them some dithers. I'd love to pair up the sev or the acara/jack as well. Would that work in a 55, or a 75? Is it even -close-? I'd think it would work, but then again I also thought that an Oscar would be just fine in a 55, so I probably should just avoid thinking.
I'd like to keep a sev, an eartheater (I'm leaning towards a Satanoperca,) an acara or (if I don't put the angel and keyholes in there) maybe a jack (although that probably wouldn't work well with the Satanoperca anyways), some catfish, and them some dithers. I'd love to pair up the sev or the acara/jack as well. Would that work in a 55, or a 75? Is it even -close-? I'd think it would work, but then again I also thought that an Oscar would be just fine in a 55, so I probably should just avoid thinking.
LOL avoiding thinking is never a good idea. The inch-per-gallon rule is more or less crap, it is a good general guideline for really small fish, but for SA cichlids it's pretty useless I'd say.
In a 75, I think you could do a sev, a Satanoperca, and an acara with a couple (not huge) catfish and *maybe* some dithers if you have really good filtration. I think that a JD would probably be too aggressive for the other 3 SA cichlids that you listed in that size tank. A 55 I think would be kinda pushing it with the 3 cichlids and a catfish or two, but might work since the acara stays relatively small and they are all pretty peaceful. Definitely not with the dithers in a 55 though.
In a 75, I think you could do a sev, a Satanoperca, and an acara with a couple (not huge) catfish and *maybe* some dithers if you have really good filtration. I think that a JD would probably be too aggressive for the other 3 SA cichlids that you listed in that size tank. A 55 I think would be kinda pushing it with the 3 cichlids and a catfish or two, but might work since the acara stays relatively small and they are all pretty peaceful. Definitely not with the dithers in a 55 though.
That's another question. if I went with the 55 and SAs, how much could I put in there? So far I've kept fish that are small enough to more or less manage the inch-per-gallon rule but one sev probably is the same amount of mass as, what, 20 bloodfins?
I'd like to keep a sev, an eartheater (I'm leaning towards a Satanoperca,) an acara or (if I don't put the angel and keyholes in there) maybe a jack (although that probably wouldn't work well with the Satanoperca anyways), some catfish, and them some dithers. I'd love to pair up the sev or the acara/jack as well. Would that work in a 55, or a 75? Is it even -close-? I'd think it would work, but then again I also thought that an Oscar would be just fine in a 55, so I probably should just avoid thinking.
Well Ive had jacks with severums in the past, worked out really well. My red devil did not tolorate my sev at all though, I had to get rid of the severum to save him. Look, if you want a really colorful tank with one big centerpiece fish, Id recommend you go with a single red devil (my fav kind of cichlid) and a bunch of african cichlids to go around him. There are people on here that wont mix African and CA cichlids, I personally think its as short sighted at believing the world is flat lol but thats just me. Ive had successful mixed communities for the last 15 years, havent lost a fish to disease in over 10 years, and any fish Ive ever lost to agression was due to african on african or CA on CA voilence, the african cichlids and the CA cichlids hardley ever mix it up. Most of the Central american cichlids are too big and the africans know it and dont mess with them. Others CA/SA cichlids that are smaller like cons actually mix alot better with africans than most people think if you make sure you get all males so they dont pair off and breed, because when cons breed, they get NASTY! And africans are already territorial so you know how that would go! But anyway, go with the devil and put africans around him, you wont be sorry!
A lot more than that. Volume increases with the cube of length. A seven inch Severum, around four times the length of a Bloodfin, is therefore 4^3 = 64 times the volume of the Bloodfin - or would be, were it not a bulkier fish all over. I'd guess the actual biomass to be about 100 times as much.
This is why the inch-per-gallon rule is hogwash and anyone quoting it should be dragged out into the streets and shot.
This is what I did. I have a 75g with one Jack, one severum and one firemouth plus some black skirts as dithers and one mean gold gourami. Anyhow I got the JD, sev and FM all at the same time when they were about 2-3 inches long. They all get along great. All three are about half grown.
i agree you could keep mbuna in a 55, however a 75 would be better
in a 55 you could keep 5 angels, you would probably get a pair which you may need to separate, or 5 Festivums, or rams and apistos etc etc
if you go with a 75 you could choose either and more heavily stock the sa setup of course
i would advise getting the biggest tank poss, you'll probably end up upgrading the 55 to a 75 in a year anyway
in a 55 you could keep 5 angels, you would probably get a pair which you may need to separate, or 5 Festivums, or rams and apistos etc etc
if you go with a 75 you could choose either and more heavily stock the sa setup of course
i would advise getting the biggest tank poss, you'll probably end up upgrading the 55 to a 75 in a year anyway
