cichlid stocking for a 55 gallon

[jbn521]

Hi everyone,
I currently have a 55 gallon setup. I have a firemouth, rainbow cichlid, convict, rainbow shark, and 5 Austrailian rainbows as dithers. I have three filters on the tank, an Aqua tech 30/60, Aquaclear 50, and Aqua clear 30. I have 300 watts of heat and a large air stone. I also have it set up nicely with caves and plenty of places for territory establishment. I was wondering on any suggestions on maby one more addition to the tank. Everyone has been living together for 3 months now and there is not really any aggresssion in the tank. The firemouth seems to be the boss and shows the other two that he's in charge. The convict seems to be the wimpy one in the tank as the firemouth and rainbow cichlid both chase him out of their territories. Most of the time though they seem to respect each other and seem to play and swim together around the tank. I also have never seen anyone go after any of the Australian rainbows either. I got them all as babies and they all still are juveniles. Does anyone beleive that I am at the stocking point, or could I add another similiar sized/mannered cichlid? Thanks for taking the time to read and offer any input...

 

[mostlycichlids]

Maybe a blue Acara Cichlid.

 

[pugwash]

i think you're close to stocking levels - depending on which rainbowfish, you MAY be able to squeeze another medium sized cichlid in there.

Although do you know the sexes of the cichlids...?

 

[jbn521]

The rainbows at the the store where listed Australian rainbows and says 5 inches for maximum length. I am not totally sure of the sexes of the three cichlids, but I have a few pics that you can check out. It was hard taking them as they were all moving about the tank. I would guess the firemouth is a male and the rainbow cichlid too. I might say that the convict could be a female cause her disposition is pretty mellow and she never challenges the other two when moving about the tank.

 

[mostlycichlids]

The Convict looks to be a male....females will have quite a bit of orange on the chest/belly. The Firemouth looks to be female and yes those are Australian rainbows and they typically only get about three inches. They are low waste producers and are very hearty fish to keep with cichlids. The Rainbow Cichlid I am unsure of sex.

 

[toddnbecka]

Depending on where you live, I might be able to hook you up with a chanchito if you're interested. I have 7 on hand, 1 established pair and 2m/1f unattached that could use new homes. Their general disposition seems to be suitable to mix with the rest of your crowd, provided there aren't any breeding pairs wanting to take over the tank.