I have a cycled 55 gallon setup right now that im planning on putting mixed africans in and i keep hearing that a slight overcrowing enviroment is benificial as it will make them less aggressive...well, how many is a good number for a 55 gallon? Keep in mind these fish will probably spend there entire lives in this tank so take into account for them eventually being full sized. Thanks alot! Also, is there any plants with a lower lighting requirement that they wont destroy?
How many africans in a 55?
- Thread starter jeffro426
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Unfortunately, a 55 is really too small to do overcrowding. A 75 is better; the problem is that a chased fish doesn't have enough swimming room in a 55 to get away from an aggressor. In a larger tank, the aggressor gets distracted by other fish as he pursues his original target and the 'victim' gets a break because the aggressor forget about him/her and goes after another fish.
Overcrowding doesn't work nearly as well in a 55, which has substantially less floor space than a 75 or larger.
In a 55, the number would depend greatly on the species. What sorts of africans do you want to keep?
Jim
Overcrowding doesn't work nearly as well in a 55, which has substantially less floor space than a 75 or larger.
In a 55, the number would depend greatly on the species. What sorts of africans do you want to keep?
Jim
Im not set on a specific species yet, im just trying to get a generaly rough estimate on how many i should put in there assuming they are on average 4-5 inches fully grown.
I like the malawi mbuna. I have a 33 gallon with 3 c. afras, 3 yellow labs, and 3 fulleborni. I also have a tanganyikan catfish- synodontis multi. There are lots of rocks forming caves, and so far i haven't noticed any particular aggression from any certian fish. Although, i did end up with two male c.afras and one female, which might be a problem a little later on when they get old enough to mate.
The fullenborni can get quite big, so i will have to upgrade tank size in the future, but they are very cute little fish.
Haps come in gorgeous colors but i like the look of the mbuna better.
Vallisernia is a good plant choice for africans, as is anubias. Both are low-light i think. Make sure to let algae grow on the rocks as it is a good food source for the fish. My fulleborni love it.
But this is all malawi, there is lake victoria and tanganyika too!
The fullenborni can get quite big, so i will have to upgrade tank size in the future, but they are very cute little fish.
Haps come in gorgeous colors but i like the look of the mbuna better.
Vallisernia is a good plant choice for africans, as is anubias. Both are low-light i think. Make sure to let algae grow on the rocks as it is a good food source for the fish. My fulleborni love it.
But this is all malawi, there is lake victoria and tanganyika too!
IN a 55g, depending on the species you choose, I would say around 10-12 fish. A 55g isnt'a good size to practice overcrownding(see previous post by JSchmidt).
So choose some species you like and we can help you narrow it down.
I would say you could have
10 fish of 1 species(2males/8females) or
5 fish of 2 species(1 male/4f for each) or
3-4 fish of 3 species
This isn't exact but it will give you an idea. Since i seems you haven't kept mbuna before i wodl stick with the less aggresive species
iodotropheus sprengerae
Ps. saulosi
Ps."Acei"
Labidochromis cearuleus(yellow labs)
So choose some species you like and we can help you narrow it down.
I would say you could have
10 fish of 1 species(2males/8females) or
5 fish of 2 species(1 male/4f for each) or
3-4 fish of 3 species
This isn't exact but it will give you an idea. Since i seems you haven't kept mbuna before i wodl stick with the less aggresive species
iodotropheus sprengerae
Ps. saulosi
Ps."Acei"
Labidochromis cearuleus(yellow labs)