Tank Mates

[crazyj]

Hi all i have a 55 gallon that has been set up for 2 months with no fish in it this is what i would like to put in it is completely cycled

2 tiger oscars
2 Electric Yellow Lad Cichlid
1 gold Nugget pleco

would this be to much i have a fluvel 404 filter

 

[heat]

Not much help on the filtration but... the tank mates portion... if you mean labidochromis yellows with oscars you could well be setting yourself up for a bit of trouble.
Yellow labs tend to be, atleast in my experience with africans, the mellowest of the mbuna type.
From reading oscars seem to require ph of 6.5-7.0 where the labs do very well at 8.0 and above. You could very well acclimate the yellows down to the lower ph. In addition to this you may see aggression issues. Labs don't grow overly fast and will soon be enough smaller than the oscars to fit in their mouth. If they see them as a food source... well you get the picture.
Temps... I've kept all my labs at 80 degrees.. while never having kept the oscars, again through reading, I find temps of 72-77 degrees.. not too much of a difference but you'll be putting the oscars at the high end of their temp and the labs at the lower end... not an ideal mix, imo.


Good Luck with it.

 

[Wench]

I agree with Heat that mixing the two is not wise. Between the different water parameter and the eventual size of fish.

I would also like to add that a 55g is not large enough for two oscars. You would want a 75 mimimum for two and thats even questionable, when they reach adult size.

If you like the yellow labs, why not just set the 55g up as a african tank. This way you can shoot for a larger tank down the road for oscars. (good excuse for another tank)

I have a 55 set up with 4 yellow labs and 5 cobalt blues (also one lone fry) and I really enjoy watching these little guys. Very entertaining.

I know looking at your 55g now it looks like its huge, empty. But adding two baby oscars or even one for that matter, it won't be long before they start to look cramped in there.

Good luck with what ever you decide

Heres a shot of my 55 with the africans. I actually enjoy this tank more than the oscas tank.

 

[goldfries]

it depends on your taste actually.

some people enjoy tanks with a lot of small fish. others enjoy tanks with a few big fish.

 

[Nyasa]

nice looking tank wench, are you thinking of adding anything more to it? you could probably get away with 3 to 4 of another species of mbuna.

 

[Wench]

Originally posted by Nyasa
nice looking tank wench, are you thinking of adding anything more to it?

Thank you Nyasa. Not at the moment, I'm not. When I move them to a 75g, I will be. Not sure what to add though


Goldfries: I agree that it depends on ones taste.
CrazyJ mentioned she liked both the oscars and the yellow labs. I was just giving him/her an option with the tank size she has.

 

[tuthelimit]

Mixing totally different fish like that is a disaster waiting to happen.
The most pressing issue is the fact that the Oscars will eat your labs sooner or later.

A recomend picking up a good book and reading about each fish you are debating on putting in your tank before you actually do it.

If you are stuck with a 55, decide what you want to keep.
Many people base this decision on their tap water parameters.

A 55 is too small for even one Oscar. I wouldn't keep a pair in a tank smaller than 6'. Although the fish look small now they will quickly grow causing the owner to make an expensive decision. Sell the fish (if someone will by) or get a larger tank.

GL
ttl