[betz1106]

Started up my 55 as a community tank because the wife didn't want me to spend too much money on a tank because the last time I had this tank up and running we lost all the fish from a african cichlid tank, and she about freaked because of the amount that i spent on fish and deco.

So started it as a junky molly/platty/tetra tank and now i am moving it slowly (without the wife realizing) to a SA cichlid tank.

I now have a pair of GBR, 1 albino sev, and 1 green sev.

What other SAC's can I put in a community setting that won't destroy the molly/platty/tetras that m kids have grown to love?

I have heard kribs can go in, also keyholes......any suggestions?

on top of the 2 gbr and the sevs i have 2 white mollies, 1 dalmation molly, 4 various platties, and a school of 7 serpeta tetras, i also have a pearl gourami that i want to keep if at all possible because i love that fish

 

[DirtyBlackSocks]

Kribs will dominate the tank if they pair off and start to breed - a single specimin would be fine.

You can also look into chocolate cichlids - which should do fine, or festivum (anything from the menosauta complex) but you're already pushing the territory limits with the pair of severum in a 55 gallon.

They're aggressive fish, though not on par with some of the worst of them - it will be a violent tank after the fish reach full size.

I would go with a chocolate cichlid and be prepared to remove one of the severum as they age - I'm not sure if the chocolate cichlid would mistake the severum for one of it's own, but if it does it will almost guaranteed kill them.

 

[betz1106]

Kribs will dominate the tank if they pair off and start to breed - a single specimin would be fine.

You can also look into chocolate cichlids - which should do fine, or festivum (anything from the menosauta complex) but you're already pushing the territory limits with the pair of severum in a 55 gallon.

They're aggressive fish, though not on par with some of the worst of them - it will be a violent tank after the fish reach full size.

I would go with a chocolate cichlid and be prepared to remove one of the severum as they age - I'm not sure if the chocolate cichlid would mistake the severum for one of it's own, but if it does it will almost guaranteed kill them.

i am planning on going up to a 125 or something in that range over the next 2 years, i just have to convince the wife that i can keep the tank living and breathing

are keyholes ok for that type of setup?

 

[DirtyBlackSocks]

Should be fine, and if you plan on upgrading to a 125 you can do all sorts of things.

 

[betz1106]

Should be fine, and if you plan on upgrading to a 125 you can do all sorts of things.

is the 2 year timeframe to long to wait to upgrade with the sevs?

how fast will they reach the 6-8 in size where having 2 in the tank would be a problem......

to be honest, they are always together at this point even though they were from 2 different stores and one is green the other is albino.....

 

[DirtyBlackSocks]

It's a natural defense mechanism for young fish to school together. I'd say you've got anywhere from 8 months to a year before your'e going to run into some issues, assuming you're feeding them properly and keeping clean waters.

 

[betz1106]

It's a natural defense mechanism for young fish to school together. I'd say you've got anywhere from 8 months to a year before your'e going to run into some issues, assuming you're feeding them properly and keeping clean waters.

water is no big deal

feeding flake and frozen brine shrimp which they love

thanks for the info