55 Gallon. Considering adding something else. Would you?

I have a 55 gallon tank that's gone through some stocking changes recently. Right now, it's got a school of 9 black ruby barbs (absolutely love them), a pair of African Butterfly Cichlids (Anomalachromis Thomasi), 4 synodontis lucipinnis, and a 4.5-5 inch Electric Blue Acara who rules the tank. I'm moving a male bristlenose pleco in there next. It used to house some thicklip gouramis but I moved the trio I have left to happily rule my 29 gallon tank.

I'm thinking I'd like to add another cichlid, but I'm worried the ship has sailed and it'd be hard to introduce a new potentially territorial fish to my EBA who's the (pretty gentle) tank boss at the moment. The fish I've been considering are:

An angelfish, which I'm waffling about because I know they generally do better in groups of their own species in a bigger tank. They're indisputably eye-catching and beautiful.

Festivum(s), max of two. Again, waffling on them because I've heard differing reports on their temperament and potential size.

A Blood Parrot. My biggest reservation with the BP is their physical health; I do have a small quarantine tank, but I'm not sure the best place to source healthy stock for BPs. Most refer me to Petco or Petsmart, and my local Petsmart has dubious practices.

Some other SA cichlid I haven't thought of. Rams? More Butterfly Cichlids (warning: I think the two I have are a bonded pair, because it was initially a trio of thomasiis and the two of them bullied the third all the way to the floor outside of the tank one day -- even with a lid)? Apistogramma?

Oooor should I let things lie in that tank. It IS planted but not precisely scaped (OVERGROWN, in fact), and there's two filters on the tank (A fluval 407 canister and an HOB Aquaclear). I have an itch to do something new with the tank and I'm not completely confident I'm in a position to add anything safely at the moment.

Definitely open to hearing some thoughts and opinions!

 

Leave things be. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If things are working well and everyone is coexisting nicely, the odds are high that adding another cichlid of any kind will do nothing more than create chaos. These fish are settled and have territories and heirarchy figured out, don't screw that up.

If you add anything, look at non cichlids. Honestly though you should just leave it. It's maxes out IMO.

 

I am inclined to agree with SinisterKisses to leave well alone. But if any cichlid might work it could be the festivums, as they rarely use the bottom part of the tank, and introducing a small one or two would probably not upset the acara too much. Mine are pretty peaceful but they are in a big tank, and I also have read conflicting reports about their temperament, so I couldn't guarantee anything. They do also get quite big.

 

Thanks to you both. That's what I suspected, too. My Blue Acara is beautiful and a very chill dude (fairly sure he's a dude?) and I'd hate to upset the balance. I'll just wait until I have the space and time to start a larger tank.

 

BTW, what you are calling an overgrown unscaped tank looks like a nice natural looking tank to me.

 

BTW, what you are calling an overgrown unscaped tank looks like a nice natural looking tank to me.

You're too kind! Thank you. I am overall happy with how it's grown in naturalistically. The fish really enjoy it, and I'm surprised that when my acara wants to retreat from onlookers he has plenty of space to do so....

Though of course the pot is his favorite cave.

 

Yes I was going to say I really like the way your tank looks, very nice. May I ask what kind of light you have. Looks like it does very well with your plants and looking to get better light setup myself

 

Yes I was going to say I really like the way your tank looks, very nice. May I ask what kind of light you have. Looks like it does very well with your plants and looking to get better light setup myself

It’s one of those fancy fluval Bluetooth lights that I set to Bentley pascoe’s pro settings (cut by 25%). It’s on 3D printed risers. I like the light but if I did this over, I’d probably just get a finnex 24/7 programmable light and put it on risers. It’s on my other tanks and they grow plants just as well.

photo with less glare this morning!

 

Nice, thank you for the heads up on the finnex I will look into that. Say what is the big leafed plant all the way to the right? Like the looks of that. It's all new to me just starting to get into plants, really a fun addition to the hobby.

 

It’s a Taiwan Lily! So easy to grow, one of my faves!