50 Gallon Tank Buying new fish

Hello all! I have a 50 gallon tank consisting of 1 red zebra cichlid, 2 tinfoil barbs, 2 silver dollars, 1 tiger barb. It has been nearly 2 months now that they are together now and they seem to be doing pretty good as a community. The only exception is my cichlid, he's the tank boss. He is so territorial and being the only that kind of fish, he takes advantage of that a lot. He digs whenever he likes and has rearranged the gravels according to how he wants. Currently hes has claimed two places to be his own - one under a home decor and another below the filter. He also does rounds throughout the tank like a security and checks out all the areas as if he owns them. Currently he's not aggressive though he just chases off the fishes when they get near his home. But no attacking and biting and that's a relief for me.

So I was thinking of adding two new fishes to the tank and I'm left completely confused as to what should I get. I would love to add some cichlids as they would be colourful and also the behaviour would be fun to observe. But given the behaviour of my cichlid in the tank, I'm really scared as to how will he react to his same kind and will he accept them without bullying. I don't want to have bullying in the tank and I have already lost many poor fishes due to that. Last time I did a mistake of adding the same species of cichlids without knowing that the same ones tend to fight a lot. That did happen they constantly fought and got into diseases and it disrupted the whole tank's peace. What is left of them is the one I have now so I'm also afraid if new cichlids would bring his aggressive character out again. Also the mistake was on me that time as I have only decor for hiding that could house only one fish. So I will have to add more decors if I'm getting cichlids. If cichlids, I was thinking of getting peaceful cichlids like the yellow labs and firemouth. Will that work out? I really need the help of a cichlid expert here as my experience with cichlids has been bad. If not cichlids, I was thinking of getting mono angelfish(I read that they also tend to nip if they are male and grown). I'm okay with any fish that would mind their own business and doesn't disrupt the current peacefulness of the tank that I have established after so many failures. I can't afford for another outbreak that's really sad. So please suggest me some interesting fishes. Thanks in advance

 

I think its highly likely that your red zebra will not welcome any new cichlid with welcome fins, so to speak. Being african, they can be very territorial and usually you overstock as juveniles so they can’t establish their territories and theres a level of peace in the tank. Its had things its own way so probably wont take too kindly to a new competitor.

the tinfoil barbs grow wayyyyy to big for your tank, so unless you plan on upgrading your tank soon id look at rehoming them. monos are brackish/marine too so wont be suitable for your tank either.

id look at adding some more tiger barbs though - they prefer to be kept in higher numbers.

 

I think its highly likely that your red zebra will not welcome any new cichlid with welcome fins, so to speak. Being african, they can be very territorial and usually you overstock as juveniles so they can’t establish their territories and theres a level of peace in the tank. Its had things its own way so probably wont take too kindly to a new competitor.

the tinfoil barbs grow wayyyyy to big for your tank, so unless you plan on upgrading your tank soon id look at rehoming them. monos are brackish/marine too so wont be suitable for your tank either.

id look at adding some more tiger barbs though - they prefer to be kept in higher numbers.

I agree with you. I don't think he will tolerate new cichlids messing with his territory. What I was thinking was if I get peaceful cichlids that don't aggressively create and defend territories and just swim around like the other fishes right now, the zebra wouldn't mind them right? Are all cichlids territorial or aggressive?

Regarding the tiger barbs I had two of them at first and because of that one kept chasing the other and it died eventually. I thought of getting a school of tiger barbs for him but he seems to love loneliness as he is cool roaming around and has never shown aggression or nipping after that. So I thought better not to introduce new tiger barbs and create dispute between them again.

Regarding mono angelfish why I thought of getting them is that actually my tank water is a bit brackish as I use bore water and I also add a little rock salt during water changes. So I thought it would suit the grown mono angelfishes

 

I agree with you. I don't think he will tolerate new cichlids messing with his territory. What I was thinking was if I get peaceful cichlids that don't aggressively create and defend territories and just swim around like the other fishes right now, the zebra wouldn't mind them right? Are all cichlids territorial or aggressive?

Regarding the tiger barbs I had two of them at first and because of that one kept chasing the other and it died eventually. I thought of getting a school of tiger barbs for him but he seems to love loneliness as he is cool roaming around and has never shown aggression or nipping after that. So I thought better not to introduce new tiger barbs and create dispute between them again.

Regarding mono angelfish why I thought of getting them is that actually my tank water is a bit brackish as I use bore water and I also add a little rock salt during water changes. So I thought it would suit the grown mono angelfishes

Cichlids are cichlids really - they like their own territories and space. Adding a peaceful one would just mean it was a target for your red zebra, who probably now thinks the entire tank is his. If you want relative peace, I’d rehome the zebra and go for something a bit more docile.

the tiger barb pair that you had acted that way as they are active amongst themselves - having higher numbers allows them to spread the activity amongst the group rather than on one particular fish.

the fish you have now are all freshwater, so wont do well in brackish.

 

The Red Zebra is one of the more aggressive Mbuna. I've kept them in the past & learned that their aggression increases upon maturity.
I currently keep the smaller Tinfoil Barb "Altus" variety. They top out at eight inches. The standard Tinfoil grows to twelve (+) inches. Tinfoils are fun to keep, but either variety will quickly outgrow a 50 gal. tank.
Monos, grow really big too & are more suited for a marine tank.
Maybe your best move would be to start a Tiger Barb & Loach tank.
A group of four Firemouths could coexist in a 50 gal. & likely not bother tankmates too big to eat.