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CLK, you are nuts, Firemouths ain't the best. You want 4 Keyhole Cichlids, 2 Featherfin Catfish and a pair of Rams.

or u could get a pair of FIREMOUTH cichlids in there

firemouths the best cichlid ever

good luck

6x2x2 - Firemouth and Oscar Tank
30+ royal pythons.

Back in the game after 4 years out ..

I say Midas/Red Devil

keep in mind, a jack dempsey would be fine its entire life in a 55 gallon whereas a red devil will eventually become cramped and would do better in a larger tank as it reaches adulthood unless you wind up with a female.

Jason

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I am leaning towards a Red Devil or a Jack Dempsey.

Steph

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I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

A Gold Severum is beautiful and has personality but quite peaceful IMO. They get 9 inches I think.

Mine was about 5 inches long when he died...I had him in my community tank and he didnt bother anyone.

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-06-13 12:40][/span]

My JDs are cool but they are quite shy if there arnt any other fish in the tank. Look at it from the fishes point of view if there arnt any other fish swimming around somthing has to be eating them so he wwill just stay in his cave where he feels safe. So i think it would be better to get somthing like a convict that doesn't get as big that you can keep sme other fish with.

should be ok in 55g gallon for 2 - 3 years maybe even 4. then you can either by a bigger tank or sell te oscar on.

I would recommend 75 gallons minimum for an oscar. the extra 6" width will be very beneficial to the oscar as it approaches 14-16", which they can easily do with proper diet, water quality and tank size..

Jason

can i keep an oscar in a 55??? Ive been pondering this for some time. I would nly keep one and that would be the only BIG fish in the tank i was thinking like some kind of clean up crew. any suggestions post um here.

it has got to be oscars if you are looking for personality.

oscars. You can get small oscars cheap and they grow up fast you cannot go wrong with one of them, or get a JD

Gold severums have lots of personality

$300 by mail!!!!! for flower horns, i dont think so. Maybe for large ones, but the fun in fish is watching them grow, i bought my flowerhorn for seven dollars. Granted he was only an inch or two, but he grew so fast. He outgrew my starter tank in a few months. I love flowerhorns, and i think that is the way to go

what about an oscar? i think u should get an oscar tons of personality and they will grow up fast

I say Severums because mine has an outstanding personality. It will swim up to the glass to look at me and it will do like tricks for me (swim in a circle, dart up then down, do a backflip underwater!!) it's so cool. My friend also has a gold Severum (most likely from the same spawn as mine) and whenever he puts his hand into the tank it will swim towards it and one time it ran onto his hand. Great fish!!

Flowerhorns can run you some bucks, $300 by mail.

Severums

I know Ive said before, but texas cichlids are stunning from the time they are half grown. They have all the desireable personality traits of an oscar, without getting as huge, and they are not AS messy either.

at 14"+ adult size, a black belt would outgrow a 55 gallon tank.

Jason

Oscars grow fast so only probably about a year...if that i think.

oscars will grow to about 13 inches within about 2-3 years but by getting the bigger tank by then your oscar will be very happy, by the way why don't you get a bigger tank if you saving for about 2 years i mean put osme money away now and in 2 years time u can by a 150 gallon and maybe stock a few more... good luck, 55 gallon is big enough but only just reccommended to be biggger!

I was under the impression that the difference between a 55 and a 75 was only the width and height of the tank.
If possible, I would suggest starting with a 75, if the price difference isnt that much.

the difference between the 55 and the 75 is the 75 is wider. and if it means anything the 75 gallons glass is thicker too

Can i ask why blue acars havn't been mentioned??

Mine is great fun, really pretty and with a 55g you could have a male and female pair and/or some other fish as well I have mine in a 65g (4x18x18) and it has plenty of room

they get 6" btw

I know that oscars grow really fast, but once they mature, growth slows down

I THINK YOU SHOULD GET RED DEVIL BIG PERSONALITY MINE EVEN EATS FROM MY HANDS GREAT PET

i trained my oscar to jump through a hoop, hes so cooleverytime he can see me at the freezer he circles the tank like a physco

Red devils and oscars are great fish but they should really be kept in at least a 75 gallon as they reach their full grown sizes of 14"+.

C. salvini, H. carpintis, P. loisellei, P. friedrichsthalli, Jack dempsey, green terror, G. brasiliensis, and any thorichthys, archocentrus or cryptoheros would be much better suited for a 55. granted some of these fish will hit 12" and would be pushing it, but would be better than a 14" or 16" fish. these fish will also show just as much personality as oscars and red devils.

Jason

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I'm going to to go with a Jack Dempsey...a blue one if I can find it without spending a fortune.

Steph

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I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

The blue ones are realy nice

I know these are African fish, but how about a Jewel cichlid?

they are'nt very big they are only 4"s !

my flowerhorn is about 16cm and i was surprised when i see him right next to the other guys not doin anithing
but im sure mine is just a one off, because i left him in a section of the tank in a clear divider because origenally attacking my other fish. and for some reason my frontosa like to school with him . im told that that is weird by my lfs. my tangarine zebras like to avoid him though.


thanks

The blue ones are realy nice

I know these are African fish, but how about a Jewel cichlid?

they are'nt very big they are only 4"s !

I would like to set up a tank at work (55 gal would be the largest I can get away with) and the only requirements for the fish is that it have LOTS of personality, on the large side and it needs to be central/south american because of the water I have here (soft with low GH). I really want an Oscar but I know that a 55 gal may not be quite big enough for it. Any suggestions??

Steph

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I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

a flowerhorn

iv got one & hes really cool but cant mix with anything else tho coz everything else will get beaten up really badly.

they dont get as large as oscars..most of them dont anyways. but then again i think they probably could eventho the largest iv seen was 12inches.

i hear JD have a very nice personality. not sure on the actualy full size of these guys.

You will be amazed at how a plain jack dempsey juvenile will grow into a beautiful fish that comes to the glass when it sees you. You won't be disappointed.

Texas cichlids. Some sites differ on the max size, so do a little checking on your own, but I think 12 inches is about max. Mine now is about 7 inches. Probably only one would go well in a 55. Mine is absolutely beautiful, it is one of the prettiest fish I have ever kept in all my years as a fishkeeper. They have a doglike personality, similar to oscars. It looks jeweled. As a baby it was pretty, but when it hit 4-5 inches it became stunning. It has long flowing tips on its fins, and like many cichlids, it has some color changing ability.

And for sheer personality, it is hard to beat good ole convicts. A pair is very fun, and you will have fry in no time. You could have some other fast fish in with the convicts. They are very pretty fish as adults.

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-06-11 11:00][/span]

convicts, carpintis, and jack dempseys are all good choices. I'd stay away from oscars and flowerhorns just because they get very big. both fish can reach 16" or so.

other fish that reach ~10-12" would include H. cyanoguttatus (the real texas), green terrors, P. loisellei, P. friedrichsthalli, G. brasiliensis and most severums.

other good choices if you can find them would be N. bartoni, T. wesseli (will probably be very hard to find), N. salvini or any Thorichthys or Cryptoheros species though these won't get much over 6" ea.

Jason

Jack Demseys...I raised one for 5 years and it turned out to be a terrific pet... It recognized me in the room...fed from hand, learned tricks, personality plus...super intelligent..

The cichlids I have heard people say they have personalities are all of the bigger ones and Jack Dempseys, Red Devils and Oscars. I only keep small Cichlids because I prefer oddballs so my bigger tanks are oddballs.

i have a flowerhorn thats in a 55g tank and hes doin well. mine was recently in a divided section of my tank because he was being badand killed my little oscar.but now that ive taken the divider out, hes doing well and being nice to our other fish, ive mixed him with african cichlids.if u kan get a firemouth with it they will mix.


p.s flowerhorns are great fish]

how big is your flowerhorn jez 69? they will not show their true aggression/personality until they hit somewhere around ~6-8". this is when they reach maturity. most flowerhorn owners advise them to be kept on their own in anything under a 180 gallon tank as when they get closer to adulthood they become very nasty the bigger they get.

Jason

what you really want is a nice male parrot fish they grow really big and really buetiful with lots of personality or get a black-belt

jez our tanks are both 60 gallons not 55 gallons and you kno frontosa get big real big.

Get a green terror !

The Amazon Nut...

cioll don i know when dey get bigger im gunna get dem their own tank

My JDs are cool but they are quite shy if there arnt any other fish in the tank. Look at it from the fishes point of view if there arnt any other fish swimming around somthing has to be eating them so he wwill just stay in his cave where he feels safe. So i think it would be better to get somthing like a convict that doesn't get as big that you can keep sme other fish with.

A Gold Severum is beautiful and has personality but quite peaceful IMO. They get 9 inches I think.

Mine was about 5 inches long when he died...I had him in my community tank and he didnt bother anyone.

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-06-13 12:40][/span]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I am leaning towards a Red Devil or a Jack Dempsey.

Steph

---

I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

keep in mind, a jack dempsey would be fine its entire life in a 55 gallon whereas a red devil will eventually become cramped and would do better in a larger tank as it reaches adulthood unless you wind up with a female.

Jason

I say Midas/Red Devil

or u could get a pair of FIREMOUTH cichlids in there

firemouths the best cichlid ever

good luck

6x2x2 - Firemouth and Oscar Tank
30+ royal pythons.

Back in the game after 4 years out ..

CLK, you are nuts, Firemouths ain't the best. You want 4 Keyhole Cichlids, 2 Featherfin Catfish and a pair of Rams.

u want a cichlid with a big personality then u dont want a 4in keyhole cichlids do yah?


get a pair of firemouths and u wont regret it


6x2x2 - Firemouth and Oscar Tank
30+ royal pythons.

Back in the game after 4 years out ..

All cichlids have great personalits, exept rams! i dont like them. i still say convict