55 gallon cichlid tank

Question
QUESTION: hello my name is steven and i have a 55 gallon tank with a midas/red devil,2 convicts, green terror, and a jack Dempsey. the midas is the biggest at 4 inches. and the jack dempsey is the smallest at 2 inches.. i was thinking of added something... what can i add? will a firemouth be ok here as long as i get i around 2-3 inches?

ANSWER: As with any fish in the cichlid family you just never can tell.  You don't have a lot of fish, but they are all different sizes.  Yet, they are not all still in their juvenile stage.  They however, as they grow up even further things can change.  As they grow they will expand their territories, and aggressive tendencies may grow with their size.  Some people succeed in keeping a group of cichlids like this, but be sure you have plenty of nooks, crannies, caves, plants, or the like to break up the likelihood that the same two keep running into each other once they've made enemies of each other. It's also a good idea to add 2 instead of one, because your current inhabitants will be more likely to focus in on one newcomer than if they split the focus between two newcomers.


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QUESTION: so two firemouths? do you think i have enough room in the tank?

ANSWER: Yes, you will have enough room physically, this of course doesn't necessarily mean territorially.   Best thing to do will be remove all ornaments (a perfect time to do some "spring cleaning") then replace them in different spots than they were originally, this doesn't have to be a drastic change, you just want it to break up the most dominant fishes territories so that when you add the new fish, everyone can establish a territory, and the new guys aren't isolated to a corner of the tank. Adding some new ornaments or plants can also help.

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QUESTION: that sounds like to much work plus i really wantedto buy new decorations befor i change it around... and i really am worried about over populating my tank if i do the one inch per gallon i will pass it with two firemouths. i was just planing to get just one more fish to complete my tank... and ill get it the same size as the midas if not a bit smaller... that way it can at least fight back if they try to pick on him. it doesnt have to be a firemouth do you have any ideas of what i can add? besides a firemouth or something i already have...

Answer
The things I mentioned are not set in stone, they are just there to give you the best ways to prevent any conflict, and make transition go smoothly.  You may add just a single firemouth and everyone get along fine, but it is harder in an established tank with established territories.  You asked about other choices, these may not be readily avail. to you locally, but are some different fish you may not have heard of:  Oscars (not the prettiest but an obvious S. American), Port or Black Acara, Chocolate Cichlid, Festivum (flag cichlid), Pearl Cichlid (mother of pearl cichlid), Cupid Cichlid (my fav), or Red hump Eartheater cichlid (very unique)