Hmmm.. lets see... 55gal. Where u from? I'm guessing somewhere in the USA? (55gal... kinda hints.).

There are so many choices. To begin with, which locality of cichlids are u thinking? South America? Central America, African rift lakes (Malawi? Tanganyikan?), Asia or one of the many hybrid cichlids (Parrot fish, Flowerhorns etc)? I don't suggest you mix cichlids of various localities because their prefered water chemistry is very different.

I have a 55gal, 4ft tank which is heavily planted (4 flourescent light tubes, DIY CO2, laterite subsrate, soft water, acidic black water conditions). In there are Angels, Discus, Rams for cichlids. There's also a school of cardinal tetras, rummy nose tetras and penguin tetras. All fish from the same biotope.

Alternatively, a friend of mine has the same size tank and he as a show tank of lake malawi peacock cichlids (all the various Alunacara sp.). The water is hard (use coral chips as substrate and u will have perfect hard water for these cichlids), the decoration is lots or large rocks stacked on top of each other. No plants (as the fish will kill the plants with all the digging around in the gravel.). For this show tank, he only has males (as they're the the ones with the colour... all the females are a drab grey) and he has 15 fish in this tank.

A Tanganyikan setup would be again different...... There's Tropheus, Leptasoma, Ventralis........ the list can go on forever.

there's just so much to choose. What's ur preference?