in every post it is wise to state what kind of fish you are talking about so people dont get confused
now i read your post below, is this an african cichlid? do you know the proper name?
africans should be kept in groups, even though they will fight its just the way they are. hes not being stimulated mentally so hes taking it out on himself with his own reflection.
is this tank properly set up? with the ph and alkalinity being high? they need plenty of rock work not plants. and heavens no dont keep your tank lights off at all, there has to be a balance of night and day. you are going to have a die off with no light balance
the rocks for african cichlids need to be placed from the bottom right to the top of the tank with plenty of caves.
he needs plenty more of his own species but at this size it will be an expense. from what ive read in your past posts it does not appear that you have the skill to take care of african cichlids. i would ask a few petshops to see if they can take him off your hands. generally they live 10 years easy, but alone in a tank not properly setup i doubt he will make it another year
and no 48g is too small for 6 goldfish, the rule of thumb for goldfish is 30 gallons for every goldfish, they get big and create a large bio load.
if this is not an african cichlid you are talking about then please accept my appologies and please state in every post the exact name of the fish you are talking about. people just cant guess here

A 48G should be good enough for a few cichlids (I I remember correctly it is a malawi, but cant remember if it is a mnuba or non-mnuba. The non-mnuba dont require as much rockwok and caves, they swim more in the open parts of Lake Malawi, however your water parameters should be as Vader suggested a higher pH, KH and GH. Plants for Goldfish and Malawi's are difficult, they are both ravinous herbivores and will most likely eat your plants or "relocate" them. Not impossible to have a plantted goldish or Malawi setup but plant selection should be tougher leaved plants like Java or African ferns and the like. Also, with the pH that Malawis require for longevity plants are even more difficult, vallisinerra is a good one for that situation. Try joining the cichlid-forum (link is below) or just browse their articles or set up. You can get some excellent advise for mates for your cichlid. Agreesion is common with africans but can be "somewhat" avoided by stocking the correct male to female ratio per species, per tank size and species type. As far as reflective glass backing the glass will make it more relective, like a mirror.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cichlid forum

african cichlid tanks are usually grossly over stocked, it is the only way to prevent deaths from a fish singling out and harrassing another fish to death. rocks and caves are a retreat regardless if its an mbuna or not.
having pairs only will most likely trigger breeding which in return will turn the pair even more aggressive.
stocking a 48 gallon will be no problem its a decent sized tank....but just not big enough for 6 goldfish lol

The name he gives for the cichlid is here.

Here is a link that might be useful: original post

Agree with Vader about the goldies, maybe 2 in the 30G and 4 in the 48G. The link below explains set up differencesof Mnuba and non-Mnuba. I did not state "No Rocks and caves", I meant not as many. The non-Mnuba just need a little more open space because of speed. Too much rockwork may cause more lumps on the noggin. They tend to sprint when chased, then maybe hide. Anyway your "Msobo"(metriaclima sp., god I hate the latin stuff) is a Mnuba, so rocks and caves galore. I think the idea of the "overstock" is so no caves can be claimed so territorial agression is not as much of a factor. If you "overstock" a large sump trickle filter could do the trick to keep water parameters in check. That is something deffinately not for a beginer. If you are not interested in keeping the cichlid anymore I'm sure a petshop will take it off your hands as a "donation", especially a larger one, may even get some $$$ for it when it heals.

Here is a link that might be useful: set up dierences mnuba-non mnuba

yes woeisme i agree with you, i think this person should give this fish away. ive had african cichlids for five years and they need constant water checks and cleaning just to keep their water in excellent condition.
i need to spell check you woeisme its MBUNA i dont want to confuse this person hehe.
goldfish too are no easy task. i would get some nice easy care fish for the 48g, its a nice size. a nice mixed community of tetras, barbs and even angel fish would look beautiful, and although they need care just as any other fish, but its much much easier than africans :O)

Wpoohs, LOL my miskate. Don't get me wrong. I am not discouraging the cichlids but I get the feel that dnordstr is not happy with the this fish only because its not suitible as a "community" fish. I could be wrong. It is not a bad thing to trade it in if it doesn't suit you. Better to be happy with the type of set-up you want. I cared for 2 cichlid aquariums for a freind for 1 1/2 years a while back. Well I shared the chore with his sister. The only part that was a PITA was buffering the water for PWC's. The home I live in now has perfect tap water, well water but it has to be aerated before PWC (tons of CO2). Vader what are your experiences with "mixing" peacocks with Mbuna?

you can pretty much mix all african cichids together, just check on adult size as you dont want to throw in a 12" Nimbochromis livingstoni which may kill mbuna's etc. but in a very large tank (100g +) this can be done but with caution.
ive mixed peacocks with mbuna's and they were fine, when i say fine i mean no one was killed, but many many fights broke out. occasionally i had to rescue a certain fish before it was killed. mbuna's i found werent that aggressive it was the Melanochromis johanni that terrorized the tank, and he was not very big only about 5", but he was like a speeding bullet and never tired. unfortunetly i grew tired lol and traded in all my african cichlids after 5 years for a few juvi central american cichlids. i enjoy these better, they are very aggressive but they have more "dog like" personalities compared to africans.
i just purchased an electric blue jack dempsey, the color on this fish is amazing, and he is quite a sweet heart :O)...to me not the the other fish lol

i used plenty of crushed coral in my african cichlid tank, it really helps keep the ph high and stable, dolomite gravel is also used and pretty good, it only last about a few years though before it has to be changed, after a while its ph rising capabilities just dwindle

My rockwork will consist mostly of an impure limestone that has dolomite( or vice versa) sometimes refered to as dolostone. 125G with most likely calicte sand for substrate ( I ordered 8 bags of grey coast calicite but am not sure if I want to use it, having 2nd thoughts, hmmmmm, sigh). I will use some crushed coral as media in a DIY wet'dry with a minimum 30G sump area. I most likely will stock with Mnubas, damnit I meant Mbuna's LOL. If I ever find a "Ruby Red" peacock I may have to add it in with them. That is if I deside to go mbuna's and not peacocks, if I could ever deside on substrate color. Anyway with my well water (aerated) and the substrate (if not the calicite, aragonite) rockwork and coral media pH buffer shouldn't be an issue. If all else fails baking soda and epsom salts LOL.

i used to use african cichlid salt. i dont remember what it does though lol
you can pack in alot of cichlids in that tank. even some of the larger ones will be fine and look stunning next to the smaller peacocks and mbunas.
when i started out i added about a dozen mixed varieties all at once (all one inch fish) then later on i would add a few more all keeping them small. they didnt start to get really aggressive until they were about 4"+
my 55 gallon will be empty by the summer, your giving me that mbuna feeling again lol
the ones i love are, gee i hope i remember the name, pseudo lamborgini (?) the ones with the cute over hang lip??
if i ever wanted to kiss a fish it would be that one lol they are just adorable!

i found the proper name, i was way off but i knew there was an L in it lol
Labeotropheus trewavasae the funny lipped lil dude

The "cichlid salts" are trace elements found in the rift lakes. They are supposed to help with colration and disease resistance in rift lake fish. I think I will stick to the mbuna's. Thank you for pointing the Lab. Trewavasae out. I looked it up on a pretty cool site I found recently that has tons of pics. Its coloration is very unique, along with the Jimmy Durante nose, it is cool. If I can find one I may put that on the list, along with the many others.

Hi,

Our Jack Dempsey doesn't fight so much at his reflection, as he just thinks he has another fish in the tank that doesn't bite back! His colors are greys/blues/black rainbowish with fluorescent orange on his back,tale and underside and dark spots on his sides. He's beautiful. He interacts with all six family members differently. He plays best with my husband. He jumps in the water and swims sideways in our 55 gal. tank making a lot of splashes. When he wanted attention he'd flick the thermometer around until he broke it and I had to remove it. He'd even flick his tale with a splash for attention. Jack loves playing a peek-a-boo around the corner with my hubby.

He loves playing with the 5x5 plexiglass mirror on the outside front and the 5x10 one on the side of the tank. He doesn't get angry. I just think he likes looking at himself and makes faces!!! Funny.

Recently we placed a female(Jill was a white color with pinkish color and then it changed when she met Jack) in the tank and she is beating the crap out of Jack. His fins are split. She's ripped his scales out and stays at the top left hand corner by the heater. His mouth looks sore from liplocking. Her top lip has a small bruise looking scab. I'm not sure what type of Jack Dempsey either of them are. They were fine at first doing their ballet dance. Something changed then. No caves just gravel, fluval 2 system. Pickle bucket water change at least 1x a week. Only had the female 1 week. Presently separated the 2 by plastic canvas. Any other advice? Please. Living in the Yukon Territory CANADA