Stocking Advice

13 posts • Page 1 of 2

Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


Cross6236
 
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri May 30, 2008 8:22 am

Stocking Advice

by Cross6236

Hello all. first I want to thank all that post here. It has been a great help.
Currenty I have a 55 gal w/2 Blue Dolphin. 2 Giraffe, 1 Blue Johanni and 1 Pleco.
I really don't trust my LSF because thier more on the saltwater kick than freshwater.
I know the Dolphins and Giraffes are going to out grow the tank. I was told that they grow slow, so whould have plenty of time to get a bigger tank. what else could i put in? I don't want to over stock.


dizzcat
 
Posts: 648
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am

by dizzcat

Are you wanting an African tank?
By giraffe do you mean an Nimbochromis venustus?
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1160

And by Blue Dolphin do you mean a Cyrtocara moorii?
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1061

These are both Maliwai Haps. They will get up to a foot big. You Johani is a Mbuna and is going to get extremely aggressive! They are one of the most aggressive.

What you need to decide is weather you want a hap tank or Mbuna tank. I think haps get too big for that size tank, but you can do a nice setup of Mbunas in there.


Cross6236
 
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri May 30, 2008 8:22 am

by Cross6236

Well Dizz that's a good question! I thought Maliwai was African, but failed to realize there were sub-groups. I really don't want fish that this tank can't handle.
So with that being said i should go with Mbunas.I called my LFS and they agreed to take the Nimbochromis venustus and Cyrtocara moorii back for exchange on other fish.Should I return the Johanni also? They said he wouldn't be to aggressive if he's the only male. I think he's a male.there's a pic on my profile.

Here are some of the Mbunas that i know most stores have.
Cobalt Zebra (Metriaclima callainos)
Acei (Pseudotropheus sp)
Yellow Lab, Electric Yellow (Labidochromis caeruleus)
Kenyi (Metriaclima lombardoi)

Do you see any problems with these?


dizzcat
 
Posts: 648
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am

by dizzcat

I think a nice group of the Colbalt, Acei and Labs would work great. I would avoid the Kenyi, because they are highly aggressive and not a good beginner Mbuna. I got a couple females when first setting up my tank. I had 4 yellow labs in there and took the Kenyi back 2 days latter because they started ripping my labs apart! And these guys were only 2"!

Your best bet is to set up groups of these. 1 male to 3-4 females. It will be hard to tell while they are young, but as they grow it becomes obvious by behavior who the male is. Fights will happen with more than one male. Not so bad with Acei and Labs tho.

A male Lab will have strong black in his underside fins and maybe some in his face. A female will have a black dorsal and some black in the underside fins, but not as strongly. Most people say that male Labs are never very dominant, but mine is the most dominant male in the tank, even tho I have 4 other males bigger than him!

Male Acei are very hard to tell. They will have more blue/purple in the dorsal, where a female will have an almost pure yellow dorsal. This does not become apparent until they are at least 4". They are hard to tell apart. I started with 4 and ended up with all females. Going by egg spots and behavior I just knew one was a male, until I found her holding infertile eggs one day. All my females have at least 4 egg spots, so you cannot go by that.

From the Colbalt profile, it says the male will be almost fluorescent blue with some eggspots on the anal fin and females are greyish blue. I have never had these so can't tell you.

As for your Johanni, it just depends on the individual fish. If this one is blue then yes, its a male. Females are a gold color. I have a single Demasoni in my tank and he gets along great, but if I added more all hell would break out! Demasoni are a very aggressive fish too. I would say, just keep an eye out and if he stays mellow because he has no females you might just get away with a single one. If you added females he would become a terror in the tank.

The main key to a working Mbuna tank is to overcrowd them, so the territories overlap and to keep your groups as different as possible. An example is 2 males of totally different species, yet both are blue with dark stripes, like a Demasoni and another fish that is blue with stripes, like maybe a Johanni. If too males look similar they will fight each other. If females look similar in two different groups you risk them mating with the wrong male, causing hybrids that no one would want.

You should also add more rock to your tank, giving them more caves to hide in. It gives the females a place to hide when a male wants to mate and they don't. A single female will be harrassed very bad by the male, that is why you need groups of females.
Good luck!


WCAfishboy
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 2:54 am

by WCAfishboy

Wow lots of great input there. Here is my advice.

Definately get the Demasoni! They are amazing little guys. First they don't grow to large, so you won't have these massive cichlids in five years! Second, i think they are one of the most color cichlids. The blue and black is amazing! I have several now in a smaller tank, 30 gal, waiting for them to grow up so they can be put in one of my 55 gal tanks!

Second is, and this is solely my opinion, don't get Acei. When I first set up my 70 gallon tank I went out and bought a lot of the first cichlids I could find. I just was excited and wanted the popular species. After a few months I realized that there are SOO many more species that, in my opinion, are much more fun to keep than species like kenyi, zebras, Acei. I know I'm probably insulting a lot of people by saying that.

If you are trying to stay mainly Malawi maybe some peacocks would be ok. I know Mbuna are extremely aggressive, but I have found that some of the larger peacocks can handle themselves very well.

I do agree wtih yellow labs. I have an adult that is full grown, big nice sized male, and he is one of my favorite fish. I'm going to try and get some pictures up soon!

Finally one point about the Zebras. I bought a few red zebras and cobalt zebras in the beginning. I have owned almost every "popular cichlid (frontosa, peacocks, tropheus, cylindricus, daffodil, birchardi, calvus, arautas, julies, labs etc.)
And with the exception of the Orange Scribbles, the Zebras were absolute DEMONS! I sold all of mine to a very reputable Cichlid store by my house. The owner said the biggest mistake people make is buying Zebras. He rarely sells them because they are so popular, but he thinks one of the most aggressive. And I would have to agree.
Just my input!


dizzcat
 
Posts: 648
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am

by dizzcat

Its funny how everyone has a totally different experience! :-)

My Zebras are some of the most mellow fish in my tank! I have a male and 3 females. My male only harasses the females, and the females leave everyone else alone. :-) My male is full grown and backs down to the other males in the tank.

I love my Acei because they school. Every time you look over at my tank you see a group of 4 big Acei cursing back and forth together instead of hanging around one spot.

As for Demasoni, you forgot to mention that you get either 1 or 12. Any fewer than 12 and you will end up with 1 in the end. The dominant one will kill the others off. So you need a big group to spread out the aggression.

I know there are a huge variety of Mbuna and I would love to have some of the different ones. But sometimes they are just not accessible. I have to go with what I find locally because my budget does not allow for the high cost of shipping fish from buying online.


WCAfishboy
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 2:54 am

by WCAfishboy

Haha that is crazy dizzcat. I can't tell you how TERRIBLE my Red Zebras were. In emergency I had to take them out and temporarily house them with some South Americans. I know terrible Idea i jsut had on choice they were killing everything. And the Zebras took out teh GREEN TERRORS! Suppossedly the most aggressive Cichlid ever. Hahah

I have 4 Demasoni and they are doing fine. But I definately could see how the 1 or 12 rule applies. Actually I think I'm just really lucky they get along so well. I took a risk in doing it and some how got out lucky.

I only had one Acei, I never thought about the schooling. I still have him, but he was getting chased so much he is in with my smaller fish in the 30 gal tank. He is dominate in there though. Eventually I would like to get him moved up into a 55 or 70, but he is just such a sweety. But thanks for the schooling tip! I would like to try that!

I think I get a little spoiled about different species because there is a MASSIVE cichlid store down the street from my house.

Again I hope I didn't inuslt any bodies fish. It was just my experience. I'm a little partial to Tanganyika these days, mostly because of my discovery of the Tropheus!


dizzcat
 
Posts: 648
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am

by dizzcat

Acei are pretty mellow fish. They are also one of the only schooling African Mbuna too. I love the dark purple and yellow contrast to the rest of my fish. When you watch them its like they are playing follow the leader :-)

I envy you! There are only 2 stores here that sell quality Africans and their supply is fairly limited. I was able to get a small SRT Hongi last month tho. Have always wanted one. He's a small guy still at under 2". He will be a single male because I have never seen them in the stores and they had no females.

You did luck out with your Dems! I only have one but have heard so many stories of people starting out with a big group only to have one left in the end.

Tropheus are beautiful! I definitely would set up a group if I had the room. But, only enough space for my Africans and my planted community tank with my Bolivian Rams.


Cross6236
 
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri May 30, 2008 8:22 am

by Cross6236

Well thanks guys for input. I've learned alot already. Here's what i think i'm going go with.

1. Yellow Lab, Electric Yellow (Labidochromis caeruleus)
2. it''s a toss up between the Acei or the Zebras leaning more toward Acei
3. Rusties (Iodotropheus sprengerae)

I've heard alot of good things about Rusties and there a peaceful fish from what there profile says. I plan to get four of each kind, hopefully the right ratio male/female.
From what i've been told I should start adding the peaceful fish first then the more Aggressive. Is the correct? Also I'm going to try An keep the Blue Johanni for now and see if he works out.


dizzcat
 
Posts: 648
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am

by dizzcat

As long as your tank is sufficiently cycled and the fish are fairly small you should be able to add them all at the same time. The Labs, Acei and Rusties all have the same level of aggressiveness. If you decide on the Zebras, put the others in first then add them about a month later. Just be sure your bio-load is mature enough to handle that many new ones at once.

I would also suggest a little more rock in there. You may have trouble with males taking them over and the females having no place to hide.

Stocking Advice

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