African Cichlids

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


brentczech
 
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:04 pm

African Cichlids

by brentczech

Hello,
It seems there are many experts in here on African Cichlids. I think I am going to stock my tank with some.

I have a 55 gallon tank that is a new setup. Here are some of the cichlids I have been looking at. Any feedback would be great. I am thinking 5 or 6 fish tops plus a pleco.

Blood Red Jewel Cichlid
Clown Tilpia
Blue Peacock
Orange Zebra
Rep Top Hongi
Yellow Tail Acei
Chilumba
Compressed Cichlid
Lemon


I would like to know what fish will get along and I really dont want a over populated tank. Any info would be great.

I have had Jack Dempseys and Convicts in the past.

-Thanks

Brent Czech


miami754
 
Posts: 373
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:18 am

by miami754

All right - here goes

1) red jewel cichlid - cannot keep with any other fish as they will kill everything else during breeding. Really nasty during this time. I you go this route, then stick to a species tank.

2) Clown tilapia - I know nothing about this fish

3) blue peacock - I wasn't sure on this specific peacock species so I did some digging and it sounds like most other peacocks. Not very aggressive (relative to other cichlids) although it is somewhat aggressive toward its own species. Do not keep wih mbunas as they will get beaten up. Make good tankmates for most haps though.

4) Orange zebra - I assume you mean red zebra (even though they are orange, they are called red). These are mbunas and are pretty aggressive. They can take over a tank easily. I keep 1 male with 3 females and they do well with the demasoni and yellow labs. Do not keep with the peacocks or they will probably kill them.

5) Red Top Hongi - did not know too much about this guy so I looked some stuff up. They are from the same family as yellow labs and seem to have similar characteristics. They are mildy aggressive just like the lab and like all other mbunas, should not be kept with less aggressive species (aka peacocks).

6) Yellow Tail Acei - very nice fish, but can get aggressive. A nice group like I have with my red zebras (1 male and 3-4 females) would work.

7) Chilumba - don't know much about these guys, but I did look them up. If you like the black and blue vertical stripe look, but a fish that does not get to be 6-7", I would recommend demasoni. I have some and they are really great fish (although aggressive - keep in larger groups).

8) Compressed cichlid - fairly aggressive fish again and I have heard they can be quite fragile although I have never kept them myself so I cannot vouch for this. It is just what I have heard.

7) Lemon - supposed to be relatively peaceful, but I have heard numerous stories of these guys being very aggressive toward other species. I guess it just depends.

Overall, it looks like a nice list. There are some obvious compatibility issues, but other than that, they all seemed to be the right size. I would also suggest that you look at yellow labs and demasoni to see if you like them. I absolutely love my yellow labs.

If I were you, I would pick a family an go with it. For instance, do a mbuna tank or pick from the several species you have from Lake Tang. I know you don't want an overcrowded tank, but most these guys top out at 6". If you have 5-6 fish, you are actually quite understocked. I would at least recommend 9-10 fish. Just my opinion though.

Hopefully that helps a little.


brentczech
 
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:04 pm

by brentczech

Miami,

Thanks for the info. I have been doing a lot of reading to see exactly which fish Im going to go with.

Looks like most Cichilds have some aggression. Is it better to get one fish for 6 different kinds of 2 or 3 fish of the same kind?

Yellow labs look cool.

Brent


miami754
 
Posts: 373
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:18 am

by miami754

Yes, most African cichlids have aggression problems. I would definitely not recommend getting 6 different species with 1 of each kind. I wrote an article about cichlid aggression and controlling it in the article section of this site (click on the article tab at the top of the page and look in the freshwater section). It will walk you through how to mediate some of this aggression (although it will never totally go away). I recommend that you read it.

The most important thing is to get fish that are of the same aggressiveness and adult size. The next most important thing is the ratio of males to females of the same species. For example, I have 2 male yellow labs and 4 females. Now, the males chase the females around all day long and dance and shake to try and entice them to mate. If I only had 1 male and 1 female for instance, then that poor female would be running around for her life all day long and would eventually die. By combining multiple females per male, you ensure that the males have to spread their chasing out to multiple fish so it gives each female a chance to rest. Also, I have found that the males color up better if there is competition in the tank. If you have 2 males in the tank (for most species - some you cannot keep two males together in a 55 gallon) then you will get one that will be dominant and one that will be submissive. The dominant one will really color up to show his dominance.

Some species (such as the demasoni) are pretty much impossible to tell male and females apart (other than a process called venting). In these cases, it is usually recommended that you keep a minimum of 12 together so they spread their aggression around (although I have kept 8 together and they ended up fine).

So, in summary, with you size tank - I would pick 2-3 species and go for 4-5 fish per species if keeping 2 species and go with 3-4 fish per species if keeping 3 species. This of course can change depending on what exact species you pick, but I am just giving a general idea. If you decide which species you want, let me know and I can tell you how to tell males and females apart if it is possible for that particular species. That will be the most important thing.

Again, yellow labs are amazing. Two of my females are holding at the moment. The males dance for the females all day long and are really beautiful. Definitely recommend these guys. I also really like the contrast between them and the demasoni as it looks really nice in a tank, but that is just my personal opinion.

Let me know what else you need to know.


gumbii
 
Posts: 1695
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:31 am

by gumbii

i wouldn't waste a 55 as a species tank... i would just get two good colonies in that tank...


the clown tilapia i think you're talking about a clown afra (cytotilapia afra)... i love these guys, but they can take over the tank if it's just one guy... they are more aggressive than the red, or many other fish... but if you like them, i think they are the best looking and most rewarding fish in your list...

i would try to get 12 c. afra's and 15 yellow labs... but remember to get alot of hiding spaces and caves...

i know that sounds crazy... but that's the only way you could have c. afra's in a tank successfully... well alot of those fish... you might be able to have 4-5 yellows since they aren't that aggressive... but i wouldn't try it...

oh you said red top hongi..????? i love labidochromis sp. "hongi" (srt)... those are kind of hard to get... if you see them in a LFS i would pick as many up as possible... those look just like c. afra but they are a dwarf species... they stay around the same size of a p. damasoni...

get those guys... but make sure they are real lab. "hongi" and not small C. afra's... they look the same when they are small... but if you get those guys don't keep then with yellow labs... since they are both labidochromis species they could interbreed... well, if you want that get them to raise your spawn rate... but i don't believe in mixing species and getting mutts...

miami has it pretty much covered, but i'm just telling you what i would do...

i would stray away from peacocks... since they don't live in colonies like other mbunas they will terrorize the tank when they are looking for a mate and making thier nest... unless you have 2-3 females in the tank with them... and the females are ugly...

good luck and let us know what you decide to get...


shroudedeye
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 2:14 pm

by shroudedeye

may i suggest that you keep cichlids only from a certain part of africa together since they are all pretty aggressive. of course then theres the south american cichlids.


gumbii
 
Posts: 1695
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:31 am

by gumbii

shroudedeye...


i've had many cichlids from lake tanganyika with other species of fish... including discus...

i know the water params are different, but they are cichlids and can tollerate most water conditions...

i noticed that fish keeping is not about where they come from, but how they interact and adapt to one another... i have many inkfin calvus in different tanks... i have one in my planted tank with my bettas and some with a group of discus... i have some extinct to the wild lake victoria cichlids with my extinct in the wild south american cichlids and they both breed just fine...

everything works if you have enough space, hiding space and patience for the fish...

most of those fish he mentioned are from lake malawi... mbuna except for the peacock and the jewel... but i still like to have a peacock or two in other species tanks... since they aren't as aggressive as other africans... but need alot of space...


brentczech
 
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:04 pm

by brentczech

Well thanks for all the suggestions. This is what I think I'm going to do. I am going to get two plecos next week and put them in. A week later if all is well I am going to try to get the following

3 Demasoni
3-4 Yellow Lab
3 Red Zebras

I would like to start there. My local place (in Las Vegas) has all these fish about 2" in size for $7.00 each.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks again.

-Brent


miami754
 
Posts: 373
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:18 am

by miami754

I like the mixture of the species (I have the same species in my 58 gallon), but the numbers may be a problem.

Demasoni can very aggressive as they reach sexual maturity so keeping 3 is pretty risky. I don't think I would try it.

With the 3-4 yellow labs, I would go four and make sure you get 1 male and 3 females. If they mix up the sexing and you find out (you'll be able to tell from their aggressiveness and markings as they age) that you have two males, take one back and exchange it for a female.

3-4 red zebras is fine (what I have in terms of numbers as well), but you again need to make sure it is one male to 2-3 females.

I believe you said you had a 55 gallon. The demasoni stay a little smaller than the other two so if you decide you can't live without them, ditch one of the plecos (huge waste producers anyways - can I ask why you are keeping plecos - not being rude, but I just want to make sure it is because you like them and not because of algae reasons - there are far better fish than plecos for algae if that is your reason) and keept 6-7 demasoni. They say you can't keep less than 12, but I have kept 6-8 with little problem (other than the normal harmless aggression). With 3 demasoni, the strongest one will just pick off the other two and you will end up with 1 demasoni.

Let us know how it goes and welcome to the world of cichlids. It truly is a great deal of fun.


gumbii
 
Posts: 1695
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:31 am

by gumbii

i agree with miami... if you just want to get a couple of fish or fish in small numbers i wouldn't get the p. demasoni... my friend got 8 in his 55g tank and the males started killing eachother in a couple of months... i had 12 in my 60g and in no time i had a healthy breeding colony...

instead of the demasoni and red zebras get 5 yellow labs, and 5 sp. "hongi" SRT... that would be an awesome tank right there... both of them have the same temerment, and can live peacefully as one colony...

African Cichlids

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