Cichlid compatibility?
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What exactly is a fairy lamp?
Can cichlids from seperate continents be compatible? (ie. Oscars and africans?)
Whats minimum tank size for brichardi? I want some.
Are angels as ready-to-breed as ive heard?
How does aquarium salt affect africans, if at all?
Do various sub-species of "assorted" africans breed?
If so, how do you tell males from females?
Do pecking orders change without someone getting pregnant in an african tank?
I think thats all
What exactly is a fairy lamp?
Can cichlids from seperate continents be compatible? (ie. Oscars and africans?)
Whats minimum tank size for brichardi? I want some.
Are angels as ready-to-breed as ive heard?
How does aquarium salt affect africans, if at all?
Do various sub-species of "assorted" africans breed?
If so, how do you tell males from females?
Do pecking orders change without someone getting pregnant in an african tank?
I think thats all
fairy lamps, are fairy lamprologus, another name for brichardi, it is not good to mix continents for many reasons, main ones being opposite water parameters, south americans like soft acidic water where as rift lake cichlids like hard alkaline water, also south americans get larger and more agressive then most african rift lake cichlids, new worlds generally need a high protein diet where mbunas tropheus and goby cichlids need a diet of mainly algae, i wouldnt mix anything with the brichardi, id say keep them alone in the tank they will do better in a species only tank, hm min tank size id say 29-30 gal, i use a mix of 1 tble spn instant ocean, 1 tspn baking soda, 1 tsp epsom salts per 5 gallons to raise gH, kH, and PH to good levels for africans, if your city water is not hard enough and has a pH under 7.8-8 you may want to think about doing it (for brichardi, for malawi cichlids can be 7.5< but lake tanganyika is harder), yes assorted africans will breed with each other, often very easily, esiest way to sex is to research the species you have and see waht the differences are in the sexes, pecking orders will usually change if something in the tank has been changed like new rocks or rocks taken out or new fish, in my experience pecking oder has not changed when a female has been holding
i once again agree with almost all of what soulfish said .
i used to be a "lake-purist" and even told others not to mix the lakes, or continents b/c of the different water parameters, temps, aggressiveness of the fish, etc.
after having a tanganyika set-up i have since changed my mind about this .
it is hard (nearly impossible) to mix fish from this lake in a community set-up IME. the leleupi attacked my shellies, the cylindricus attacked my julis, the brichardi.....well you know how they are . this was the biggest headache i EVER had during my time as a hobbyist.
mixing large central americans is not much easier either.
so now is say....mix em if it works!
since most all cichlids in the hobby now are captive reared for multiple generations they are well-adapted to different water parameters, so this really isnt a very valid arguement IMO.
once a purist....i now have a 125 with:
1 Tiger Oscar (SA)
1 GT (SA)
1 Nimbochromis fuscotaeniatus (malawi)
2 Dimidiochromis compressicepsd (malawi)
believe it or not, i have NO aggression problems compared to what i had in previous tanks.
as long as YOU like your tank, i dont think it really matters.
M
.i used to be a "lake-purist" and even told others not to mix the lakes, or continents b/c of the different water parameters, temps, aggressiveness of the fish, etc.
after having a tanganyika set-up i have since changed my mind about this
.it is hard (nearly impossible) to mix fish from this lake in a community set-up IME. the leleupi attacked my shellies, the cylindricus attacked my julis, the brichardi.....well you know how they are
. this was the biggest headache i EVER had during my time as a hobbyist.mixing large central americans is not much easier either.
so now is say....mix em if it works!
since most all cichlids in the hobby now are captive reared for multiple generations they are well-adapted to different water parameters, so this really isnt a very valid arguement IMO.
once a purist....i now have a 125 with:
1 Tiger Oscar (SA)
1 GT (SA)
1 Nimbochromis fuscotaeniatus (malawi)
2 Dimidiochromis compressicepsd (malawi)
believe it or not, i have NO aggression problems compared to what i had in previous tanks.
as long as YOU like your tank, i dont think it really matters.
M