do these cichlids seem good for my 80 Gal?

[fI$H_fAcE]

well so far i have made a small list of the species i want in my 80 community tank of mainly cichlids....

so far i thought these would work together:

-electric yellow (2-3)
-electric blue (2-3)
-angels (2-3)
-acaras (2)
-clown loach (3-4)

now i was wondering, of the following, will any of these go with the others i mentioned:

-Bala sharks
- Frontosa
- Silver Dollar
-cockatoo dwarf cichlid


and any others you may know that will work well (with the first couple i mentioned) please let me know as i am almost ready to fully stock my tank (nearly completely fishlessly cycled)


thanks

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Well the first thing i notice is you have choices from South America and Africa. Generally its not good to mix the two. I would choose which you want and build off that. Either the electric yellows and blues, or the angels and acaras. Clown loaches could fit into both possibly.

As for the other fish. I couldn't tell you about balas, i dislike them and have no intrest in keeping them with my cichlids. They do get large though.

Frontosa, they get large, might be able to fit 1-2 adults in that tank but them alone would make it crowded as they get big too. 12". Their growth rate is on your side though, they are slow growers. They could be mixed with the electric yellows/blues but make sure they can match up in size.

Silver dollars, better than the bala but still doesn't light any fires for me. Possible yes, better with the Angel/Acara mix, however you would need a school and they might take valuble room. Also might nibble the angel's long fins.

Dwarf cichlids, now we are talking. Would go fine in an angel setup. Make sure you have some hiding places (pots, plants, etc). They occupy the lower portions of the tank most of the time, and the angels stay near the middle/top. A good mix in that size tank.

Any specifics as to what you want in this tank? If you are after color and activity go for the electric yellows/blues and various Mbuna/Africans. If you want something a little more versitile when it comes to stocking, go for something like Angels, Dwarf cichlids, and a small schooling fish for the other regions.

Hope i helped some and didn't discourage you. With limited tank space its hard to choose what cichlids to keep. But you must factor in diets and territory/Aggression.

http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?t=28562

 

[fI$H_fAcE]

thanks alot, i am more than anything loking for color and activity in my tank...


so i am pretty sure i willk be going with the electric blues/yellows (4-6 total)to start, so would this be a better choice do you think to add to those 2 species ....soemthing like:

- frontosa (1 or 2)
- clown loach (3-4)
- Kenyi (1 or 2)
- Kribensis/ Purple Cichlid (1or2)
- Brichardi (1 or 2)

now , i am assuming that my LFS can get all these species for me.....i knwo the frontosa will probly not be an easy fish to get will it?!

 

[JimMelAddie]

Where you located fi$h fAcE?

 

[fI$H_fAcE]

newfoundland, Canada

 

[JimMelAddie]

Oh! Never mind! I was gonna say that PetSmart here in the US is having a sale on their Frontosa @ many of their stores. 1/2 off almost all of their cichlids.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

All the fish listed in a few posts up are usually easy to find down here. Even Frontosa, however the Fronts probably won't be cheap.

Not sure if i'd put the Kribs in with those Africans.

 

[danger bunny]

don't put angel in with africans ie electric yellows that is a bad idea i tried that and they were fine for a wile in my ninty and my angels were 4 inches long and thats were i came up with the term of angel food how ever i've kept acaras and terrors with my yellow and dafodils and they're fine had them for years

 

[fI$H_fAcE]

well i have researched a bit more and have come up with a modified list of cichlids to have in my tank......

do these sound promising to you guys?

i am planning on having 4-5 of each i think:

- Labeotropheus Trewavasea (red top)
- Melanchromis Johanni (electric Blue)
- Metriaclima Callainos (Cobalt Zebra)
- Labidochromis Caeruleus (yellow Lab)
- Pseudotropheus Flavus (Dinghani)

let me know how this sounds to you...

 

[Cichlid-Man]

That sounds more like it! Sounds good to me. Will make for quite a show tank.

From a buddy's experience the flavus can get pretty pushy, so you might want to keep an eye out. Love Flavus though. One of my favoirte mbuna.

 

[wayne]

That's a much better mix than the rather strange original.

Fronts don't go too well with mbuna as they are predators, and so 1. need a different doet to the mbuna that will be a bit too high in protein, and 2) that diet will include the mbuna when they get big enough

I have a sticky at the top -you can read that, but your current mix is pretty ok.

 

[fI$H_fAcE]

perfect!!!

thanks guys for the help, and pointing me in the right direction!

now have to research into substrate and diet for these fellas


ALSO- i am assuming only 1 male and then rest female for each species right?

 

[dallasfreak]

that sounds like it will be a great looking set up with all those different color fish...go with a small pebble bottom or a crush coral both would look great

 

[danger bunny]

the Melanchromis Johanni are pretty agressive best kept in species tanks I would suggest melanochromis joanjonsonae they will look real cool with your yellow labs. The labs you don't have to worry about to much about the ratio but it is a good idea to do with most cichlids and as far a substrate goes i like aragonite and tymoon sand mixed it looks cool and does wonders to harden your water also is a decent substrate for plants

 

[Cichlid-Man]

I'd go with sand for the substrate myself. Seeing them sift and spit it is great!