The African cichlids

[Matt Nace]

I got great suggestions and good advice on CA cichlids for my 125 gallon tank. One that really made sense was ffrom Sinister about don't pair them up as it can help with them not breeding and males not fighting.

Well, I bought a 150 gallon tank. I am thinking of African Cichlids. I just have no idea what I am looking for here. From reading..I am not sure what Iw ant..or even where to begin.

Which lake?

Any fish I may see at the LFS I should avoid cause they will be too mean?

The tank is 4 foot wide, 2 feet deep and 30+ inches high. I am gettinge excited and want to plan this out.

Only one drawback is some of these guys are a lot of money!! I saw these Oreo ones that were $70 each..........

 

[SinisterKisses]

Well, the first thing to decide is while region you want to do. You have Lake Malawi, Lake Tang, or Lake Victoria. I'm thinking you'll probably do Malawi (they're the most colourful, and most abundant around you in most cases). If you do Malawi, you then need to determine whether you want to do mbuna, or haps and peacocks.

That's your real first starting point

 

[Orion]

Yup. You've got all sorts of activity levels, breeding behavior, color and personalities to pick from. I've always been a fan of the community tanks, probably because they take so much planning to put together, but I find it very rewarding to watch every one interact with each other.

 

[Matt Nace]

I am thinking Mbuna I believe....with the Psuedo and Labs? The one 60$ fish I like is a Hap , I just dont knwo which he is..nor will I pay that much.

check this tank out...I like some of these.

YouTube - African cichlids (mbuna)

Notice the rock setup is all lower and really all wide open. Is this a good setup? My LFS guy said that if you make too many caves..they will gaurd the caves..but if you keep it simple..the fish will stay all out and just bicker amongs each other.

I was thinking at first..a tower of rocks and caves in the center. But now should it be rocks on the lower areas and leave the huge top area for swimming?

 

[Matt Nace]

ok check out this one lol..but what is the large fish in this video that I see..he is neat

YouTube - Pseudotropheus demasoni Lake Malawi mbuna tank

 

[SinisterKisses]

Big fish in the second link (blue with yellow tale, I assume you mean), is a P. acei.

The rock set up, IMO, is terrible in that video. There's next to no caves for the mbuna, and it doesn't go very high at all. Which is why they're not in the rocks. Your LFS guy is very wrong...the caves provide shelter from an aggressor, especially for females that are being harassed by a male during breeding times. Mbuna NEED rock work with lots of caves to be fully happy and healthy.

 

[Whiskers]

i guess i could toss some fish names at you to check out. these are the fish i have in my tanks. there is a little aggression sometime but nothing really bad.

my 55gal has, 3pseudotrohpeus Acei, 1 frontosa, 2 placideochromis electra (deepwater hap), 1 yellow lab, 1 female jacobfrebergi, and 1 (i think) female pundimillia nyererei. check out the male jacobfrebergi's too.

My 110gal wich is almost the same dimentions (4' long x 18" wide x 30" high) as your 150 and in that tank i have, 1 OB labeotropheus fuelleborni, 1 yellow lab, 1 for the life of me can't remember the name but its like a yellow lab but has blue jaw and looks dirty, 1 synodontis eupterus, 2 synodontis petricola's, 3 pundamillia nyererei's, 1 aulonocara masoni , 1 common pleco and 1 shark.

now for the most part the fish in the 110 do ok with a little more aggression than the 55 but nothing severe. they all have their spots and do let others know when they have invaded their territory for too long. none of the fish ever pay attention to the petricola's as far as i have seen and have only seen the petricolas go at it once but don't know why since they usually get along just fine.

if you like any of these, i'm sure SK can give you better ideas as what to go with some of them better than i can. some of these fish were given to me and some i bought when i was first getting into the hobby. so i have what i have and do know that they can get an attitude sometimes lol. but all in all they are/seem to be doing just fine.

 

[Matt Nace]

I am so excited. Thanks for your comments. I am glad the LFS guy is wrong..cause I pictured a totally differant setup in this tank. It is so deep and tall I had this vision of caves and rocks in it.

In fact..I need to steal the rock from my 125 and redo that tank now.

I suppose I need to write some names down and see what is at the stores. There are about 5 differant stores in my area.

So if I get say Psuedo species...labs...these are more in need of food with vegetable matte rin it correct?...While the Haps are less of this and more proteins? Is this why you should not mix them..or is there something else?

 

[SinisterKisses]

Dietary is one issue, but mostly it's the aggression levels, and in some cases with haps, size.

Which Pseudo species? There's kind of a lot of them...

 

[Matt Nace]

I will have to see what the LFS's have. I guess I also have to be able to tell if I am buying males and females.

 

[SinisterKisses]

Well, most people buy juveniles (saves you a lot of money) and buy a larger group of them than they want/need...let them mature, then sell off any extra males.

 

[Matt Nace]

Here is a list of what I bought on Sunday.
3 unknown Psuedos.
1 psuedo BB zebra
1 Red Zebra
1 Socolofi
1 Red top cobalt Zeb
1 Cobalt Blue Zeb
1 Acei
1 Mel Johanni
1 Yellow Lab
1 Hap Compressicep

The Hap gets bigger i read and not sure if he will stay. May have to move him.
So far the Lab is the dominant fish.

I am thinking about getting more today and then be done for a while. Need to gets some pics!

 

[Monoxide]

With me and what I read the labs are pretty more laid back of its kind. But hey maybe you got a mean fishy. *crazysmil

 

[Matt Nace]

I bought 5 more fish today. I am done for now. My budget was blown heh.

I bought a yellow Johanni or julie I think it is..but the Lab is in heaven now. He and this fish wont leave each other's side. The Lab is extra crazy now.

I am going to get my camera and take pics.

 

[Matt Nace]

So I had these larger psuedos which are like a mix. Not sure what they are, they are spotted and two differant colors. They were always so to themselves.

Well I noticed the one with a big lump on her bottom jaw like she was stuffed with something...and then relized the male was fairly aggresive all of a sudden. So I am thinking they bred. Now I wonder if she keeps the eggs in her mouth til they hatch for a few days? weeks?

 

[Orion]

Hah, that's awesome if they've already breed! You could probably see the eggs from the underside of her mouth. They look like little white BB's. Sorry, I'm not sure on the gestation period for Malawi's.

 

[Matt Nace]

So the male is the dominant fish of the tank. The female now stays mostly out of sight. She comes out to pick at food..only takes this one pellet. Then retreats to her spot out of sight. She apprears healthy but I am not sure what is going on. Did she put her eggs on a rock...are they in her mouth which is why she eats like a bird. Its like she does not want to open her mouth too much.