Attepting Mbuna!

[Cichlid_Crazy]

Well one is 4" which is a inch of quota and the other a 1" Juvi....the Dem is fully grown,they have lived together for about 5 weeks and to be fair they just ignore eachother.

Have to say i find the Mpangas much more pretty than the Dem (although he is cool) and would just rehome if he turns worse.

 

[JMatthew]

In my Mbuna tank have 3 syno catfish (I've been trying to indentify them, but it's been a slow process - lol). One of is pretty large of one breed - about the same size as my juvie Mbuna, however the other two (of another breed) are very young themselves. All three have faired well. No one messes with the larger one - at least enough to injure and the little ones (under and inch) just hide in the rock work in places the Mbuna are to big to get to. Then again, even when I've seen them out the Mbuna really haven't paid any attention to them.

I've also got 6 or 7 inch pleco. He just cruisers around and does his own. One of the more dominate Mbuna tried to kick him off a cucumber one time and he turn the situation around and chased the Mbuna away. Since then, I've never seen anyone mess with him at all.

Lastly, believe it or not, I have a poor little armless Africian frog roaming about the tank. He was made armless after a Green Spotted Puffer finally spotted him in the tank was in after over a month of peaceful (or perhaps ignorant) existance. I only see him about once every couple of days as he hides really well in the rock work, but he seems to go completely unnoticed period. I saw the larger Syno run him over one time, but it was out of aggression - the Syno simply didn't seem to notice or care!

That's my Mbuna and except for a little bit of chasing amogst the Mbuna themselves, everything seems to keep pretty peaceful

 

[3ndl3r]

So a possible stocking could be:

5x Yellow Labs
12x Demasoni

Anything else or would that be my limit?

What about Psued. Socolofi or psuedo. estherae? Could i add any of these?

James

 

[dthoffsett]

So a possible stocking could be:

5x Yellow Labs
12x Demasoni

Anything else or would that be my limit?

What about Psued. Socolofi or psuedo. estherae? Could i add any of these?

James

If you went with the labs and dems (great choice by the way) you would be at your limit. If you wanted the socolofi, estherae & labs you could go with 1m/4f of each (except the labs as m/f ratio doesn't really matter).

 

[3ndl3r]

hmmm, now thats a difficult choice, i really like all of them!
Got some thinking to do me-thinks

Just a quick question, whats the best way to buffer the pH? Crushed coral in the filter?

James

 

[dthoffsett]

hmmm, now thats a difficult choice, i really like all of them!
Got some thinking to do me-thinks

Just a quick question, whats the best way to buffer the pH? Crushed coral in the filter?

James

What's your current PH & KH?

In my last house I had a high PH but around 2ppm KH, I started with crushed coral in the filter which helped, but once I switched the substrate over to aragonite sand I found I didn't need the crushed coral anymore.

 

[Cichlid_Crazy]

I think you could add a group of Socolofi on top of the Demasoni and labs personally...better to crowd and over filter anyway.

Personally I would go with just one Demasoni and grab a couple of mixed species groups/colours...like have 4 groups of 7 and a solo Demasoni.

 

[dthoffsett]

I think you could add a group of Socolofi on top of the Demasoni and labs personally...better to crowd and over filter anyway.

Personally I would go with just one Demasoni and grab a couple of mixed species groups/colours...like have 4 groups of 7 and a solo Demasoni.

Based off the dimensions listed in the first post the tank is only 45gal, since it is 4ft and will have plenty of filtration, I think 15 adults will be the upper limits on stocking (17 adults in the case of the dems/labs combo). While I agree with overstocking you don't want to stuff the tank full.

 

[Cichlid_Crazy]

Ahh didnt realise it was only 45g my tank is a 4ft but 4ftx2ftx2ft which is around 100g.....so from a quick scan i thought it was closer to that size.

Whats your opinion on the large group of Dems? I think fro ma personal point of view that 2 largish groups in a tank will get boring pretty quick..i prefer my tanks to be like a mini 'reef;'bustling with all different colours and characters....obviously everyone has there opinion tho

 

[dthoffsett]

Ahh didnt realise it was only 45g my tank is a 4ft but 4ftx2ftx2ft which is around 100g.....so from a quick scan i thought it was closer to that size.

Whats your opinion on the large group of Dems? I think fro ma personal point of view that 2 largish groups in a tank will get boring pretty quick..i prefer my tanks to be like a mini 'reef;'bustling with all different colours and characters....obviously everyone has there opinion tho

Personally I prefer fewer species with more individuals, you get to see more of their natural interaction that way. Dems and labs are a classic pairing and I've seen some stunning set ups with them, not boring looking at all.

 

[3ndl3r]

I think im going to stick with the original idea of labs and demis. Like dthoffset has said, i'll see more natural behaviour this way,which is good

Current filtration is a Tetrate EX700, i've just ordered an EX600 do go along with it, so filtration isn't an issue Also going to be adding quite a big air pump soon.

As for pH... According to the Yorkshire water website my pH is 8.27 at the moment. Im planning on purchasing a new test kit next week, so i'll be able to give an actual in tank reading
KH... No idea will post up once i have my test kit

James

 

[Cichlid_Crazy]

For stability you might wanna use Argonite sand...or a play sand/argonite mix...atleast you know your PH will always be stable then..it works wonders...i bought 12kg for £10 and it did my 4ft tank perfect plus my 10g fry Mbuna tank.

 

[3ndl3r]

Might go with that then, what the stuff like? does it need rinsing out prior to use etc? how much would i need?

Also...

Labidochromis 'Hongi Red Top'.. Yes or no with my current mix of yellow labs and demasoni?


James

 

[Cichlid_Crazy]

Argonite is pretty easy...just shove it in a bucket and run the tap on it till it runs clear.

If the Hongis are in a group yes...if individual no.

But as mentioned earlier...your tank will be pretty stocked so if you want to mix more you mayhbe pushing it...or drop down to one Dem. (trust me you have to play by the rules with these things because they are nuts)

 

[3ndl3r]

yeah i thought i might be pushing it. will be sticking with the group of 12 will get hold of argonite sand also

Many Thanks
James