Cichlids for 75gal tank

[Angry_Platy]

Okies.....don't bash me here....I am cichlid virgin ....I want African/Mbuna/Lake Malawi Cichlids in my new 75 gal tank....I did a google search last night and found a site that listed the cichlids below as being a good cichlid "community" for this size tank.

75 Gal Malawi Cichlids
Botia Modesta "Red Fin" and "Yellow Fin"
Horabagrus brachysoma x 2
Cnotilapia afra sp, "White Top" (1 pair)
Labidochromis sp "Mbamba Yellow Top" x 4
Labidochromis caeruleus (1 pair)
Lethrinops intermedius sp. "Tanzanian" (2m/2f)
Petrotilapia tridentiger sp "Nkhata Orange" x 5
Pseudotropheus saulosi (1m/2f)
Pseudotropheus acei sp. "Yellow Fin" (1m/3f)
Pseudotropheus elongatus sp. "Red" (1 pair)
Pseudotropheus macrophthalmus sp. "OB" (1 pair)
Pseudotropheus zebra sp. "Cobalt" (1m/2f)
Pseudotropheus zebra sp. "Red Top" (1m/2f)
Sciaenochromis freyeri sp. "Ahli" (1 pair)

Any opinions/comment/suggestions would be appreciated

I need honesty so be brutal if you have to (but not too mean!!!)

Thanks in advance

Angela

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Hey Angela

Wow, that's one heck of a selection.

When you get such a random mix like that, most mbuna tend to work, and for that reason it sounds fine, with a couple of comments:


1)Mbuna are bottom dwellers, and this is where the valuable real estate is in an mbuna tank. Botia Modesta and Horabagrus brachysoma are big bottom dwellers that will take up lots of space. First, I'm not too familiar with either, so make sure they can handle African aggression and water. If they can, I'd recommend choosing one or the other instead of both. If they can't, Synodontis Catfish are known for their cichlid compatibility - some are even from lake Malawi, so you can keep a biotope if that is important to you at all.

2)As it stands now this is a very, very crowded tank, and you should certainly narrow down the number of fish, preferably by removing some species. I find mbuna nicest in larger groups of less species, given how socialable they can be, but that's just me. Lab. Caeruleus, for example, is a grouping fish in the wild, living in larger groups. A pair will work, but like many of these fish they are truly more rewarding in little harems or colonies.

3)To help rule out two species off the bat, I'd recommend dropping S. Fryeri and L. intermedius. They are Haps, and haps don't appreciate a crowded environment the way mbuna do, and they don't handle mbuna type aggression very well. (BTW, "Ahli" is not fryeri, it is a completely different fish that is very hard to find)

Well, this should give you something to think about anyway, and maybe bring up more questions.

 

[Angry_Platy]

Thanks for that TCA!!! I need as much help as I can get...clearly!!!

OK....I like electric yellow so will probably go with them for sure...I also like P.saulosi.....as for the others....I don't really mind.

That said....can I keep kribs in there with any of these fish? how about a bolivian ram say?

Any help would be appreciated...or...if you could suggest a suitable combination of fish that'd be great!!!!

I don't want fish that are overly aggressive.....some aggression maybe but not overly so

Thanks

Angela

 

[thecichlidaddict]

I'll start off with the Kribs. Bad idea.


Ok, now that we have decided to stay with lake Malawi, we can see what kind of setup we can do.

We've decided on two so far, Saulosi and Caeruleus.

Here are some good options that would go well with them.

Pseudotropheus Acei: A nice violet colored cichlid. It's the closest to a shoaling fish as Malawis get, and are best in groups.

Iodotropheus Sprengerae: A rusty brown cichlid. Some like this one, some don't. I think it's cool but they are not as brilliant as most mbuna. They are very passive and easily bullied.

Cynotilapia Afra: Will do well, but would be one of the most aggressive fish in the tank. Enough to keep the others in line, but not enough to wreck havoc on the tank the way, say, Auratus would.

Pseudotropheus Socolofi: A very nice powder blue fish, fairly aggressive but also not overly so.

Maylandia Estherae: A nice orange cichlid, probably not much point with the Saulosi of similar color already on the list.

I'd suggest stocking in groups of 4 or more, and topping out at about 18-20 fish.
The Acei espesially are good in numbers. One of the nicest mbuna setups I've seen had only 3 species in it, a 100 gallon with about 20 Acei, 15 Lab Caeruleus, and a georgeus Red Empress centerpiece. Quite a site.

Now, if you keep the stocking levels on the low side you can get a nice Aulonocara or similar in that tank as well, and what a stunning centerpiece that could make. You may have glanced mine before, he is a lone male kept in my mbuna setup because I alwo keep lightly stocked, less aggressive mbuna. He's been with me for a quite a while now, and his home has been upgraded a few times since I got him.

And finally, the bottom feeder. Clown loaches will work, but I recommend checking out Synodontis Multipuncatus. They do great with mbuna, don't grow overly large, and you can keep a small group of them as well.

Anyway, I don't know how much this helped, hopefully somewhat.

 

[Exiled]

Hi Chooklet -- whatever choices you do finally make let me just make one suggestion--- go with juvinile G1, or F1 fish from a breeder. Forget LFS's. The difference in the quality, coloration and temperment of the fish is incredible!
*Another nice thing about dealing with a breeder to get your fish, is that some fish just don't work out. And bringing them back is less of a problem.
*Advice from a breeder is usually dead-on since taking care of fish is their livlihood.
*Also, establishing personal contact with a breeder means that if he gets something good in his stock, he'll call you.

Good Luck, Chook!

 

[Angry_Platy]

Oh Geez guys....your help has been amazing!! More than I could have ever hoped for!!

I like your suggestions TCA....I had been looking at the Auloncara last night and would love one of them in my tank. That said I will be looking at profiles on all the fish mentioned then choosing from there (I also have Juan giving me advice...so..well..I will have a lot of choosing to make!!!)....at least you guys have narrowed down the field a lot for me as I know NOTHING about cichlids (but I am learning fast).

Another question....will I need to keep a certain ratio of males to females for any of th species that you mentioned?

Anyway....thanks again for all your help

Angela

 

[thecichlidaddict]

With Labidochromis Caeruleus and Pseudotropheus Acei you don't have to worry much about gender, as long as you end up with at least as many females as males.

With the others you want at least a 1:2 ratio, though 1:3 or 1:4 is even better. You can have more then one male Saulosi and Sprengerae in the tank, but for the rest of them you would acheive the most peace with just one male.

Of course, buying juviniles you will not have any way to sex them. This is where buying more then you are planning to stock comes into play, so that you can remove extra males as they mature and can identify them by physical attributes or aggressive behavior.