Cichlids - Puffers? More Added Suggestions For Puffers.

[didz04]

Yeah what I have in the setup are:
1 Johanni cichlid
1 Yellow lab
2 Malawi Kenyi cichlids (male & female breeding pair)
5 Malawi kenya cichlids (babies 1.5cm)
1 Albino cichlid (Red Zebra I think)
2 Pseudotropheus socolofi
1 African congo tinanti cichlid (bottom dweller)
1 Striped Raphael Catfish
1 Tiger loach
1 Sucking loach (if needed to get rid of because of the water conditions then will do so otherwise he is doing well with the cichlids)
If pics are needed then will get some on today.

Oo how will some shell dwellers do with them, how about the Lamprologus leleupi are these shell dwellers? It will be nice to have some more bottom dwelling fish
Don't worry I won't bother with any puffer, I have seen community fish kept with mbu like silver sharks and some rainbows, the puffer was around 9" long and he said he had no problems at all. There is someone on aquarist ad who is selling a 7" puffer in a 13" x 13" x 13" tank, I told him its best to sell separately as he told me selling whole setup together including the puffer, someone else could buy it who is a beginner and keep him in the 13" tank. I asked for pics because I'm thinking in a 13" tank he wouldn't be able to move properly ofcourse but only swivel around. I told him to make sure that the buyer has a bigger tank ready for the puffer to move out of that box and he has kept it for 2 years in there
Still quite upsetting that there is no chance for puffers, however another species I like is a goby thats why I got the African congo tinanti cichlid as he is a bit like one with full of characters. I have been trying to find him another female so there is a pair, there was only him left at Fish inc in Sheffield and they are still quite rare in UK.

 

[synodontismultipunctatus]

Ok Neolamprologus leluipi are definatly not shell dweller tho they will hide in large shell when they are young, they reach four inches long and shell dwellers typical rech only a couple of inches, such as the multi or brevis shellies..

as for the raphiel cat, it will be fine but for bottom dwellers its bet to keep it african as they appreciate the parameters,

good choices for african setups that are smaller

200 - 400 litres

synodontis multipunctatus
synodontis nigrita
synodontis petricola

and for larger ones

400 + litres


synodontis decorus
synodontis angelicus


as for the puffers if you are interested

check out tetradon miuris, and also collomesus puffers , the colomesus stay small (5 inches) and can be kept in groups , the miuris cannot but is a beter alternative to a gian mbu

as for the loach , it would be better to rehome it

generaly i wouldnt add shell dwellers or any other tanganyikans to your mbuna setup, because that is what it is, mbuna. as a rule of thumb tanganyikans require diets higher in protien and feeding correctly can be difficult, allot or tangs get massive too. not the leluipi tho ..

i guess the bests to mix woul be the tropheus genus, generaly the same size as mbuna and will do ok on a veggy diet like the mbuna. typ in tropheus sp 'fircracker'', they are nice but i still wouldnt reccomend it

general mbuna should only be kept with mbun , open water should only be kept with open water and tanganyikans should only be kept with tanganyikans




the fish that would do very well in your setup are numerous... just any mbuna cichlid realy (they are nicer than the tangs, trust me)

red zebs can be quite aggressive and the melanochromic johhani can be little #19###s to but other than that

all pseudotropheus/ metriclima species
and labidochromis of coure

i reccomend pseudo. crabro ... they are nice

and if yellow is you thing .. try a flavus or elongatus chewere

hope this helps mate (Y)

 

[didz04]

Thanks for the huge help there you've gave me a lot to think about and really happy that you have mentioned some suitable puffers.

Actually the SA puffer I was thinking about to get when I saw it in my lfs and researched on the internet. I have researched about the Congo puffer before and done some now. I don't think these are suitable as they are more predator fish however they do have a unique look. Will it be fine to keep SA puffers with them, I would get 3 of them as they are quite nervous when they are kept singularly.

I might also look into the synodontis multipunctatus will they do fine singularly as I don't want to over stock?

Is the tropheus sp 'fircracker' have the red on the top fin as on google it also shows the leleupi also? How about the tropheus ikola and bemba, or will I need more space for them?

You say that the red zebra generally are quite aggressive but mine which is albino gets ragged the most in there. I feel like I may have to swap him for another as he is always at the side of the tank and only gets to swim around when feeding time. I'm sure he is a red zebra however I have seen a picture on google that says socolofi and looks just like mine, I will try and get pics of him and send it on here for id.

However you're right about the melanochromis johanni as he and the yellow lab can go crazy, they spin around so fast with each other that the 2 colours yellow and blue mix together lol, I have got quite a few videos of that, then it is the yellow male malawi that stops it by chasing off the johanni or even funnier when the african congo tinanti cichlid kicks in he comes out from no-where and gets involved in the fight by swimming and hitting them both then swims back to his cave or hides behind the rock to strike again. Even if there is a fight from on one side of the 4ft he comes flying from the other end just to get involved lol what makes it more funnier is that he's a bottom dweller. Definitely my favourate fish in there and hope to find him a female, they are easy breeders and I have a spare tank that I could use for a fry tank, so it could work out well hopefully.

I want to fill up my cichlid stock and those flavus and elongatus chewere are really nice and have only seen them once for sale on aquarist ad in my area. I'm sure fish inc has them so I might have a look tomorrow. How many of them would you recommend they look like the same fish (flavus & elongatus chewere) but different colours.

Thank you synodontismultipunctatus Really appreciate it and to everyone else for the time and effort everyone has put in, as now I have more of an idea on where to go

 

[Gunngee]

I don't own any cichlids but a friend of mine has a 40 gallon dedicated to cichlids. He does have 2 giant danios in there with them. I asked if they ever bothered the danios and he says the cichlids can't catch them.

 

[didz04]

I don't own any cichlids but a friend of mine has a 40 gallon dedicated to cichlids. He does have 2 giant danios in there with them. I asked if they ever bothered the danios and he says the cichlids can't catch them.

I'm not to keen on Danios the only small shoaling fish I've had are white cloud mountain minnows. There was always one that went out of the shoal to swim around with the other fish lol.

Another fish that has come into my mind that everytime I see it in the lfs I am soo close to buying the Julidochromis especially the ornatus. Are these suitable with mine, hope they are because they are different compared to the other cichlids and they look like they are hovering around when they swim.

 

[didz04]

I've just realized few of my fish iching now scratching them selves on the rocks and then I saw 2 white spots on my loach one on each side but now one has disappeared. I have just done a 35% water change and my temperature is low but now at 23°C will I have to put it up to 28-30°C for a few days to get rid of the white spots and iches? It could take a while for it to get there as it is only a 50w heater . I have been looking for a 150w however this heater hasn't been handling bad and room temp is around 24°C. However if anyone does have a 150w heater who maybe selling it or want to straight swap for my 50w then I will be more than happy to

 

[OldMan47]

Have a good read through of the topic in my signature area marked as ich info. There is a lot more to treating ich than bringing the temperature up for a few days.

 

[didz04]

Have a good read through of the topic in my signature area marked as ich info. There is a lot more to treating ich than bringing the temperature up for a few days.

Thanks, ok will do.

 

[didz04]

ok I have done more research and have been looking at these puffers:
- Monotrete Abei
- Auriglobus modestus
- Monotrete Cochinchinensis

These all grow to around 10cm and under and even they are aggressive but as my cichlids being fast swimmers it should be fine. 20 gallon seems to be minimum shown on the websites so would I be able to keep 2 for a 40 gallon and of course of the same species if acceptable in my setup. There are lots of caves and holes big enough for them to own their territory and still a wide space, full of caves and holes for the other fish to hide out, also I will be adding more plants so it will lose the line of site more from each other (puffers). They are only small puffers so they probably won't even see each other often probably only at feeding times. I will probably buy 2 puffers of the same species (male & female) around 4-6cm so they are near to the sizes of my cichlids. Any suggestions or opinions about keeping them?