Got An Ok

[Malawi MaD]

A lot of people do use egg crates just to be on the safe side, I haven't personally and as you may know the rocks I use are huge and heavy lol.
Ok, thats good then. Not saying the labs will breed with the johanni females but if they do your not keeping them so they wont be a problem. Pics will really help and hopefully be able to point out some nice species.

Depends of species and tank size really, johannis ideally you would want 1 male to multiple females or 3males to multiple females. Pairs usually work well with some species too.

I think vinegar is used a lot with rocks not a 100% sure as all ive used is limestone, which I know is safe. Just try to avoid rocks with any signs of metals visible, river boulders, sand stone, yorkstone, limestone are all good rocks to have. Aswell as ocean rock as you may know, its not my favourite lol but its safe.

 

[onidrase]

A lot of people do use egg crates just to be on the safe side, I haven't personally and as you may know the rocks I use are huge and heavy lol.
Ok, thats good then. Not saying the labs will breed with the johanni females but if they do your not keeping them so they wont be a problem. Pics will really help and hopefully be able to point out some nice species.

Depends of species and tank size really, johannis ideally you would want 1 male to multiple females or 3males to multiple females. Pairs usually work well with some species too.

I think vinegar is used a lot with rocks not a 100% sure as all ive used is limestone, which I know is safe. Just try to avoid rocks with any signs of metals visible, river boulders, sand stone, yorkstone, limestone are all good rocks to have. Aswell as ocean rock as you may know, its not my favourite lol but its safe.

Is there any male to female ratio needed with yellow labs? Is the gender thing just a given for african cichlids in general?

The tank I'm pretty set on is the 50 gallon, so it's relatively small, the footprint only being 48 inches by 12 inches.

The johanni I was thinking on was the blue johanni, but I think it might be easier to do the yellow johanni (auratus) if they're workable. I've heard they start out yellow and the males turn kind of black when they're older. This is gonna take some work, I suppose

 

[eggo]

alot of keepers find the auratus to aggressive, i keep these and not had any problems due to aggression, when they are spit from the mother the males and females show the female colouration until they reach adult age which is about 2" when the males will change colour to their black colour if there is no other dominant male in the tank or they could hold back.

Fizzing with vinegar means it's full of carbonates and in hard water tanks they won't be a problem. They'd only cause issues in a low pH tank.

 

[onidrase]

alot of keepers find the auratus to aggressive, i keep these and not had any problems due to aggression, when they are spit from the mother the males and females show the female colouration until they reach adult age which is about 2" when the males will change colour to their black colour if there is no other dominant male in the tank or they could hold back.

Fizzing with vinegar means it's full of carbonates and in hard water tanks they won't be a problem. They'd only cause issues in a low pH tank.

How long does it take for them to reach 2 inches? Do you have any tips on how to get a good male to female ratio? What exactly is a good male to female ratio? If I were to do auratus with no other cichlids (maybe just some synodontis species to vacuum the substrate for me) how many would I be looking at in a 50 gallon?

I know the tank is on the small side, but also keep in mind that this is just a small petsmart, and people barely ever even want to buy schooling fish in groups of 3, none the less 6, and there are only 2 peope who I've ever sold african cichlids to, both of them running river rock bottom tanks with tacky plastic decor. I try to avoid this logic, but I'd think they're better off with me, if it's a case of "they'd like a little wiggle room" not a case of "these guys are monsters, they'll not live long in that tank"

 

[Malawi MaD]

alot of keepers find the auratus to aggressive, i keep these and not had any problems due to aggression, when they are spit from the mother the males and females show the female colouration until they reach adult age which is about 2" when the males will change colour to their black colour if there is no other dominant male in the tank or they could hold back.

Fizzing with vinegar means it's full of carbonates and in hard water tanks they won't be a problem. They'd only cause issues in a low pH tank.

How long does it take for them to reach 2 inches? Do you have any tips on how to get a good male to female ratio? What exactly is a good male to female ratio? If I were to do auratus with no other cichlids (maybe just some synodontis species to vacuum the substrate for me) how many would I be looking at in a 50 gallon?

I know the tank is on the small side, but also keep in mind that this is just a small petsmart, and people barely ever even want to buy schooling fish in groups of 3, none the less 6, and there are only 2 peope who I've ever sold african cichlids to, both of them running river rock bottom tanks with tacky plastic decor. I try to avoid this logic, but I'd think they're better off with me, if it's a case of "they'd like a little wiggle room" not a case of "these guys are monsters, they'll not live long in that tank"

Depends, roughly 6 to 12 months to reach 2" from fry. Auratus are known for their aggression but i too keep a group of 6 and have had no problems with them what so ever, its usually the females having a rant amongst themselves which is the biggest problem. The male is too occupied digging or trying to attract the females that he doesn't bother with any other species. Each fish is individual, so you could end up with an auratus that is a total nut case and decides to be totally OTT when it comes to aggression. It depends on species and how it works for you as far as ratio's go. Some people like to keep 1 male to multiple females, some people like to keep reverse trio's, larger groups etc..Me personally (what's worked for me in all my tanks) i find it better to have 1 or 3+ males to equal or slightly more or slightly less females, it just really depends on the species and your set-up. What works for one person doesn't always mean it will work for you. You just need to be ready to intervene if need be and have a little play about with your stocking untill its correct. I notice you said that its a relatively small store so playing about with stock may not be an option for you, so ideally You really want to find a species that you really really like if your wanting to do a species only tank. I think the johanni would be a good option personally if you can get hold of plenty of them. Then, If you can get pics that will really help trust me, for you, you want to start your tank well and have a good organised community of fish that are thriving well when kept together from the word go.

 

[eggo]

alot of keepers find the auratus to aggressive, i keep these and not had any problems due to aggression, when they are spit from the mother the males and females show the female colouration until they reach adult age which is about 2" when the males will change colour to their black colour if there is no other dominant male in the tank or they could hold back.

Fizzing with vinegar means it's full of carbonates and in hard water tanks they won't be a problem. They'd only cause issues in a low pH tank.

How long does it take for them to reach 2 inches? Do you have any tips on how to get a good male to female ratio? What exactly is a good male to female ratio? If I were to do auratus with no other cichlids (maybe just some synodontis species to vacuum the substrate for me) how many would I be looking at in a 50 gallon?

I know the tank is on the small side, but also keep in mind that this is just a small petsmart, and people barely ever even want to buy schooling fish in groups of 3, none the less 6, and there are only 2 peope who I've ever sold african cichlids to, both of them running river rock bottom tanks with tacky plastic decor. I try to avoid this logic, but I'd think they're better off with me, if it's a case of "they'd like a little wiggle room" not a case of "these guys are monsters, they'll not live long in that tank"

Depends, roughly 6 to 12 months to reach 2" from fry. Auratus are known for their aggression but i too keep a group of 6 and have had no problems with them what so ever, its usually the females having a rant amongst themselves which is the biggest problem. The male is too occupied digging or trying to attract the females that he doesn't bother with any other species. Each fish is individual, so you could end up with an auratus that is a total nut case and decides to be totally OTT when it comes to aggression. It depends on species and how it works for you as far as ratio's go. Some people like to keep 1 male to multiple females, some people like to keep reverse trio's, larger groups etc..Me personally (what's worked for me in all my tanks) i find it better to have 1 or 3+ males to equal or slightly more or slightly less females, it just really depends on the species and your set-up. What works for one person doesn't always mean it will work for you. You just need to be ready to intervene if need be and have a little play about with your stocking untill its correct. I notice you said that its a relatively small store so playing about with stock may not be an option for you, so ideally You really want to find a species that you really really like if your wanting to do a species only tank. I think the johanni would be a good option personally if you can get hold of plenty of them. Then, If you can get pics that will really help trust me, for you, you want to start your tank well and have a good organised community of fish that are thriving well when kept together from the word go.

+1 well said my auratus are averaging 1" and they where spit on the 17th may.

 

[onidrase]

alot of keepers find the auratus to aggressive, i keep these and not had any problems due to aggression, when they are spit from the mother the males and females show the female colouration until they reach adult age which is about 2" when the males will change colour to their black colour if there is no other dominant male in the tank or they could hold back.

Fizzing with vinegar means it's full of carbonates and in hard water tanks they won't be a problem. They'd only cause issues in a low pH tank.

How long does it take for them to reach 2 inches? Do you have any tips on how to get a good male to female ratio? What exactly is a good male to female ratio? If I were to do auratus with no other cichlids (maybe just some synodontis species to vacuum the substrate for me) how many would I be looking at in a 50 gallon?

I know the tank is on the small side, but also keep in mind that this is just a small petsmart, and people barely ever even want to buy schooling fish in groups of 3, none the less 6, and there are only 2 peope who I've ever sold african cichlids to, both of them running river rock bottom tanks with tacky plastic decor. I try to avoid this logic, but I'd think they're better off with me, if it's a case of "they'd like a little wiggle room" not a case of "these guys are monsters, they'll not live long in that tank"

Depends, roughly 6 to 12 months to reach 2" from fry. Auratus are known for their aggression but i too keep a group of 6 and have had no problems with them what so ever, its usually the females having a rant amongst themselves which is the biggest problem. The male is too occupied digging or trying to attract the females that he doesn't bother with any other species. Each fish is individual, so you could end up with an auratus that is a total nut case and decides to be totally OTT when it comes to aggression. It depends on species and how it works for you as far as ratio's go. Some people like to keep 1 male to multiple females, some people like to keep reverse trio's, larger groups etc..Me personally (what's worked for me in all my tanks) i find it better to have 1 or 3+ males to equal or slightly more or slightly less females, it just really depends on the species and your set-up. What works for one person doesn't always mean it will work for you. You just need to be ready to intervene if need be and have a little play about with your stocking untill its correct. I notice you said that its a relatively small store so playing about with stock may not be an option for you, so ideally You really want to find a species that you really really like if your wanting to do a species only tank. I think the johanni would be a good option personally if you can get hold of plenty of them. Then, If you can get pics that will really help trust me, for you, you want to start your tank well and have a good organised community of fish that are thriving well when kept together from the word go.

I'll get pictures tomorrow, but there isn't a whole lot to see I really like the auratus, but I'm worried that if I get too many males, things will go badly. I'm more intent on doing a species only if I go with the auratus, if I go with yellow labs, I'd feel the need for some blue something as well. I love johannis, but I don't think I would be able to get a hold of enough of them to make them really present in the tank.