New 55g

[Snuff]

I am new to posting on this board, but I have been lurking around reading for some time.

I currently have a 30g (US) tank and I have been offered a slightly used (less than a year old) 55g! In my tank now I have:

1 Gold Severum
1 Electric Yellow Lab
2 Blood Parrots
1 Bumblebee cichlid
1 Common Pleco
1 Tiger Pleco

These guys are all currently pretty small, with the biggest being the bumblebee at about 3-4 inches. I was worried about having to find them a new home when they got bigger, but now I guess I don't have to worry.

My question is, what could/should I get to add once the tank is up and running. I am looking at the following:
Golden Mbuna
Rams
Kribs
Red Eartheater (or at least I think it is, its not marked at the lfs)
Convicts
There are also various Malawis I looked at (little ones)

Also, after reading around the forums, I plan on using play sand as substrate. For filtering I was thinking about either 2 Aqua Clear 300s or 2 Emperor 400s, or one of each.

Any and all suggestions are welcome. Just don't beat me up too bad, I'm still a bit new at this.

 

[gixer]

i would make the decision to keep malawis or not first myself..

not a good idea to mix these fish IMO.
just a suggestion

 

[thecichlidaddict]

I think that you will only be able to cater to your fish in the best possible way if you choose either New World or African cichlids.

It is unfortuately assumed by many that fish can be kept together because they are all cichlids, but quite the opposite is, in fact, true. Behavior, diet, and aggression level can differ sustantially enough to cause considerable problems, and care must be taken in the selection of fish.

As you mentioned your fish are all small, so their current behavior is not a reliable method of measuring your success. Cichlids get more aggrassive and show their truer nature as they mature. The road you are on now of randomly choosing cichlids based on what you like is one that can only lead to problems.

The best thing to do before making any changes is decide what you want out of the tank. Right now you are on your way to having a bunch of fish in a tank that may or may not get along, but will certainly not thrive. If you want a true experience with cichlids then research must go into each species in order to provide the best possible environment for them. This includes the types of fish that should be stocked together as well as the numbers and gender ratio's with which they should be stocked.

With the Severum and hybrid parrots your aquarium will pretty much be full anyway.

 

[Snuff]

Yeah, after reading up, I kind of had a feeling someone would say that. I looked around the forum and didn't see any place that said they couldn't mix, but I wasn't sure. When I got this 30g, I had never had cichlids before and I unwisely took the lfs advice instead of doing some research. They are knowledgable about fish, I just don't think they are 'cichlid people'. They told me these fish would be fine together. That is why I'm here, I want this tank done right.

So I have decided that I will go with a Malawi tank. It is a hard choice because I love my parrots and severum, but they must go to have a proper tank. Luckily, my lfs takes back fish for credit.

So, after getting rid of them, I will still have:
1 Labidochromis caeruleus
1 Maylandia crabro
1 common pleco
1 tiger pleco

And I am still looking at:
Melanochromis auratus
Pelvicachromis pulcher
Various Malawis (that are sold out of the same tank, haven't decided which ones)

Will these fish match with what I already have? If not, what other suggestions do you have? I don't have much selection because of the area I live in, there is only the lfs I go to and a national chain store, which I do not want to go to.

Sorry if I am still getting stuff wrong, I just want to make sure I have things right before doing it. Please bear with me.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

No need to apologize, that you're here looking to learn says everything.

Definetely forget about the Krib. It is African, but from the rivers and not the rift lakes. This one is better off considered a New World as far as stocking is concerned.

The first thing I would get is more Lab Caeruleus--it's a very social species that does well in groups, and you should not have too much of a problem finding them.

Melanochromis Auratus is an extremely aggressive species, near the top of the aggression scale. A single one might work out fine, or it may terrorize the tank. If you like the fish then try it, but be prepared to remove it at any time.

It's good that your LFS takes back the fish. When trying to assemble a mixed commuity mbuna tank it's hard to say what will or won't work, so sometimes it takes some experimenting to get it right.

Have you read the pinned mbuna post?

 

[Snuff]

I had skimmed the mbuna post before, but I went back and actually read it. I did alot of looking through different species to see what is available to me at the lfs, what I want, and where they are on the aggressiveness scale.

This is what I was thinking:
3 Labidochromis caeruleus
2 Maylandia estherae
1 Maylandia crabro
1 Pseudotropheus saulosi
1 Nimbochromis venustus (I know its a hap, but would he work? Also, will he get too big?)
1 Pseudotropheus elongatus (This one is iffy, is he too aggresive?)
1 Melanochromis auratus (And hope I get a tame one, if not he goes back to the lfs)
And I would keep my 2 plecos.

Thank you CA for all the help.

 

[Exiled]

I think it's better for the fish to pick 2 or 3 species and get a few of each instead of just one of each species. One auratus will probably harrass your fish to no end and eventually kill most of them. Crabro's are known to be very aggressive as well. Crabro's and auratus's are best left for a species tank.

Some elongatus's are more peaceful than others--it's a gamble. I had elongatus Chewere's that were monsters. I have elongatus Usisyas now and they are angels.

And the venustus will grow too big for the tank and will try to eat all the fish (it's a predator).

Pseudotropheus saulosi is a more peaceful mbuna--it wouldn't last very long against the crabro, elongatus, venustus and auratus. My sauosi's get picked on a good deal now. Their chief enemy are the maingano's. They easily "outrun" their harrasers because of all the crazy rockwork I have--so just make sure you have plenty of rockwork for the picked-on fish to lose their chasers in.

You seem to like yellow fish.... Try groups of 3-4 Labidochromis caeruleus, Maylandia estherae, Pseudotropheus saulosi and forget about the rest. The male saulosi's will turn blue and be a nice accent. That will be a low-aggression, successful and beautiful tank.

Hope this helps.

 

[Snuff]

Actually, I like the blue also, I just couldn't find any pictures of the ones I had seen in the lfs except for the elongatus. Your post helped me because the Maingano is one I was also looking at when I was there.

As far as the crabro goes, I have one currently, and he's not really very aggressive at all. He defends himself but doesn't really go picking fights. Am I correct in assuming he will stay that way, or if I throw him into a new tank with new fish, are all bets off?

I like your suggestion, but I think I may try to add an elongatus or maingano just to add some different color, and see if they are too aggressive. I think CA is right, I will have to do some experimenting, and most likely take some back to the lfs before I get it balanced out.

 

[Exiled]

My maingano's are pretty aggressive as are all Melanochromis sp.
For more blue, also consider Pseudotropheus zebra cobalts (in my signature pic) or Cynotilapia afra Jalo Reef, Mandalwi bay, Nakhata bay etc...... They are blue and not complete terrors.

 

[Snuff]

Yeah, I will definately look for the cobalt zebras, but I'm not sure if they have any. The Cynotilapia afra seem like a good choice too. Thanks!

 

[yhbae]

I too am struggling to get some balance between yellow and blue, but in a smaller 33g tank. At the end, I think I will end up with a trio (1 male, 2 females) of Lab C and P Acei. This will give me a good mix of yellow and blue, while minimizing any aggression in this smallish tank.

How about a mix of Lab C, P Acei and P Salousi?

 

[Snuff]

Ok, I'm still working on this, and my tank is almost ready to start the fishless cycle, so I need to get this refined to figure out what I am doing. So here goes:

4 Labidochromis caeruleus
2 Maylandia estherae
1 Maylandia crabro
3 Cynotilapia afra "Yellow Top" (Thanks Exiled for the ID)
3 Pseudotropheus zebra cobalts

The only thing that I still have questions about is the crabro. The only reason he is on the list is because I currently have him and don't really want to get rid of him, but I know that if he's going to be a terror then I have to. He doesn't really show any aggression currently, and I think he would have by now shown something against my yellow lab. Will a newer, bigger tank with more mates change this at all?

 

[Exiled]

That appears to be a good mix, Snuff--and time will only tell if the Crabro will work out....

When you stock the fish, do it all at once (provided the tan is fully cycled) and have lots of rockwork in the tank. For food, make sure it is mostly vegetable based, and very low in fat.

Excited for your new adventure?

 

[Snuff]

I'm excited, but I think my wife is getting tired of all the trips to the lfs.