new to africans

[wixx]

i decided today that i would buy some africans and do an african cichlid tank. i have a 55g thats been set up for probably a year with various fish in it. the tank is empty now and the fish are floating in the tank. i bought 4 mixed africans, 3 livingstones, and 3 electric yellows (2 of which looked like they were spawning in the tank). all of the fish are about 2 inches long. ive never done an african tank before, but have seen pics of rocks piled on top of each other. im guessing that is how i should decorate the tank? i have lots of clay pots and pvc pipe, should i put some of those in there? im guessing plants are a no-no. as for stocking the tank, isnt it best to overstock to spread out aggression? a few of the mixed africans are going to get large, as are the livingstones, so how many fish total should i look at putting in there.. maybe 10-15 ? they were kept at 7.0 ph at the store, and getting them used to a higher ph will stress them out, so i assume i should just leave the ph of the tank at 7.0. any ideas/info/advice anyone can contribute is welcomed! thanks

 

[Kajuki18]

I thinkg you might want to get rid of some of your fish. The 3 livingstonii will definetly outgrow your tank. Also you shouldn't buy cichlids from a mixed african tank because they are usually hybrids. But if you get rid of those you could probably get 10 or more africans in there . I recommend that you also put a few more yellow labs in there. Live plants are not really a no no in an african tank because they like to eat and it is good for them. Put lots of rocks in there because they will have more hiding spots and that will lower the agression. Keep the pH at 7.0 for now.

 

[wixx]

yellow labs are common here, so i will be able to pick up some more easily soon. 2 of them were doing what i think was spawning in the tank, should i just put them in the 55g anyways and leave em? they had a corner of the tank dug out, and were protecting it. the livingstones i know get big, hopefully they wont grow too fast. we had some at a pet store i used to work at, and in a year they grew about 3 inches. my fish never grew as fast as the ones at work because of the water changes and feeding habits. im a fan of hybrids. i like ''different'' fish. do you think i will have any aggression problems? and how many more yellow labs should i buy?

i really like these ''lelupi fish'' i think theyre neolamprologus lelupi ?? i know nothing of scientific names sorry. would they or brichardi be ok tankmates? i know brichardi dont get too big, and like to breed. im always interested in breeding anything.

i will read up on africans and try to find as much out as i can about them < something i should have done before buying them, but hey, things happen.. theyre called SALES -lol

 

[freddyk]

Leleupi will survive in your tank if you keep them singly, but the last thing you want is these tanganyikans breeding. A pair of brichardi would start killing your other fish. Stick to fish from lake Malawi to avoid unnecessary complications. The malawi's will breed once they're old enough, you'll have no worries.

The problem with hybrids and mixed tanks is that they're unpredictable - how do you know what's gonna happen when they mature? Risky.

 

[Kajuki18]

You might have a little of an agression problem in your tank because yellow labs aren't that agressive. But as long as they have many hiding spots they should be fine. You should probably pick up 1 or 2 more yellow labs. As for lelupi and brichardi they are from Lake Tanganyika. While your other cichlids are from Lake Malawi. Keeping them together is usually frowned upon but I guess you could do it.

 

[wixx]

thanks for the info. I put them all in the tank, but 2 of them arent looking good. fighting in the bag it seems. one doesnt look like its going to make it through the night, has lots of scales missing from its side, and its tail is a bit ragged.. i raised the temp a bit, added salt and stress coat. hopefully it will pull through, but i really dont know. another one has a scale or 2 missing, but i think it will be ok. so mixing cichlids from different lakes is possible, fish purists or whatever u want to call them just dont agree with it. i guess its like people mixing africans with new worlds. their tank just has gravel in it right now, will have to go down the road tonight when its dark and grab a whole bunch more rocks. would pvc pipe or pots be useful? or do they just like swimming in and out of the rock formations?

i appreciate all the info

 

[Ben]

i recomend getting rid of the Livingstonii as soon as possible.
I mad the same mistake as you,and bought labs and linvingstonii. Over night the livingstonii killed one of my yellow labs., and they were all fine during the day.
The mixed africans are very risky to have in your tank, any chance of pics so we can ID them?

As for decorations, i use PVC pipes and clay pots aswell, and the fish use them alot.
Rocks are very important in a Mbuna tank IMO, as it brings out the fish naturally and they feel more comfortabke with large piles of rocks around for saftey etc

Good luck

DD

 

[wixx]

yea i will definately get more rocks tonight. i have like 10 or 12 but i need like 20 or 30 to get a good rock formation going. its best to wait till its dark as noone will be around. all the fish brightened up a lot. the one with lots of damage has brightened up quite a bit, and i think might end up being ok. its swimming around which is good. the other one thats a little gimped hangs out with the badly damaged one. all the others just sit in one corner of the tank on the bottom, occassionally they all swim to the other end of the tank then chill right back down again. im going to go back to the store tomorrow, so i think i will pick up maybe 3 more labs? does that sound ok? i figure if i get more, they may be better off vs the livingstones. the store will not take fish back, and to be honest i dont want to take them back lol. i have tanks with other cichlids in them that are medium aggressive, so i guess thats an option if the livingstones are too mean. my digital camera is on vacation with my sister and wont be back for another week, but i will search the internet and see if i can come up with anything.

TX

 

[wixx]

i think silly me might have mixed up the common names of the fish i got..

''Nimbochromis (Haplochromis) venustus'' is what i have. i heard someone call it a livingstone cichlid. is it the same thing?
not my photo but this is definately what they are. i remember the scientific name at the store. mine are only about 2 inches in length

a few of the mixed africans have the same look as this one. one has the same colors except for the tail, the others are different colors. same head and body shape

one looks similar to this.. same body shape, head shape, and similar color. its got the shiny blue on its cheeks.

if anyone has any sites that have some general info on mixing africans, what types go well together, what types dont, that would help. ive been searching the internet for awhile now, but not sure what i can put with what. ive seen cichlids at other stores, and im just curious if i can put them with the ones i have now. i like white fish a lot, ive seen snowball cichlids? i like those. any fish you could reccommend would help also

 

[wixx]

disaster!

looks like a bacteria bloom?? serious hair-like things all over the glass and heater and everything... there was none of this when i first put them in the tank, now like 5 hours later, theres hair like stuff all over the glass... the filter appears to have serious amounts of brown stuff in it. its still running fine, its just serious bacteria i think. the fish are all still sitting on the bottom of the tank. the one that was badly damaged now appears to have the bacteria stuff growing on its wounds. looks similar to fungus, but i dont think it is fungus. the other one with a few small wounds has it also. none of the fish look very good right now, the badly damaged one just lies on its side breathing heavily now. i scrubbed all the nasties off the tank, and did a 20-25% water change. im really worried and dont know what to do now. the tank has been set up for a year consistently. i did clean the filter pad a few weeks ago, could that have been it? geez im stressed out now. should i maybe set up 2 smaller tanks to separate these guys in? ones with wounds in a 1og tank, other 8 in a 20g? or would moving them stress them out more?

im not enjoying this

 

[Ben]

what did you clean the filter pad in?
You couldve killed off the benificial bacteria and started another cycle.
The hair like things sound like hair algae to me, which is nothing to worry about.

DD

 

[wixx]

i cleaned it in regular water. which killed all of the bacteria. i wanted to start fresh. i thought the tank might have been having some problems. i dont think it was hair algae. it was a whitish color. the fish now have white fuzz on their eyes. the tank is 55g, and there are 10 fish in it. 1 is in very bad condition and will probably die soon. im not going to treat the whole tank, if i have to treat them i will do it in a smaller tank. i have a 10g and a 20g that arent set up, but could set them up if these guys need to be treated. im sure doing water changes will cure the little white stuff on their eyes, but i dont know about the other 2 sick ones. 1 i dont think ican save, but the other is definately savable. do i risk setting up another tank without cycling it properly to try to treat the one? or leave it.

sorry i have so many questions. ive never dealt with anything like this before

thanks for reading everyting and continuing to help ! i appreciate it as do my fish!

edit: 1 died, the other is really looking horrible and will die tonight or overnight too

this sucks. all the other fish dont look good either. someone said something about excess body slime due to being stressed or from poor water conditions.

should i set up another tank now? i have media from an established healthy tank, and i could use 100% water from that tank also to start up a new one.

 

[Ben]

i have media from an established healthy tank, and i could use 100% water from that tank also to start up a new one.

Why didn't you do that in the first place?
treat the whole tank, and do water changes every few hours, also, add abit of stress coat.

The white little hair things are a sign of bad water

DD

 

[playfulalliecat]

You should do a water change and go ahead and take some media from that established tank. I didn't notice where you mentioned how long the tank didn't have fish in it and whether you kept water in it. If you kept water in it and it wasn't too long, you may have some bacteria in the gravel. I'm not real sure what your problem is though, I have never experienced what you are talking about.

The fish you showed the pic of looks to me like Scianochromis Fryeri, which is sometimes called a Haplochromis. If it's the same ones I have, the dominat male in a tank can be highly aggressive towards other males and females of the same breed. My males are always fighting for dominance. In the original group I got, one male killed 2 males and 3 females, leaving me with him and 2 females. This became my breeding trio and they were parents of the fish I have no. They are very prolific breeders as are the yellow labs.

 

[wixx]

the tank i put them in had been set up forever with fish in it. i took the other fish out yesterday morning, and added the new fish in the evening. the other fish stirred the gravel up a lot when i tried to catch it. there was bacteria everywhere. i really dont know now. the other one died, so i have 8 left. i think i will do 2 25% water changes today, and hope they get better by tonight. im taking the other 2 back to the store and hopefully they will give me 2 new ones.

just went and did a 30% water change. they seem to be swimming around a little more. they still dont look well though. should i try them in a smaller tank maybe and treat them? theyve got the white on their eyes, and ive noticed a white tuft like thing on one of the labs. its not ick, might be a little fungus. i dont have enough meds to treat the whole 55g tank. im thinking i should tear this tank down and re do it.