new to cichlids w/many questions!

[jdem1]

hello all, i've been cruisin around this forum and finally decided to join, anyhoo.. i cleaned out my 55 gal aquarium the other day, and decided to start over with new fish, gave all my old ones to the lfs.. i have 2 red claw crabs(1.5 inch), 1 small plec (2inch), 2 blood parrots(3 inch), a ton of ghost shrimp, and I bought 3 baby 1 inch cichlids today.. one is an electric yellow color, one is yellow belly with black lateral stripe, and one electric blue with faint stripes.. dont really know the names, but im trying to get to know them...

anyhoo... im planning on buying alot more of these cichlids.. as the lfs has hundreds this size right now at a very affordable price , i'm wondering which are the more aggressive type of african cichlids, and maybe if you guys can post pictures of some of yours.. im not too sure of the names of mine.. also need to know which types i should get, they had some orange ones that seemed very aggressive, so i didnt get any.. im planning on getting maybe 4 more of each.. and i'd like to buy another pleco, as well as some other fish it can get along with..

ive searched all over the forum and founds lots of info, but just need specific info here and would appreciate if you guys can help me out.. and i'm thinking maybe i need to get rid of my blood parrots (they are the jellybean type... don't ask.. my gf brought them to my house oneday ) because they aren't too stable and maybe they might eat the cichlids if they can get close enough.. thanks in advance!

 

[jdem1]

oh.. i would also like to add clown loaches to my tank.. i think they are wonderful fish.. will they be ok with the cichlids?

 

[Snuff]

Ok, first off, if you are going to keep mbuna (which it sounds like you will be), you will have to get rid of the Blood Parrots. They are a hybrid of South American cichlids and they don't go with Africans.(Trust me I made the same mistake.) Also, they will get large enough to be the only 2 fish in the tank.

Also, I would suggest finding out all the scientific names of the fish that you want (I use this link and look at the Malawi Mbuna) and post here with a stocking plan. Then hopefully someone a bit more knowledgable than me can come along and tell you if you have a good plan, or if there is some tweaking to be done. I have found that doing lots of research is always good before diving into it.

As far as clown loaches go, there are mixed opinions on this board, but I do know that I myself and a few other members keep them with mbuna successfully.

 

[semper fi]

welcome to the forum!

first of all it does sound like you have mbuna. mbuna are one of twog roups of species in lake malawi, the other being utaka. mbuna means rockfish. the are more comfortable with rockwork where they can establish territories and hide from the more aggressive fish. mbuna need a vegetation based diet. flakes and pellets should be higher in vegetation than protein as too much protein can cause bloat. protein based foods can be fed about once a week. they are also mouthbrooders which means that the female holds the eggs in her mouth until the fry hatch and are freeswimming. a female can hold for up to three weeks. they are notorious for digging as the male will dig a birthing pit for the female to lay the eggs to be fertilized by the male and then scooped up by the female. rockwork and plants need to be secure in the tank as they can be toppled and uprooted by the digging of the mbuna. some species have color variations between the sexes. venting is the only way of successfully sexing fish without color variations. they require a ph of about 7.2-7.8 and temps of about 72. lower temps cause the fish to mature more slowly and be less aggressive. mbuna are also harem breeders which means the ideal ratio is atleast 3 females for every male. this will also help to lower the aggression.

it is hard to say what you definitely have without pictures of the fish. the yellow one could possibly be a labidochromis caerulus or yellow lab. this is a more peaceful species.

http/www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquar...una_labido.html

the yellow with black stripes could possibly be a melanochromis chippokae or melanochromis auratus. these two are the more aggressive of the mbuna and will more than likely rule the tank. the only difference in the colors of the two is the auratus will have a thin white stripe between the black and yellow while the chippokae does not.

http/www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquar...na_auratus.html


http/www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquar...a_chipokae.html

the blue could possibly be a pseudotropheus callainos or cobalt blue zebra.

http/www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=47109

hth

 

[jdem1]

wow thanks guys... i figured out what 2 of them are... one is a labrador careless.. (sp?) lol.. jk.. labidochromis caeruleus, one is a melanochromis auratus.. seems that hes supposed to be the mean one .. and the blue one.. i still cant find a picture of on the list... hes a zebra type.. but light blue. and very electric blue on his belly..throat section..

anyhoo.. when i woke up.. my mean guy.. melanochromis auratus was dead.. .. i guess he tried to take over the parrots territory and the rest is history.. the other 2 are doing fine though..

my plan is to keep the parrots for now.. since they don't really chase the fish.. they are fat and lazy.. and hide under a rock 24/7...i think im going to get 3 more labidochromis caeruleus and 3 more of the electric blue ones.. wish i could get more of the auratus.. but there was only 2 of hundreds.. and the other one is probably gone now.. .. any i'm going to try clown loaches with the cichlids as well.. probably 3 of them.. i just need to get alot more rocks for everyone to hide once in a while