Newbee 75 Gallon Tank

[Bottom Dweller]

Fist off - GREAT FORUM interesting and full of useful info.
Wish I knew of its existence before diving in.

Backgound
I have a 75 gal. tank with 200w heater and whisper 500 filter.
Dolemite gravel, lava rock and some sort of coral decoration
Home Depot flagstones up against coral and lava creating caves.
Would like to add some sort of safe wood - Any suggestions?

Inhabitants
1-Pseudotropheus Acei Yellow Tail 3" long
2-Melanochromis johanni elec blue 1"
2-Neolamprologus leleupi 2"
1-Red Fin Borley 3"

Questions

How can you tell the difference between males and females?
The Acei is hounding the poor Red fin.
Can I add a fish or two that might stop this behavior?
Is mixing of the two lakes (leleupi) a bad thing?

My plan is to wait 6 weeks with these fish to (cycle?) the tank
and then add about ten more.
Any suggestions on tank mates for them. (I do like lots of color)

Sorry for being so longwinded but I am new and full of questions.
Any help would be appreciated

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Hi bottom dweller

Your Acei may just not know what to do with itself, and getting a few more would probably fix this. They are quite social fish - Acei are almost schoaling fish, or as close as cichlids from Malawi get to this.

A tank full of mbuna is a tough place for a calm hap like borlyei to grow up, and he will probably never do very well in that environment. If you want to get one to work in that tank it would be best to get one already grown, but even then mbuna are just are too high strung.

Mixing lakes can be ok, but it can also be stressful on the fish if not done carefully. As you can see even cichids from the same lake doesn't always work.

You have mbuna, and you want color, so sticking with mbuna is the best way to go, IMO.

The difference in gender ranges from very apparent to quite difficult to identify, depending on species.

 

[Bottom Dweller]

Thanks for your input CA!
Should I add a couple female Acei?
How can I tell them apart?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

It is tough to sex Acei, colors are very similar. Males will tend to grow a little larger and faster, and be more aggressive. All you can do is purchase a few and see what happens. Males will get a long fine together anyway. Acei look best in groups of 6 or more anyway

 

[rwcichlid]

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/gender.php
This is a great site that will tell you how to sex your fish. It's very easy to do.

Adding driftwood (bought from your lfs) is great for cichlids

 

[Bottom Dweller]

Have you had any problems with the water changing color by adding african driftwood? If so how long does it take to clear up?

Update on the acei and its anti social behavior.
I added four fish and moved the decor around a bit and everyone is happy for now.