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Starting My New African Cichlid Tank

If you want to add more all at once then you could do it, just wouldn't fully stock straight away, You could add more than 6 if you wanted to maybe add groups of 12 each time. So If you added the fish say on the 25th/26th monitor for a week then add another group that will be fine, Just remember to monitor your water stat's if things get a little out of hand add no more fish until its correct and stable again :good:
Sounds good! I am good with water changes and testing, so I will definitely keep on top of it. I think I may go for about 24 total fish. Adding 12 and then waiting and adding 12 more.

Yep sound perfect to me, just as long as the species aren't to aggressive or the larger species of lake malawi but if you get pics then that will be good to see what they are. :good:
 
Tried to snap a few pics tonight, dang that's hard on an iphone in a busy store! I took pics of the small, medium, and large. I plan to get the small ones, and they are about an inch long. I would love to get the big beautiful ones, but will be patient and wait for my little one's to grow up. It'll be neat to see them grow over time. I did spot some yellow labs (though possibly hybrids) in there. Those are really the only one's I am familiar with, as many of my inmates breed them.
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I'm seeing Socolofi in there I think, some red zebras, ob sebra maybe? yellow tail aceis....possibly some afras?
 
I also bought about 20 lbs of carved tufa rock to mix in with my ocean rock. Hoping I can blend everything to make it look cohesive.
 
Wow, there are alot of different fish in there! Personally I would never buy from a mixed tank like that though. At about an inch in size how much are they?
 
Wow, there are alot of different fish in there! Personally I would never buy from a mixed tank like that though. At about an inch in size how much are they?
They are on sale right now for $1.88 for the small ones, %3.88 for medium, and $8.88 for large.
I'm not really concerned about the mixture because I am not overly worried about having pure breeds and such. My options are very limited as far as shops go (as in, only 1 within an hour), so these guys will have to do. ;)
 
For a Mixed tank that is actually not that bad ( i have seen a lot lot worse ) Right try and figure some of these out see if you like these for a nicely stocked tank.

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The fish with green rings round them could be Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos 'maingano' or melanochromis johanni as both of these species have very similar males and on that pic at that size its pretty impossible to tell. These can be the most aggressive of all mbuna, nearly all Melanochromis species tend to have issues when it comes to aggression, but its not always the case. Any mbuna can be overly aggressive it just happens to be Melanochromis species that more people have issues with (I myself have had no issues what so ever with them).
The fish with the yellow rings round them are again an Melanochromis species these are 'auratus' again can be very aggressive but not always the case.
The ones with the red rings round them look to me like Metriaclima estherae OB, very simliar temperament to most Metriaclima species. The OB's can be very pretty fish especially the males.

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The white fish in the center with a yellow ring round the pic is a Pseudotropheus socolofi Albino, can be a nice fish, so if you like them they look like a thorough bred fish.These can be kept in groups or a trio/pair etc..
The fish with the orange ring's round them are indeed Labidochromis caeruleus (Yellow Lab) So again if you like them and can find a few that look identical to them, then that's another thorough bred fish. These to can be kept in groups or a trio/pair etc..
The fish with the light blue ring's are Pseudotropheus acei (like Jourdan said). This species are very nice and usually do best in groups, they max out at roughly 6".
The Fish with green rings round them look to be Pseudotropheus demasoni. Now these are very pretty fish but very territorial and aggressive and should ideally be kept in a large group of a few males and multiple females or a species only tank.
The 1 fish by itself with the red ring round it is a Metriaclima lombardoi, looks to be a female or it could be a juvenile male. This species too is highly aggressive so if it where me i would avoid these guys.

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All the fish with the red rings around them and fish that look like these (i.e body shape) I would stay away from, they looked to be mixed Aulonocara species, and these fish require a lot more open water space as they get a lot larger than the Mbuna.
The fish with the pink rings round them look to be Metriaclima estherae, sometimes the males are blue and the females orangey/yellow but not always. There looks to a lot of these in that tank (mostly orange) so these to look ok, not perfect but wouldn't class them as a hybrid. The blue one in the bottom left corner could be a metriaclima callainos as his face looks a little different to the estherae's. Again if you like these then go for them, nice fish top out at around 6" just try and avoid 2 males in 1 tank.
The fish in the center with the orange ring round it could be a female Pseudotropheus elongatus ornatus, again a very nice species but not sure if there is any males in there.
The fish with the black ring looks to be a hybrid, it could be a poor bred Saulosi but in all honesty i don't know. Its entirely your choice Riogal on what fish you want but i hope that has helped you out a little, that mixed tank isn't to bad as i have seen soo much worse. You could still make a nice set-up with some of those species just try and choose the best you can out of the bunch. :good:
 
I will write all of that down, and take it with me. Thanks so much for your help. It sounds like I need to stay away from the dark colored striped fish (and there are typically a lot in those tanks), but the others could work (though some may be aggressive). I will keep all that in mind. Thanks a lot for taking the time to do that! :nod:
 
Since I am getting them so small (and the tanks are so full), it's going to be nearly impossible to sex these guys. So, would I be okay to "attempt" based on color/fin shape, and then keep an eye out and take anything back that seems to be causing trouble? Since I work with this place a lot due to my inmate club, they will help out in any way they can.

Also, the fish with the orange ring and the one with the black ring (in the last pic) look to be the same to me?
 
No worries just try and choose the best quality for your money. Some of them are pretty nice fish so your tank will look nice :good:
 
Just tested my water (it's been 18 hours since last testing, and my ammonia is down to about 0.50. Should it have dropped that fast already? I added 11ml yesterday, so it should have been around 3-4ppm starting out.
 
if they are mainganos in the pic i would definately recommend those, i have one in my tank and its very peaceful and looks nice http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=756

id stay away from auratus though ive heard nothing but bad things about those, they look beautiful but i think they are better for a more experienced mbuna keeper.
 
Any idea what the guy on the left is? The one with the blue body, mustard colored fin, with pink/purple around the edges?

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If its that fish, I think its a Pink jewel cichlid. Ideally they shouldn't be kept with Malawi's ad they originate from the West African rivers. Although a lot of people do keep them with mbuna.
 
if they are mainganos in the pic i would definately recommend those, i have one in my tank and its very peaceful and looks nice http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=756

id stay away from auratus though ive heard nothing but bad things about those, they look beautiful but i think they are better for a more experienced mbuna keeper.

I wouldnt class myself as experienced and Ive had nothing but success with all my Auratus.

MM, you are right its not the worst mixed tank ive ever seen. At that size and price, if you choose well you'd end up with a nice lot of fish for very little money!
 

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