Yellow Lab tank mates?

[Mollybreeder]

I have two ancient glow light tetra that are the last of a school of 15. I currently have them in my 40 gallon cichlid tank with NO cichlids at the moment. They are helping with the cycle and i was wondering if i could keep them in there JUST for a little bit because the Yellow Labs Im getting for the tank are only one inch long...they are barely bigger than the tetras...

Is it ok to keep the tetras in there until the cichlids get older?

 

[vantgE]

NO. It might work for a very short time if they are fast enough but ti isn't worth trying

 

[Mollybreeder]

Why wouldnt it work? they are the same size and im not leaving them in there forever?

 

[vantgE]

The Labidochromis caeruleus would kill the tetras. They are also diet, ph, and habitat differences that would make life much less then ideal for both species, the size similarity will not last long either cichlids grow very fast. The yellow labs as a mbuna would ideally be kept only with other mbuna cichlids.

 

[freddyk]

Try it then. There's a good chance they'll be ignored. There's also a chance the labs will harass the tetra's to death. With the labs being so small I'd say they'll probably be ok for a while, as long as you recognize the risk.

 

[fish_r_great]

yeah you might want to try it. A lot of people have kept labs with tetra and rainbows because of their lower aggression levels compared to most mbuna.

 

[rmm]

If your not attached to the tetras you might want to give it a go but remmember that size with cichlids does not reflect their agression. The labs will be alot more agressive than the tetras even at that age and as stated before they can harass them to death. They are a bit more mellow so, and if your not bothered by loosing them it might be a learning experieance worth tying.

Just note that if you are planning on conditioning your water to suit the labs your water parms might kill the tetras alone from stress. The salinity level will not suit them properly IMHO.

Good Luck in your choice hope it all works out

 

[Kajuki18]

Some yellow labs probably could be kept in a community because of their low agression but its not a good idea because the differences in the water conditions.

 

[Mollybreeder]

well ive tried it...i have two yellow labs in there now with the two tetra....one male and one female lab. There have been no signs of aggression for the past day. Sometimes the tetra chase the labs

 

[rmm]

Please keep us updated on your progress

 

[Mollybreeder]

Well...I have had a loss but your going to be surprised at this one. My female lab killed my male! I watched the last few seconds of the fight...She was chasing him around and attacking him...he was all torn up and then just sank to the bottom unable to move...it was so sad, I put him out of his misery

 

[freddyk]

That stinks - sounds like you needed more of them, though that kind of aggression isn't normal for these guys. I'm more inclined to think they may have been both males, how did you sex them (I know I can't when they're small)

 

[Sunny.C]

You should of moved things around in the tank dude

 

[Sunny.C]

BTW the neons will maybe last 1-2 weeks in there, until the lab figures out they could be lunch.

 

[Mollybreeder]

Their not neons their glo lites and so far she is getting along great with them. My LFS told me it was a male and a female.