How's My Stock?

[Labenator65000]

55 gallon. HOB (for now), planning to upgrade.

5-Labidochromis caeruleus (Electric Yellow Lab)
2-Aulonocara "rubescens" (Ruby Red Peacock)
1-Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" (Sunshine Peacock)
2-Nimbochromis fuscotaeniatus (Fusco)
1-Sciaenochromis fryeri (Electric Blue Hap)

I'm only "foster keeping" the Fuscos. I know they will get too big for the 55. I plan to trade them in when they reach 4 or 5".

I'm open to hearing advice from experienced folks to tell me what species I should not have in there, or that my tank is too small. It's ok, I'm thick-skinned. I'd like to hear the straight-skinny.

I would like to add as many fish to the tank as I can safely do. I'm thinking Peacocks because they seem to be a peaceful choice and are the most readily available. How many more can I safely add? I want to make sure I am on the right path and going in the right direction before I move forward.

 

[Mogurako]

IMO peacocks and Mbuna should not be mixed the peacocks are far to peaceful to be housed with the more boisterous Mbuna. I know that other have done it but I don't recommend or condone it. The labs are fine make sure that you have a 1:4 male to female ratio. I would shoot for 10-12 of the smaller Mbuna like the labs. If you know the Fusco will not work why add it?! That's just asking for problems, Haps should never be housed with anything besides other similarly sized Haps. Also that tank does not have enough room for the electric blue they are Haps after all, while on the smaller side (7.5") they require allot of swim room.

 

[Labenator65000]

IMO peacocks and Mbuna should not be mixed the peacocks are far to peaceful to be housed with the more boisterous Mbuna. I know that other have done it but I don't recommend or condone it. The labs are fine make sure that you have a 1:4 male to female ratio. I would shoot for 10-12 of the smaller Mbuna like the labs. If you know the Fusco will not work why add it?! That's just asking for problems, Haps should never be housed with anything besides other similarly sized Haps. Also that tank does not have enough room for the electric blue they are Haps after all, while on the smaller side (7.5") they require allot of swim room.

lol, I had a feeling you would pipe in You are the most stringent of the advice givers (please, take that as a compliment) However, I've been doing this long enough that being stringent is the best bet for longevity and a healthy tank, so I'm willing to make changes for the sake of a healthy long-living fish.

OK so let me pick this apart, if I may:

I have seen you advise frequently that Mbuna should not mix with Peacocks, but later here you state that Labs are fine. Does that mean that Labs are an exception and so are fine with Peacocks, or does that just mean that Labs are ok in the 55 in general (lose the Peacocks)?

The Fuscos were (hopefully) the last of my foolish impulse purchases, and another kick in the pants to remind me that LFS frequently do not know what they are talking about. He had them labeled as Fuscus. I tried like crazy to research "Fuscus" while the store, but could not find anything on them. The only silver lining in this cloud is that at least the LFS is willing to trade up. I traded up a 3.5" Johannii (a separate, earlier kick in the pants) with them for two juvie Peacocks. I have been advised by folks here that the Fuscos are relatively easy-going; just big. As such, I was planning to trade them up when they get to 4 or 5". I would think I could get 3 or 4 of something in trade for the two. Is this plan not wise and why?

The hap was in the batch that was my very first Cichlid purchase. It was labeled as a Yellow-Tail Acei and I knew nothing about Cichlid-keeping whatsoever at the time. Man, that one is going to be tough to part with. It is hands-down the best-looking Cichlid in the tank and has the most personality, and has survived my leaning processes so far unscathed.

So you recommend other smaller Mbuna like labs. The challenge is that the labs are peaceful and nearly any other Mbuna is too territorial to go with them. Have any suggestions?

I appreciate you sharing your expertise.

 

[Ukdans1k]

Keeping cichlids can be such a learning curve. While some say what WONT work, they never really tell you WHAT WILL!!!!! Species wise.

Lake Malawi is a massive lake that houses over 800 different species. So as keepers , do we keep one species only to a tank??? No we don't. Do we keep cichlids that only come from the same part of the lake as each other??? No

we mix them up and find what works. different people will tell you different thing, depending on their knowledge and experiences. Sometimes you listen to lfs experts that get it wrong!!!! How ever Fish like people have different personalities and what doesn't work for one person , will work for someone else.
It can be very simple keeping cichlids or very difficult.

If people didn't try new and different things we would never know the things we know today!!!!

Yes some cichlids are aggressive and some placid but provide them with what they need in the aqua scape and aggression can be minimal.
For example: pile rocks on both the left and right hand side of the tank for your mbuna, and leave the middle open swimming space for you peacocks.
The theory is the the mbuna like the rocks and prefer to stick to them so won't venture too far. Peacocks like open swimming so use the middle and the sides above the rocks. You could add some dither fish if aggression is too high. I would suggest 2 males to several females . The reason being that if they decide to breed, the male can just choose one female and continue to harass her when shes holding despite other females being present. The other male will distract and keep him on his toes. This method has worked for me.

Stock levels is hard coz you overstock as a general rule and thin out as they grow. I would only keep 3 maybe 4 species in your tank . Making sure that they won't hybridise


Hope this helps and isn't too confusing. Lol

 

[Labenator65000]

Keeping cichlids can be such a learning curve. While some say what WONT work, they never really tell you WHAT WILL!!!!! Species wise.

Lake Malawi is a massive lake that houses over 800 different species. So as keepers , do we keep one species only to a tank??? No we don't. Do we keep cichlids that only come from the same part of the lake as each other??? No

we mix them up and find what works. different people will tell you different thing, depending on their knowledge and experiences. Sometimes you listen to lfs experts that get it wrong!!!! How ever Fish like people have different personalities and what doesn't work for one person , will work for someone else.
It can be very simple keeping cichlids or very difficult.

If people didn't try new and different things we would never know the things we know today!!!!

Yes some cichlids are aggressive and some placid but provide them with what they need in the aqua scape and aggression can be minimal.
For example: pile rocks on both the left and right hand side of the tank for your mbuna, and leave the middle open swimming space for you peacocks.
The theory is the the mbuna like the rocks and prefer to stick to them so won't venture too far. Peacocks like open swimming so use the middle and the sides above the rocks. You could add some dither fish if aggression is too high. I would suggest 2 males to several females . The reason being that if they decide to breed, the male can just choose one female and continue to harass her when shes holding despite other females being present. The other male will distract and keep him on his toes. This method has worked for me.

Stock levels is hard coz you overstock as a general rule and thin out as they grow. I would only keep 3 maybe 4 species in your tank . Making sure that they won't hybridise

Hope this helps and isn't too confusing. Lol

Thanks for your 2 cents. From my limited experience with Cichlid-keeping, I have multiple times in the past tried to sway slightly from the straight and narrow path to see if I might be able to be the exception to the rule; but it has come back to haunt me every single time with no exception. That's too frustrating and expensive (for me, at least). So henceforth I plan to stick rigidly to the common opinion of experienced keepers. Now the process of discerning the common opinion is time consuming and requires patience, a lot of research, posting perhaps on a couple of forums, and listening to every reply, but giving experienced folks more weight in making a final decision.

That being said, I do appreciate your feedback, particularly your advice on keeping rockwork to the sides and open swimming area in the middle. That's an interesting consideration. Of course that could only work if indeed Peacocks and Mbuna can in fact coexist. Mogurako advises against it, and I have seen at least one other experienced poster agree, so unless I hear some very compelling reasons otherwise from multiple experienced individuals, I will go with his advice.

"Keeping cichlids can be such a [difficult] learning [process]" is a statement that I agree with wholeheartedly.

 

[Mogurako]

I tend to give very cut and dry advice, based on over 15 years of trial and error fish keeping and countless hours of research. I know I tend to focus more on what doesn't/ won't work but allot of the times it needs to be said. The advice I give is just that advice based on what I would personally do, I dont expect anyone to follow it 100%. The reason why I normally don't tell people what works is because I want them to do their research like I do.

Even though labs are "peaceful" as far Mbuna go they are still quite aggressive comparative to the peacocks. I think you are at a point where you need to decide wether you want to do a Mbuna tank or peacock tank, either way I think you'll be very happy with the results.

 

[Malawi MaD]

You can keep a species only tank and a locale malawi tank, IMO locale species setups look amazing ( I have one myself)

The labs i'd keep and maybe go for a nice cynotilapia species? Iodotropheus sprengerae also stay relatively small and are nice little mbuna. Saulosi would be perfect but wouldn't recommend mixing them with the labs. For your size tank you want to try and keep smaller dwarf species.

 

[Mogurako]

cynotilapia species? Iodotropheus sprengerae also stay relatively small and are nice little mbuna.

I agree those would be good choices.

 

[Malawi MaD]

All depends on what you can get your hands on i suppose. Agree with Mogurako too, you need to decide between mbuna or a hap/peacock tank. Personally the mbuna would be better for your size tank

 

[Mogurako]

All depends on what you can get your hands on i suppose. Agree with Mogurako too, you need to decide between mbuna or a hap/peacock tank. Personally the mbuna would be better for your size tank

Haps would be out though, much to small of a tank even for the smaller 7-8" species. Smaller Mbuna or any peacocks besides the larger jacobfreibergi would be a great fit.

 

[a.tetreault]

you could possibly do a lab and demasoni tank good color combo IMO

 

[Mogurako]

you could possibly do a lab and demasoni tank good color combo IMO

The sheer numbers of Demasoni you'd need to keep aggression low are to much for such a small tank. I do agree the combination is stunning however.

 

[Mlani]

Sitting in on this one, there's a lot I need to learn too

 

[a.tetreault]

The sheer numbers of Demasoni you'd need to keep aggression low are to much for such a small tank. I do agree the combination is stunning however.

even if it were 12 dems and 4 labs? i guess the color ratio would be a little off lol personally i think if you had good filtration, and did water changes often you could do labs and dems but that is just my personal opinion. most people wouldnt be willing to keep up with the water conditions tho, anyway if you are just starting out demasoni arent the best to keep at first. so im gonna say no to my own idea now anyway lol

 

[Labenator65000]

This all very Informative feedback. I really appreciate the candid responses, as usual. Thanks!

 

[HUKIT]

Keeping cichlids can be such a learning curve. While some say what WONT work, they never really tell you WHAT WILL!!!!! Species wise.

Lake Malawi is a massive lake that houses over 800 different species. So as keepers , do we keep one species only to a tank??? No we don't. Do we keep cichlids that only come from the same part of the lake as each other??? No

we mix them up and find what works. different people will tell you different thing, depending on their knowledge and experiences. Sometimes you listen to lfs experts that get it wrong!!!! How ever Fish like people have different personalities and what doesn't work for one person , will work for someone else.
It can be very simple keeping cichlids or very difficult.

If people didn't try new and different things we would never know the things we know today!!!!

Yes some cichlids are aggressive and some placid but provide them with what they need in the aqua scape and aggression can be minimal.
For example: pile rocks on both the left and right hand side of the tank for your mbuna, and leave the middle open swimming space for you peacocks.
The theory is the the mbuna like the rocks and prefer to stick to them so won't venture too far. Peacocks like open swimming so use the middle and the sides above the rocks. You could add some dither fish if aggression is too high. I would suggest 2 males to several females . The reason being that if they decide to breed, the male can just choose one female and continue to harass her when shes holding despite other females being present. The other male will distract and keep him on his toes. This method has worked for me.

Stock levels is hard coz you overstock as a general rule and thin out as they grow. I would only keep 3 maybe 4 species in your tank . Making sure that they won't hybridise


Hope this helps and isn't too confusing. Lol

No offense to other posters but this is the best answer that has been given yet, the thing to keep in mind when asking questions on forums is the majority of answers will be a mix of constant regurgitation based on what they have heard or read on other websites...rarely this information is based on actual experience. So take what advice you will from this but don't let other talk you out of potential possibilities. Every situation is unique and there is no one size fits all when it comes to stocking a tank with fish that are aggressive in nature. Most often advice is given with the hope of the best possible outcome which is fine but there are always exclusions to this. Experiment and have fun but have a back up plan if things go south, you never know if your stocking combination will be the next recommended stock list.

 

[Malawi Freak]

No offense to other posters but this is the best answer that has been given yet, the thing to keep in mind when asking questions on forums is the majority of answers will be a mix of constant regurgitation based on what they have heard or read on other websites...rarely this information is based on actual experience. So take what advice you will from this but don't let other talk you out of potential possibilities. Every situation is unique and there is no one size fits all when it comes to stocking a tank with fish that are aggressive in nature. Most often advice is given with the hope of the best possible outcome which is fine but there are always exclusions to this. Experiment and have fun but have a back up plan if things go south, you never know if your stocking combination will be the next recommended stock list.

I don't agree, and this is what I have a problem with.

Yes some cichlids are aggressive and some placid but provide them with what they need in the aqua scape and aggression can be minimal.
For example: pile rocks on both the left and right hand side of the tank for your mbuna, and leave the middle open swimming space for you peacocks.
The theory is the the mbuna like the rocks and prefer to stick to them so won't venture too far. Peacocks like open swimming so use the middle and the sides above the rocks. You could add some dither fish if aggression is too high. I would suggest 2 males to several females . The reason being that if they decide to breed, the male can just choose one female and continue to harass her when shes holding despite other females being present. The other male will distract and keep him on his toes. This method has worked for me.

While this could work in larger tanks under 100g just don't have the space that these fish need to stick to just a rock pile. While they are swimming around they will cross other territories causing issues to arise. A second male to distract the other female with only 1 or 2 females will only last for so long until they are eventually all stressed and killed off.

 

[HUKIT]

Keeping cichlids can be such a learning curve. Lake Malawi is a massive lake that houses over 800 different species. So as keepers , do we keep one species only to a tank??? No we don't. Do we keep cichlids that only come from the same part of the lake as each other??? No

we mix them up and find what works. different people will tell you different thing, depending on their knowledge and experiences. Sometimes you listen to lfs experts that get it wrong!!!! How ever Fish like people have different personalities and what doesn't work for one person , will work for someone else.
It can be very simple keeping cichlids or very difficult.
If people didn't try new and different things we would never know the things we know today!!!!

This part of the quote is what I was commenting on, I should have made that clear. The point was there is no such thing as black and white stocking advice. There are exceptions to every rule, I have a mixed tank of haps, peacocks, and mbuna that are left overs from fish that were not sold through my breeding projects but in all there are 54 fish over the last three years with peacocks from german reds to flametails showing full color, fry from 3 generations of fish(hybrids that will never leave), no deaths so it's certainly possible for different things to work out. Now would I recommend that to a new fishkeeper certainly not but I would never have someone not try to experiment based off something I said. Anyone who knows me here can vouch for my knowledge of cichlids from every continent, so try to keep a open mind when it comes to advice being so freely given.