My first cichlid tank.

[Oohitsae]

What about the other labidochromis species you could do perlmutt or red top hongi (luv those) the clown lab cant recall there name but they are white and blue i think ..

Im not as fond of the labs either my husband wanted them i personally woulda preferred one of the other labidochromis like the clown lab or the hongi but that was the only fish husband specifically asked for and i couldnt say no

I do love the red top hongii, will probably go with those. I still haven't had the time to look much into things, but hopefully I'll have the time and energy to soon.

 

[kjacks]

Yea.. i did tons of research my thread for my 55g was 250+ pages i changed my mind soo much...lol but in the end im happy with my tank . Since i did a big no no i have had a few hiccups along the way but overall things have been peaceful.. so once you can research the more the better and i would suggest not settling for fish i.you dont want them or you aont be happy in the end and possibly will have to rehome them to get what you wanted to begin with .. :/

 

[Oohitsae]

Yea.. i did tons of research my thread for my 55g was 250+ pages i changed my mind soo much...lol but in the end im happy with my tank . Since i did a big no no i have had a few hiccups along the way but overall things have been peaceful.. so once you can research the more the better and i would suggest not settling for fish i.you dont want them or you aont be happy in the end and possibly will have to rehome them to get what you wanted to begin with .. :/

Wow! Hahaha I hope I don't end up with 250+ pages lol
Thanks for all the advice. I've had to learn the hard way with some of my other tanks in the past, so I'm trying my best to not fail miserably with this one. There are so many cichlids out there that I feel like it will take me forever to find a grouping that I really like and are compatible with each other, but I'm sure it'll be worth the wait.
There's a local fish auction coming up this weekend that I'll be going to, so I'll be on the look out for some interesting cichlids there as well. Hopefully I'll have enough time to research the ones I like before the auction starts and/or they are auctioned off. If all else fails there will be another auction in October and I can always buy online or find them locally. I finally discovered some local Facebook groups for fish enthusiasts and found a ton of breeders that way as well, so I'm hoping not too much shipping will have to be done now.

 

[kjacks]

Yea.. i here ya .. mayb you can research a handful before the auction and have a list. I wnt threw and picked some i liked wrot down their name size aggression levels towarda others and conspecific then if a herb ,omni,or carn. That way i would have my list when i went to lfs ..

I felt lost to and still ask questions sometimes just to be sure.. i have tons of pages on my fb one is pretty good its called cichlid keepers i like it so far the best .. then i have some for inverts i like to read all the problems and suggested stocking tips it keeps me updated..lol

 

[Oohitsae]

Yea.. i here ya .. mayb you can research a handful before the auction and have a list. I wnt threw and picked some i liked wrot down their name size aggression levels towarda others and conspecific then if a herb ,omni,or carn. That way i would have my list when i went to lfs ..

I felt lost to and still ask questions sometimes just to be sure.. i have tons of pages on my fb one is pretty good its called cichlid keepers i like it so far the best .. then i have some for inverts i like to read all the problems and suggested stocking tips it keeps me updated..lol

That's actually a really good idea! It'll be my first, and this clubs first auction though, so I'm wondering what they'll have. Watch them not have any of what I'm interested in lol
And the LFS's really don't have much, just the basic "mixed African" tank and a couple SA species, unless they get special orders in or someone donates extra juries to them.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

That's actually a really good idea! It'll be my first, and this clubs first auction though, so I'm wondering what they'll have. Watch them not have any of what I'm interested in lol
And the LFS's really don't have much, just the basic "mixed African" tank and a couple SA species, unless they get special orders in or someone donates extra juries to them.

What exactly are you looking for? I maybe able to help you out. Sorry i lost track of this thread and am trying to catch up on 5 pages

 

[Oohitsae]

What exactly are you looking for? I maybe able to help you out. Sorry i lost track of this thread and am trying to catch up on 5 pages

I'm not sure what I'm looking for Andrew! Lol that's the problem. Just some advice on good Maingano tank mates that'd fit a 55 at this point. I'll probably be taking the Saulosi to the NEOFish auction next weekend so I am open to any and all ideas, preferably dimorphic, and not a yellow/blue combination if possible

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I'm not sure what I'm looking for Andrew! Lol that's the problem. Just some advice on good Maingano tank mates that'd fit a 55 at this point. I'll probably be taking the Saulosi to the NEOFish auction next weekend so I am open to any and all ideas, preferably dimorphic, and not a yellow/blue combination if possible

Well lol I know a guy around me that sells different things and one is the afra cobue

 

[Oohitsae]

Well lol I know a guy around me that sells different things and one is the afra cobue

Is it Tony Poth? I'm not sure where exactly you are, but I believe he's in the Akron/Canton area and have been talking to him a bit through facebook. He seems to have just about everything, but I haven't been able to make the drive to check out his stock yet. Theres also a guy a bit south of me that seems to have quite the variety, but I feel like Tony's would be better.

Anyways, did a little looking around, through aquabid for colors I like and then a bit of googling and had a list written in my notes on the computer...but just now when I went to copy and paste them I accidentally selected and pasted over it, so now the list is gone and I'll have to start all over lol

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I'm in Johnstown that's a little north east of Columbus and no it's not him. The club i told you about on the other thread has people all over. Just see what everyone has and do a little homework like you've been doing, you'll get there. That stinks about erasing the names. If you need any help on if they will work let us know and we will be glad to help

 

[Oohitsae]

I'm in Johnstown that's a little north east of Columbus and no it's not him. The club i told you about on the other thread has people all over. Just see what everyone has and do a little homework like you've been doing, you'll get there. That stinks about erasing the names. If you need any help on if they will work let us know and we will be glad to help

Ooh! I should have figured that lol

I started a new list. I think most of these are Mbunas, maybe some are peacocks...at first my search was all over the place. All stay under 5" and most are mildly-aggressive or aggressive in temperament...
Now I just need to figure out which are more common to find, what will work best, etc. Or other suggestions of similar fish

Copadichromis verduyni
Copadichromis sp. "Mloto Goldcrest"
Cynotilapia afra (Jalo Reef) OR (Cobue)
Cynotilapia sp. "elongatus mdoka"
Cynotilapia sp. "Lion" (Lion's Cove)
Cynotilapia sp. "Maleri" (Nakantenga)
Labidochromis sp. "Perlmutt"
Labidochromis sp. "Mbamba"
Metriaclima sp. "Black Dorsal Nkolongwe"
Melanochromis melanopterus
Labidochromis caeruleus (Albino)
Metriaclima callainos
Metriaclima sp. "mbweca"
Pseudotropheus cyaneus
Metriaclima glaucos
Pseudotropheus sp. "Elongatus Bee"
Pseudotropheus perileucos
Pseudotropheus polit
　

 

[kjacks]

Ooh i luv the polit.... started to get it but i was trying to stay mildly aggressive not that it worked...lol

I like the perlmutt & cobue .. alot too...

Andrews cobue is sooo gorgeous its his avatar pic.. soo jealous ..

 

[Oohitsae]

Ooh i luv the polit.... started to get it but i was trying to stay mildly aggressive not that it worked...lol

I like the perlmutt & cobue .. alot too...

Andrews cobue is sooo gorgeous its his avatar pic.. soo jealous ..

There are soon many gorgeous ones that it's hard to decide! Lol
Andrew's is very gorgeous! It'll take me forever to narrow it down just to 2 species. Lol

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Ooh! I should have figured that lol

I started a new list. I think most of these are Mbunas, maybe some are peacocks...at first my search was all over the place. All stay under 5" and most are mildly-aggressive or aggressive in temperament...
Now I just need to figure out which are more common to find, what will work best, etc. Or other suggestions of similar fish


Cynotilapia afra (Jalo Reef) OR (Cobue)
Cynotilapia sp. "Lion" (Lion's Cove)
Labidochromis sp. "Mbamba"
Pseudotropheus polit
　

Narrowed it down to 4 for you, any questions?

 

[kjacks]

He wants mainganos too remember...lol get with it andrew your slipping.. unless he changed his mind ...lol


I like those combos think itll make a amazing tank

 

[Andrew McFadden]

He wants mainganos too remember...lol get with it andrew your slipping.. unless he changed his mind ...lol

I like those combos think itll make a amazing tank

Any of those should do fine with them.. I was just narrowing the list down by what's easier to find but not as common. Nor will that list work without tweaking it

 

[kjacks]

Any of those should do fine with them.. I was just narrowing the list down by what's easier to find but not as common. Nor will that list work without tweaking it

Guess i shoula said she...lol

I know you know what to do just like giving you a hard time

Tweaking is a reason i skipped the polit.. i think it woulda been a diaster in my tank bc of the vics..

Really depending on if you wanna overstock or not you could add all those andrew mentioned plus mainganos.. it would depend on your water parameters and how often you wanna do more frequent water changes and having more filteration.. I got lucky my water is perfect straight from the tap so one pwc week and im good ..

 

[Oohitsae]

Guess i shoula said she...lol

I know you know what to do just like giving you a hard time

Tweaking is a reason i skipped the polit.. i think it woulda been a diaster in my tank bc of the vics..

Really depending on if you wanna overstock or not you could add all those andrew mentioned plus mainganos.. it would depend on your water parameters and how often you wanna do more frequent water changes and having more filteration.. I got lucky my water is perfect straight from the tap so one pwc week and im good ..

She is right! Hahaha

Is tweaking supposed to mean something other than the normal meaning of it?


I already do water changes every 3-4 days, so overstocking really isn't a big issue for me, that and the fact that atleast double filter everything, if not triple. It's more about what gets along the best with what. Plus I hear with Mbunas you kind of need to overstock to level out aggression

So, what if I did like a trio or something of say 3 of the species Andrew suggested in my list? Would that be too much? Having 4 species total? Or should I just go with 2 and have a larger group of each?

 

[kjacks]

I had a mixture in my 55g for alittle bit an i dont suggest that.. i also had alot of aggression with a couple fish so i had to upgrade to calm the violence down.. i would think the milder species would be aight with 4 groups the pilot is agressive so it mayb a problem maybe not .. its trail and era depends on your fish ya know they are like dogs each with a different personality

 

[Oohitsae]

I had a mixture in my 55g for alittle bit an i dont suggest that.. i also had alot of aggression with a couple fish so i had to upgrade to calm the violence down.. i would think the milder species would be aight with 4 groups the pilot is agressive so it mayb a problem maybe not .. its trail and era depends on your fish ya know they are like dogs each with a different personality

What size did you have to upgrade to? I think I mentioned it earlier, but I have a 75 sitting in my garage waiting for a good reason to put it to use, so I can always upgrade to that if/when needed. But for now I'd like to keep things on the smaller side and simple. I suppose I'll skip the pilot and then see how many of the other 3 I can find and see what happens with that. I figure I'll only be able to find a couple nearby anyways, we shall see though!
Fish definitely all do have their own personalities though! It's insane! Hopefully I get some good luck with these guys like I have with most my other tanks aggression-wise.