Stocking Research Questions

[Bschowa]

Hi, i should start by saying that i have never had a cichlid tank before, (i did but not a proper one, more of a huge mistake first fish tank but thats how i learned that i must do research) just a few community and shrimp tanks and i want to get a jump start on researching compatibility while i am fishless cycling my tank, i plan on letting it sit for a while even after it is fully cycled so i have everything situated because its a pain trying to add/take stuff away when there is fish in the way

it is a 75gallon tank and i want to have a few different species of cichlids in it. i have done some basic research but still had a few questions.

here are a few cichlids that i liked the look of so far.



LAKE TANGANYIKA CICHLIDS
Gold Sexfasciatus Cichlid
Duboisi Cichlid
Frontosa Cichlid

LAKE MALAWI CICHLIDS
Demasoni Cichlid
Dwarf mbuna
Bumblebee Cichlid
Large mbuna
Yellow lab cichlid
Mbamba
Kenyi Cichlid
Mbuna
Red Zebra Cichlid
Mbuna
Venustus Cichlid
Hap
Yellow Peacock Cichlid
Not sure

My first question would be, as i believe that these are all african do they have to be from the same lake? i know that the different lakes have different PHs but most fish can adapt to a different ph and live a healthy life, is this true with cichlids as well?

2. what is the difference between HAP, Mbuna, and mbamba?

3. could i house a mixture of those togather or would there be dominace problems?

4. will these be able to be housed in a 75 gallon tank? that is as big of a tank as my lanlord will allow at this time.

5. is there any out there that you personally love and think i should take a look at?

that is all i can think of as of now, but i thank you for looking at it and hope you can help!

 

[Mrc8858]

First u can house different lake species but would be best to do a single lake per tank and 75 gallons is plenty... there could be some aggression and fin nipping to different lake fish I would suggest a Malawi setup lots of color, personality , and most grow to around the 4-6 inch range... some of my favorites would be the johanni and auratus

 

[Bschowa]

the top 5 fish i would want in order are,

1. Demasoni Cichlid
2. Gold Sexfasciatus Cichlid
3. Electric Yellow Cichlid
4. Venustus Cichlid
5. Duboisi Cichlid

is this a manageable combination?

how many would i be able to put into a 75 gallon tank? would 20 fit? or 3 of each so 15?

also depending on how hard these are to find that might change a bit

 

[steez]

I'll let someone else chime in for the final stocking. But I'll just add that you should keep at least 12 Demasoni if you plan on keeping them, most sites say keep 12+ and also I've been told by numerous people that you want 12+ to keep them less aggressive, therefor reducing bloating issues and aggressiveness to other fish.


Try to keep a 1m/4f ratio on your fish too.

 

[Bschowa]

oh wow, thats a lot of one fish, that might lower the other species that i would be able to hold in the tank

so you would say at least 5 fish of each type i choose?

 

[Matt_55]

well im just saying, please dont hate, i have 2 Demasoni and they seem to do fine, there is very VERY little fighting between other fish.

 

[OsciTheOscar]

just so you know the Venustus gets upwards of 10" or even slightly bigger...

 

[steez]

I don't know how many different species you can fit into one 75g. Hopefully someone else can chime in. But you typically have to have your numbers right for each species, not just a random # of each fish.

 

[NoFishingAllowed]

I think maybe you should pick like 2 out of that list.

 

[Mogurako]

the top 5 fish i would want in order are,

1. Demasoni Cichlid
2. Gold Sexfasciatus Cichlid
3. Electric Yellow Cichlid
4. Venustus Cichlid
5. Duboisi Cichlid

is this a manageable combination?

how many would i be able to put into a 75 gallon tank? would 20 fit? or 3 of each so 15?

also depending on how hard these are to find that might change a bit

Short answer in no....

1. Demasoni is an Mbuna and needs to be stocked with other Mbuna that grow to the same size and have the same aggression levels, I would shoot for 15-20 fish in a 75.

2. Gold Sexfasciatus Cichlid aka Neolamprologus Sexfasciatus is a Lake Tanganyika cichlid that would do best with others from that lake. I would say 4-8 would make a nice little group that would live in the rocks then get some open water swimmers and maybe some Cyprichromis to school on the top.

3. Electric Yellow Cichlid is an Mbuna and could go with the Demasoni.

4. Nimbochromis venustus is a Lake Malawi hap and grows to 10-12",they require a 125-150 gallon minimum do to their size and activity level. Do not mix with other Nimbochromis, only one male Venustus should be housed in a tank make sure to include 2-3 females. The best tank mates are other large Haps otherwise they will eat any tank mate that fits in their mouth.

5.Tropheus duboisi are from lake Tanganyika and are not the best fish for beginners. The need to be kept in the 1:4 ratio but in groups of 10 or more and best kept in a species tank. They are strictly herbivores and will spend most of their time eating algae off the rocks.

 

[OsciTheOscar]

i would suggest to you Demasoni, Electric Yellow labs, and saulosi cichlids...

anyone can correct me on this cause of the similarities in color between Electric yellows and the female saulosi and theres a wierd aggression that MAY accure between the male EY Lab and the YOUNG male saulosi cause they tend to maintain the colors of a female saulosi to escape aggression of the dominant male, still the dominant knows the difference... but again this info is all on research, and again...

please step in if u have more knowledge...

im just suggesting this because i know EY labs and demasoni go well, and saulosi are the dwarf version of great lookin cichlids, and you can fit more...

if you were to do a tank like this, your best bet is to overstock your tank to get rid of aggression..! just be sure to over filter by at least 10x... (Did i do ok peers?)

 

[Mogurako]

i would suggest to you Demasoni, Electric Yellow labs, and saulosi cichlids...

I wouldn't do saulosi with labs colors are to close, Rustys or Socolofi would work.

 

[Bschowa]

wow! thanks for the input guys!!! i really like the looks of the Rustys how many of each one would you go with if i were to go with Demasoni, yellow lab, and rustys?

 

[Bschowa]

also, what are the possibilities of bumblebee or kenyi? would those mix well with the demansoni and yellow labs?

thanks for all the help!

 

[Mogurako]

also, what are the possibilities of bumblebee or kenyi? would those mix well with the demansoni and yellow labs? thanks for all the help!

Bumblebees are pretty aggressive I don't think they'd mix well with the labs. Acei need a 6' tank.

wow! thanks for the input guys!!! i really like the looks of the Rustys how many of each one would you go with if i were to go with Demasoni, yellow lab, and rustys?

I would go with 5 yellow labs, 5 Rustys and 10 Demasoni.

 

[Bschowa]

with that stocking if i were to breed them in the future would there be any cross breeding?

 

[Mogurako]

You'll be pretty safe from cross breeding.

 

[Bschowa]

http://zollberg.com/dets_images/malawi-cichlid-1427.jpg

do you know what kind this is?

 

[Mrc8858]

http://zollberg.com/dets_images/malawi-cichlid-1427.jpg

do you know what kind this is?

I believe that's it... Labeotropheus Fuelleborni

 

[Mogurako]

Looks like a male Fuelleborni to me