Super mean auratus

[bcurlacher54]

ok..i need answers on what cichlids can stand up to this sucker, i think this is mostly my fault because i didnt properly acclimate when i added my stock on sunday. so most of them didnt make it. i was left with just this mean dude and a jewel along with my pleco. it went fine up until last night when the auratus just wouldnt leave the jewel alone. i figured i should go and trade my casualties in this evening or tomorrow. to give the jewel a break. any help is appreciated.

 

[HUKIT]

What size tank is this? Those fish are not compaitable due to different aggression levels. Careful plans must be followed when stocking these fish, with the proper species selection and male to female ratios to reduce aggression in between speices. And there's just times when a overly aggressive fish need his own tank or a new home.

 

[bcurlacher54]

its a 75...and there will be no own tank for this dude..ive only got one and thats it. so what goes in there with it? i had put in 2 acei another auratus 2 bumbees, that jewel, an 2electric yellow, a kenyi,and an albino red top...but as i said i think i gave them ph or osmosis shock due to improper acclamation...

 

[Bl80]

How ling has your tank been up? Did the others die or were they killed? You have alot of different fish species going on....

 

[HN1]

What size tank is this? Those fish are not compaitable due to different aggression levels. Careful plans must be followed when stocking these fish, with the proper species selection and male to female ratios to reduce aggression in between speices. And there's just times when a overly aggressive fish need his own tank or a new home.

They also prefer different water qualities. What type of pleco? Tank cycled?

 

[bcurlacher54]

yeah tank cycled...just checked chems few mins ago 0 ammonia 0 nitrite, nitrate is 40, a bit high i know but everyone insists that nitrate didnt kill them...and that i shouldnt have just floated the bag and cut it open....no they werent killed by the aratus, they died in like 4-6 hrs...the pleco is a regular ole common pleco and the aratus wont go near it, even if it does go to his fav part of the tank...i read that cobalt blues, kenyi's, electric yellows and johanni's would work with the mean guy...if not can someone give me a list?

 

[HN1]

I'm not very experienced with non-tang african cichlids. There are quite a few very experienced keepers here though (MFD & Hukit come immediately to mind). I do have experience with plecs and african riverine fish though and would not keep the jewel or pleco in a african rift tank.

 

[HUKIT]

In a 75g you could stock 3 species of fish from different genus to reduce aggression and hybridization. Auratus are some of the most aggressive mbuna followed my Kenyi, I'm assuming it's a male so best to get 4-5 females. Them pick two other species stocked in the same male to female ratio. Sometimes fish are hard to sex at when juvies so buy more and rehome the hyper-aggressive fish and excess males, so the final stocking number would be around 20 fish. There are plenty of mbuna that will work with them but make sure you stock correctly. And like I said the hyper-aggressive ones sometimes need to be rehomed.

How many fish did you lose at once? Most store bought fish are housed in similar water chemisty that we have in our homes. So how did you acclimate the fish?

 

[mfdrookie516]

I would definitely follow HUKIT's advice. I was lucky in that the two male (was thought to be one male, one female when purchased) auratus I had were very mellow. The Kenyi can get pretty agressive too. You definitely need to rehome the jewel though, they're a river fish, not a lake fish... totally different aggression and housing requirements.

I will say that most plecos do ok with mbuna, though I've seen HUKIT say he couldn't keep albino bristlenose in his tanks. Even in tanks that people have buffered up to a ph of 8 or more, plecos seem to do ok. Definitely not necessary and adds a lot of uneeded bioload to the tank though (IMO).

 

[bcurlacher54]

HUKIT..thanx for the help in advance...i lost 9....like a complete newb i simply floated the bag and cut it open...after spending months reseraching how to cycle the tank properly and being overly cautious, the one thing i didnt look into was proper acclamation...yeah i also thought that most mbunas could be stocked together. but i will try my best to simply pick 3 species and try to sex them. but i have to admit i have no idea how to sex most of them. the auratus is still the color of a female but it could be that it just hasnt changed yet.

 

[HUKIT]

Even for as long I've kept africans some species are almost impossible to sex without venting, even that can be difficult. Try to avoid stocking similar blue striped fish when choosing fish. In a 75g yellow labs, socolofi, and rusty's would b cool. One of my favorite stocking is blue and yellow with my choices being 13-15 demasoni( you think the auratus is nuts, thats the reason for so many) and 5 yellow labs. Plecs are ok with mbuna except my racist fish that kill albinos but leave regular ones alone, my choice there would be bristlenose since they stay smaller and work harder than commons. Any questions with fish choices we are here to help.

 

[HN1]

I definitely bow to your experience with africans, but I've seen several large plecos lose eyes in mbuna tanks. Never seen issues with BN though so can't speak to them.

 

[Oblivion]

from my limited experience, labidochromis yellow (electric yellow aka yellow lab's) are generally pretty easy going and are usually the first to go into hiding when someone starts getting cranky in the tank.
compared to other african cichlids theyre not very aggressive, imo