Fairy Cichlid (N.Brichardi) and Malawi

[Steven A]

Well first of all I am really upset with my malawi tank as I see the fish 5 mins a day and that is when I feed them. I want them to come out more but they wont so I thought about adding some more fish ....

I know I am limited on size etc ..... but the Yellow labs I have atm are very small so I can put others in until they grow up my research tells me.

So I saw images of N . Brichardi wich is also called fairy cichlid. It is a Lake tanganykian and I have malawi set-up am I rite to belove these are the same set-up just with different fish. Therefore if I added some of these they will still be fine. They are very small and peaceful even during breeding.

I am thinking of getting these, to put with my yellow labs, while they are still very small. Please reply before tomorrow so I can go get them as soon as possible.

Thank you for your time.

 

[greenmaji]

ACK! noooo.. your yellow labs have that tank fully stocked!
Were you able to get 1 male and the rest females? If not, that is likely your problem...

 

[krap101]

also if the brichardis start to breed they'll attack anything they see. they own the bottom half ofmy 29 gallon tank. etc etc. my brichardis stay under their rock most of the day and come out every now and then.

 

[tetrin]

how many labs do you have now? IMO labs are extremely outgoing as far as cichlids go. they'll jump up and down your front glass everytime you pass, just hoping for that extra morsel of food....
check if your water params are correct...i know its a vague suggestion, but do a 50% pwc and see if anything happens. a lot of sluggishness among malawi's is attributed to poor water quality...
HTH

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Your current water results will help determind what your problem is. I don't think that it has anything to do with the sex. They are juvi's and it is impossible to sex juvi labs. I have 4 of them that aren't sexed and do not have any issues with them hiding. When it comes to Africans, if they do not follow you as you walk by the tank slowly, then it could be a sign of something is wrong with the water. That is what I have found to be one of the most common things anyways.

I wouldn't add anything else to your tank. You are stocked already with what you have. When you upgrade tanks later on, then you can start thinking about getting more fish. Plus, mixing Lake Tang and Lake Malawi is not a good idea. The labs may be peaceful, but the Tangs prefer a high pH to really thrive. Even though your labs are small, don't expect them to be that way for long. I'd just stick with what you have. No use in buying more fish that you will have to return in a couple months.

 

[greenmaji]

Thats why I recomended getting medium sized yellow labs rater then juvi's back when you got them.. and sex will matter in your case..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The price between small juvi's and medium juvi's can be quite high. That may be why he got the smaller ones. It's not a big deal though, they will be fine. As they mature you will be able to determine the sex. When they start getting to the mating size, then it will make a difference.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

BTW- How many labs did you end up getting?

 

[Steven A]

Thats the thing I had to get juvi's because o cost surely you people undertsnad its hard having 3 tanks and a social life at the age of 16 LOL. The yellow labs are very small and hide most of he time i.e. scatter when u approach the glass. However water is fine I actually got it checked yesterday. They are eating Great lol, they wont stop so i am guesing thats a good size. They just seem to be very scared sometimes.. I think my P.H is 8. And to be honast thought that adding more fish would help bring them out and N.Brichardi are quite peaceful in my opinion as I have kept them before. I think at my local stores they are in a P.H of 8 also so there would not be much of a change there.
It just made sense considering they need the same things!

There are plenty of caves etc .....

 

[Steven A]

I personally think that more fish need to be added so that the yellow labs feel more safe. I did some more research from I book I have seeing that with malawi large numbers are not just needed for aggression levels etc ... but also so that they feel more secure just like when you breed fish and use dither fish.

I am going to add some more and just keep a close eye on the tanks, I test my water weekly and check the tank daily and do water change 1 or 2 times a week.

So ........ Ni. Bichardi it is lol 8)

 

[tetrin]

umm...hold on...i'd suggest you add more labs to your setup, if you desperately want to add anything. strength in numbers will definitely break down the shyness barrier.
but make sure the new additions are juvies (say 5-6 more). and be ready to sell some extra males as they mature.

brichardi itself is a shy fish. it might have problems bringing the labs out.

but a really cheap way is to get a school of 5-6 zebra danios as dither and see if that helps. that would be the first thing i'd do....

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I would suggest more yellow labs also. And I Completly understand the cost factor. Even LiveAquaria sells small ones for $6.99 and medium ones for $29.99. The larger yellow labs are priced alot higher than small ones. And why not just get a bunch of small ones and grow them out yourself. It's cheaper. I forget how large your tank is, but only slightly overstock it. They will come around. What kind of substrate to you have? Mine love to dig in the sand and play in the greenery.

 

[Steven A]

Well thanx for info but just chatted to my 2 lfs and they actually said that N. Brichardi would be great especially once they start breeding !

Thank you every one.

 

[tetrin]

oh, definitely...if i owned a lfs and i wanted to sell my brichardi's i'll tell you the same thing...and i'll also tell you to buy some of my baby frontosa's...

 

[greenmaji]

This is a 30 gallon breeder.. I think 12 yellow labs would be detremantal.. and adding more then the current 6 labs... well to each his own I guess..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Yup, it's pretty much you do what you want to do. We offer advice but it's up to you to decide what you do with it. I hope all works out well for you.

 

[greenmaji]

I have no idea how much medium yellow labs. are were you guys are but juvi. ones here are $4 and medium ones are $12.

 

[tetrin]

3 lfs' here sell juvi labs for $7-$8. no medium or adults sold locally.
12 juvi's in a 36" tank would be ok until they hit maturity, when the fate of the tank would be decided by the number of males. if its 1 male and 11 females (i mean something like a small miracle), then it should be hunky-dory. at max 2 males may stay together.
but then again, to raise fry, a small 20g would be required. unless nature is allowed to take her course. in that case only a few fry will survive in the main tank(depending on the amount of cover provided).

 

[greenmaji]

That would be over 60 inchs of fish in a 30 gallon tank.. I dont think that sounds too hunky dory to me..

 

[tetrin]

yep...the 'inch per gallon' rule doesn't hold for malawi species...specially mbuna...