Frustrated

[giggalz]

ive never had so many issues as i have this time with cichlids or fish in general...i use to have cichlids and i've got all of the same ones i did before..with the exception of one..ive had them for about a month..friday night i bought two more acei to go with the one i already have..i noticed the same night the one acei with his nose up to the top of the water..and his back tail is half gone..not sure if i bought him that way..or if he got injured when i was releasing him from the bag..i have a certain way of doing it to prevent them from getting stuck in the back..but it happened that night..i've dumped him in another tank which is only suppose to be for guppies..thankfully havent got yet..but will tuesday or wednesday..so i have no idea what to do with him..i've pegged my bumble bee the aggressor..i cant seem to part with him...i loved him when i got him..he was the darkest one in the tank...didnt know they changed colors...i even asked about it here cause he lightened up a lot..3 of the cichlids must have grown an inch cause they are an inch at least bigger then the others...i've thought about seeing if petsmart would switch for a smaller...i dont know if he's attacking my other fish thus resulting in casualties (then death) or not...my water from testing looks good...plenty of rocks etc..although ive been trying to find more lava rock and cant seem to find them without either being fake or costing me a fortune..or something that kinda goes with it...also do corys go with my african cichlids..i bought 3 and down to 1...i dont know if they've picked on them or not..they've never been bottom dwellers..they've always been crazy around my tank..and love my bubble wall...

i guess i really have no point to this post...i've rewritten this twice cause i didnt want it to be so long..i've had so many deaths..and not sure what the cause is..if its just from one of my cichlids or that i'm getting them from petsmart or what..

 

[HUKIT]

What size is your tank? Please list all of your fish and sizes.

I've been breeding Africans for quite a years and there's a reason stocking plans is so important. You'll get there too, so let's go over your stock list.

 

[vitacrux]

My local pet smart has a fourteen day return policy if you come with reciept, not sure if that applies only to dead fish or exchanges as well but if your within the limit it may save you some money.

 

[giggalz]

55g

demasoni 1.5 inches
bumblebee about 2
kenyi about 2
2 acei 1 inch and 1.5 inches
red jeweled 2 inches
lab 1.5
red zebra close to 2

ive bought them all at around an inch..but those three have grown way faster then the others...i've had more then this years back in the same tank...same amount of rocks..but no problems

 

[giggalz]

My local pet smart has a fourteen day return policy if you come with reciept, not sure if that applies only to dead fish or exchanges as well but if your within the limit it may save you some money.

yeah i've had to do that with one dead fish..they were nice about it considering i didnt have the receipt...i've had the bumble longer then 14..and i've thrown the receipt out by now..

 

[giggalz]

What size is your tank? Please list all of your fish and sizes.

I've been breeding Africans for quite a years and there's a reason stocking plans is so important. You'll get there too, so let's go over your stock list.

ive never worried about it..when i stocked the tank years ago my aunt and uncle owned a fish store and they told me what was good and not good...i just bought what i had before..except for the jeweled..it was a trial kind of thing..and have had no problems with it..

 

[HUKIT]

You have 3 of the most aggressive fish in there now, Demasoni need to be stocked around 13-15 fish to reduce their insane behavior. Bumblebee and kenyi's aren't to far behind.

A 55g will hold three spieces of fish. So your going to have to rehome some of the fish and start buying more. Pick three fish and start stocking from that point. I wouldn't recommend the top 3 due to aggression issues, the jewels dont belong with Malawi and acei need a 6ft tank.

I would buy more labs, red zebras and picks a third fish and start from there. Your buying more juvies to start then after their able to be sexed started rehoming the rest. What your shooting for is 1m for every 4/5 females.

 

[giggalz]

i plan on rehoming when they get to be to large for the tank..which is what i did originally..i had what i mentioned above without the red jeweled ..more kenyi's and labs and had about 15 in the tank..and like i said no problems..my kenyi and bumble switch off to see whose the aggressor...but with each other....i havent seen any like constant picking..its the random chasing..and they all do that all the time..my demasoni doesnt bother any of them...its weird..but the bumble and kenyi are the biggest in the tank...would be nice if the fatties would stop thinking i'm going to feed them every time i come near the tank lol

thank you hukit

 

[HUKIT]

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

 

[kay-bee19]

....my demasoni doesnt bother any of them...its weird..but the bumble and kenyi are the biggest in the tank...

Demasoni aggression is primarily conspecific in nature (they're highly aggressive toward their own kind, but not that bad with other mbuna's); a single specimen would work in most set ups that lack other demasoni's or species that resemble them (male saulosi's, yellow top mbamba's etc).

The bumblebee is one of the largest mbuna species in the hobby (they max out at 7" or even 8"). Fish of the zebra complex (to include your kenyi and red zebra) approach 6". Acei's can get up to 6" but lack the robust builds of the zebra's.

Your fish are still juveniles and being smaller than 3" haven't displayed what fully matured hyperdominant mbuna's are capable of doing.

When keeping mildly aggressive mbuna's (acei's) with aggressive and hyper-dominant species they need to be maintained in greater numbers (six acei's as opposed to a pair) for protection.

For the best success with mbuna's strive for the gender ratio's HUKIT suggested.

 

[Kat1103]

All fish have different personalities. Such as, some labs can be very peaceful while others not so much. It can take up to a year to get a balanced and peaceful tank. This may require u to return several fish that don't fit well into the mix. I've only had to return one lab of mine so far and all of mine get along fine and I don't have 3 species in my tank. Just be sure to have one male of one species or have a proper male to female ratio. Also, always rearrange your tank before introducing new fish. I've also noticed by leaving the lights off for a few hours helps as well. Hope I've helped u