Help please

[Molson_28]

I've had my cichlid tank set up for almost 4 years now. Haven't had any deaths for over 2 years but now all of a sudden 2 quick deaths. The tank is too small. It's 46 gallon but at the time I was new and didn't know any better. I'm down to 4 fish in the tank. Should I add more to cope with the aggression or just let it play out. Any suggestions??



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[garfy]

First of all what kind of cichlids are we talking about?


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[Molson_28]

Sorry they're Mbuna cichlids. My cobalt blue killed 2 Kenyi. Witch isn't easy Kenyi are tough lol


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[garfy]

Yeah I've kept both in the past.Personally I don't believe in overcrowding to curb aggression.I believe if you pick the right mix of fish with the right male to female ratio and correctly lay out your tank. I.E plenty of places to hide and break up the line of sight then all will be well.The fish you have command a fairly sizeable territory and this is why your losing fish.They have matured and that's when the aggression really kicks in.Im afraid as Quint says in jaws "your gonna need a bigger boat"
In a 46G tank I would only keep the more passive mbuna such as yellow labs or hongi something like that.
You need a 5 footer for the level of aggression Kenya and cobalt blues have.


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[RedDevil83]

I disagree on not over stocking mbuna and peacocks as a whole , just as long as they are all males and you keep your water changes frequent. It works that's all I got to say.

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[Molson_28]

I have 2 yellow labs in with the cobalt blues. They do seem to get along well. In your opinion does that combo work


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[Molson_28]

I have tons of hiding places my tank has a lot of rock. Sometimes I feel like taking all the rock out to get rid of any territories. But hiding and swimming through rocks is what they do. I don't want to take that away


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[garfy]

Yes Yellow labs and cobalt blues work.The cobalts will always be boss but the blue and yellow combination is just stunning in my opinion.


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[Molson_28]

I really love the yellow labs. I know their so common but doesn't matter. Their awesome fish. Think I could add more or just stick the the 2 cobalt and 2 yellows lab combo


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[TMRC Exotics]

Yeah I've kept both in the past.Personally I don't believe in overcrowding to curb aggression.I believe if you pick the right mix of fish with the right male to female ratio and correctly lay out your tank. I.E plenty of places to hide and break up the line of sight then all will be well.The fish you have command a fairly sizeable territory and this is why your losing fish.They have matured and that's when the aggression really kicks in.Im afraid as Quint says in jaws "your gonna need a bigger boat"
In a 46G tank I would only keep the more passive mbuna such as yellow labs or hongi something like that.
You need a 5 footer for the level of aggression Kenya and cobalt blues have.


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right on, I agree.

I disagree on not over stocking mbuna and peacocks as a whole , just as long as they are all males and you keep your water changes frequent. It works that's all I got to say.

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this is a band aid to a larger issue. A certain amount of stocking is necessary but over stocking is bad science. It just means lots of fish get bullied instead of a few in badly stocked tanks.

I really love the yellow labs. I know their so common but doesn't matter. Their awesome fish. Think I could add more or just stick the the 2 cobalt and 2 yellows lab combo


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I can highly recommend yellow tail acei to compliment the electric yellows and cobalt. Personally I stay with lower numbers with zebras(your cobalt) due to conspecific aggression but I keep groups of yellow tail acei and labs.
I think
2 cobalts
3 yellow labs
3 yellow tail acei wouldn't be pushing it too far. From a bio load standpoint you could even do 4 each of the labs/acei but it may be too much for the footprint of the tank. What are the dimensions?

 

[Freakgecko91]

right on, I agree.







this is a band aid to a larger issue. A certain amount of stocking is necessary but over stocking is bad science. It just means lots of fish get bullied instead of a few in badly stocked tanks.






I can highly recommend yellow tail acei to compliment the electric yellows and cobalt. Personally I stay with lower numbers with zebras(your cobalt) due to conspecific aggression but I keep groups of yellow tail acei and labs.
I think
2 cobalts
3 yellow labs
3 yellow tail acei wouldn't be pushing it too far. From a bio load standpoint you could even do 4 each of the labs/acei but it may be too much for the footprint of the tank. What are the dimensions?

Acei get a bit too large for a 46gal IMO, they typically do better in a larger footprint tank, like a 75


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[TMRC Exotics]

Only 6-7 inches typically, I don't know the exact footprint of this tank however. I could see them working in any tank with a 36" length.

 

[Molson_28]

The tank is 36 inch in length. Ya I had a few yellow tail in their before and I got rid of them right away after I found out how big they get. I think the issue is the size of the tank. In the long run theirs nothing you can do to get around that and on a further note I don't have the heart to throw a bunch of fish in their to get their asses kicked. I can't do anything about the size of the tank at the moment so I'll probly just leave it as is and when I can upgrade I will. I have house bills so first things first lol. A question though... Why is a 55gallon ok but a 46 can't work. I agree it can't, but a 55 gallon is not really a huge jump in size. Is it?


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[Molson_28]

And you know what bothers me the most... When I first bought the tank like 3 or 4 years ago I told the guy at the store exactly what I was putting in the tank. He wasn't some kid, he was the guy I've seen their since I was a kid. He's been there forever he may even own the place lol. He doesn't tell me a 46 is a bit too small go for the 55. He suggests the 46 gallon ?. Maybe he knew what he was doing cuz I'll be back for a bigger tank now lol


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[TMRC Exotics]

I keep 5 acei, 4 yellow labs, 2 peacocks and a rainbow shark in a 60 gallon. Its a 48 x 12 footprint. What's the width and height of the tank? 36x?x?.. if its very tall that's the problem.

 

[Molson_28]

It's 18 inches tall


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