Help stocking

[Dooboedoo12]

I raised my own dog and I can't fathom the fact that raising fish is 10x harder

 

[Dooboedoo12]

For the Malawi mbuna cichlids do I need to do 5 of each group or can I just get like 2 of a whole dif ones while keeping the 1:4 ratio

 

[Dooboedoo12]

I love theSe guys

 

[erikmoseley]

Venustus get too big and have different diet. They'd eat demasoni if they could fit in their mouth. Demasoni are tough fish for their size. Need to be in good sized groups of like 8 or more.

 

[erikmoseley]

They're all beautiful fish. They just require different tank sizes and different diets as well. The first two could go together But keep in mind that the demasoni stay small and the fuelleborn can get 6 inches

 

[Dooboedoo12]

I already ordered my yellow labs and my socolofi but I do not want 5 of each of tho I was thinking like 3 girls of one breed and one boy/girl of the other. Is that possible?

 

[Dooboedoo12]

Could the venustus go with the lab and socolofi since their both larger cichlids?

 

[Dooboedoo12]

I also like this guy he looks like a cow and I want to call him meatloaf

 

[erikmoseley]

I like that idea but they get just as big!! They can coexist without bite size demasoni but again the tank would have to be 125 gallons and the mbuna are plant veggie and little protein eaters and the haplochromines are carnivores.

 

[erikmoseley]

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_livingstonii.php

 

[Dooboedoo12]

What's the best food for my mbuna than?

 

[erikmoseley]

widely thought that New Life Spectrum Thera-A pellets. They come in all sizes. Petco near me has them. Basic cichlid pellets sold are more for with the protein needed diets of the central and South American cichlids. Not the veggie grazers. Thera-a is all u need. I mix some veggie flakes in too and very rarely some brine shrimp

 

[Dooboedoo12]

I'll get on getting that ASAP. Thank you! But still I know there's 2 more types recommended I'm buying but do I have to buy 5 and 5 or can I get 3 and 2 with 1:4 ratio?

 

[erikmoseley]

Not sure I get what your asking.

 

[molliwopp]

I would still buy 5 of each. You arnt realisticly noway are going to get 4:1 buying 5fish of a paraticular species at a time and youll be lucky to get 3females from 5fish. So work from a 1:3 youll be able to get them extras you wanted. Just make sure you only have one male of each, thats the important bit.

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[Dooboedoo12]

My first batch I ordered was one male lab 2 female labs and 2 female socolofi. I guess I have to just wait to c which one are men and are women. I need a male for every species tho? As in if they did send the correct ones I would still need 1+ socolofi male? Or I'd be good bc it was 1:4

 

[fishyfriends3]

It's 1m to 4f per species that's been recommended not 1m and 2f and 0m and 2f. So for your yellow labs order another 2 females and for your socolofi order 1 male and 2 more females. Hopefully you can tag this onto your existing order and that will reduce your shipping fees and also its best to add mbuna all together as later batches tend to be seen as intruders. You can get around this by removing all your hardscape and basically giving all your mbuna a fresh start at establishing terriority. Have you considered buying a book on the subject so you can learn all this at your own pace.

 

[AtoZ Cichlids]

I just stocked a tank with 20 young demasonies. If you want a challenge, do dems, they are one of the most aggressive and are high on the price scale. Although I got mine for 3 dollars each because I got an employee discount on the order. But we sell them for 20$ each adult. THEY ARE MEAN!
Also the venustus is one of my all-time favs, I like the juveniles because they don't have the blue face yet and I like that better. Just know, they get massive. Really big!! Good luck finding a stock and you have a good looking set up, well done! I enjoy a species tank as much as a variety tank. Happy fish keeping!

 

[molliwopp]

Theyre mean yes indeedy. My rusty males would slam em though and theyre peaceful towards one another and chase rather than assult eachother. I too keep species only tanks.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Dooboedoo12]

This is all the exact stuff I needed to know about these fish. I couldn't thank you guys enough for all of this