Newbie to cichlids, a few questions?

[rebelyeller89]

First of all I have a 75 gallon tank with a penguin 350, crushed aragonite sand, and some rock-work.
What I want to keep is Mbuna cichlids, they don't get massive, and I like the color options.
I haven't managed to learn the names yet, so I'll have to google anything you throw at me.
First question: anyone know anything about Julidochromis Transcriptus? I saw these in a lfs, and they caught my interest. They were all "standing" vertical. How will these fare with Mbuna?

 

[toddnbecka]

Mbuna and Julies are from different lakes, have totally different dietary requirements and general dispositions.
A 75 is a decent size tank for stocking Malawi OR Tanganykian cichlids, most species from different lakes won't mix well.
If the transcriptus are the "Gombe" variant they're the meanest of the clan, but you could probably get a breeding pair out of a group in a 75. Those have actually been reclassified, but are still commonly sold as transcriptus. There are a couple other species of transcriptus that are much easier to get along with, less likely to kill each other when they mature.

 

[Kat1103]

I recently just started stocking my african cichlid tank. I learned that it is best to stock your tank with fish that are all from the same the lake. All the fish in my tank are from Lake Malawi. Definitely do all your research first so you can have a nice balance in your tank. You also need to research their dispositions as well (just as the above person said).

 

[Kat1103]

you also need to consider the male to female ratio to prevent aggression. But I've also heard that you can stock all males if you only have one of each and none of them look alike or resemble one another.

 

[rebelyeller89]

Ok, anyone know what WOULD go with julidochromis transcriptus? I don't think these are the meaner ones that have been reclassified, the man I talked to said he had several in a tank with haps and frontosis(sp?) and they were all fine.

 

[spoonman]

I think an issue bigger than the fish is the filter. You need another one like you have, or better yet, a canister. Cichlids are dirty, you will need more filtration.

 

[rebelyeller89]

I have another I can add if water conditions need it, though I'm not planning on having a full tank.

 

[WhiteWidow11]

Depending on what species you go with, a full to slightly overstocked tank with good filtration ( I use two penguin 350's myself) greatly reduces/spreads out the agression on the fish. To accomplish this though you must have a lot of rockwork etc so they all have a few different places to hide. When I had fewer fish in my tank they were more ofter targeted/nipped. This is just my experience with my fish (mixed mbunas and few peacocks) and they are all doing great. I just had two spawn for the first time and the female is now holding in a qt. These fish are awesome! Can't wait to see your tank setup.