Can I buy a really big and fat African Cichlid?

[limojica]

Hi,

I am very interested in the larger African's but someone told me if they are that big (8-10 inches) they are probably old and will die soon. Is this true? I notice one petstore had really huge african's (blueberry zebra i think) and they were just so pretty.

I don't have very large african's in my tank now. Most are the same size.

Thanks!

 

[mfdrookie516]

Most mbuna will not get that big, probably only Haps. They grow pretty quickly though, mine have become about 5x bigger than they were originally in the 1 year that I've had them. I would say that this is somewhat correct, as the bigger fish are older, though you could easily have several years out of one

 

[HN1]

Neither of your tanks is large enough or appropriate for fish that large. JMO

 

[limojica]

I have a book of cichlids. One of the jumbo cichlids looks similar to (in nose) as the Labeotropheus Trewavasae from Lake Malawi. The nose is down like on a shark. This fish according to the book grows to 10cm but the fish I saw was huge. He was on steroids or something.

So what tank size would be suitable for a larger cichlid of 6-8 inches? It's a bit confusing with africans. You have to crowd them but if they are around 8 inches a 55 gal is too small?

 

[MarkA123]

What Africans are you talking about? African frogs, African chichilds etc?

 

[JustOneMore20]

African Cichlids.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I have a book of cichlids. One of the jumbo cichlids looks similar to (in nose) as the Labeotropheus Trewavasae from Lake Malawi. The nose is down like on a shark. This fish according to the book grows to 10cm but the fish I saw was huge. He was on steroids or something.

So what tank size would be suitable for a larger cichlid of 6-8 inches? It's a bit confusing with africans. You have to crowd them but if they are around 8 inches a 55 gal is too small?

Here's the cool part with africans... There are tons and tons of possibilities. Larger fish like haps which grow bigger than 6", imo, need a 6' tank minimum. Smaller africans like mbuna (most of them at least), peacocks, alot of the tanganyika fish do just fine in a 4' tank.

There are some mbuna that do best in bigger tanks. Acei are very active fish, and get around 6-7". They'll do fine in a 55g, but do enjoy the extra room in a 6' 125 or bigger.

My suggestion is to do what I did. Use google to find fish that you like. There are tons and tons and tons of threads on this forum and other forums that have suggestions, pictures, or at least names. If you cant figure out what a certain fish looks like, go here and you can find practically any cichlid ever discovered. They almost always have a picture and some info in regards to their social activity, diet, and tank requirements.

As far as the fish you're describing, the Labeotropheus sp, IMO, look alot like the Melanochromis sp in terms of body shape. They have the torpedo look when compared to other fish like the Labidochromis and Metriaclima sp. I've never seen any of the Labeotropheus or Melanchromis species get over 5-6". I dont know much about the victorian and tanganyikan species though, but I'm pretty sure none of them get all that big. I almost bet a fish that big (unless you just totally misjudged its size.. easy enough to do) is a Haplochromine, but I dont know of any off hand that have a similar body to the manda or mpanga

 

[limojica]

mfdrookie516,

Thanks for the site information I will check it out. I guess I should describe them this way. A normal african is a regular paper clip in size. The three huge fish I saw were not even twice the size of a normal one. I would say more similar to a large jumbo paper clip compared to the normal size. If I can take a pic tomorrow (will go to the store to see if they are still there) I will so you can see the size difference. They were in the same tank with the other africans and really stood out. Very pretty hardy fish. Of course I could be misjudging the size but please use the comparison. I've never seen such a large african. If I find it on the cichlid site I'll post.

So I'm considering having to eventually get a larger tank. Hopefully I'll be able to get a 125 gal by next year. Thanks for the advice.

 

[limojica]

Yes you are correct. I've seen larger african's elsewhere. Not so unusal as I thought. The larger african's had a big size environment and were able to grow. Got it Think I'll continue to purchase smaller size african's and let them grow. Mine have grown substanially since I've got them. They grow pretty fast.

 

[limojica]

Yes you are correct. I've seen larger african's elsewhere. Not so unusal as I thought. The larger african's had a big size environment and were able to grow. Got it Think I'll continue to purchase smaller size african's and let them grow. Mine have grown substanially since I've got them. They grow pretty fast. Thanks!

 

[mattrox]

Look up the folloing fish ;
Fossorochromis rostratus
Nimbochromis fuscotaeniatus
Champsochromis spilorhynchus
Champsochromis caeruleus
Buccochromis rhoadesii
Aristochromis christyi
Nimbochromis linni

Research them before you get them.

 

[limojica]

Well it turns out I was wrong about the size. The "large" african cichlids are 6" which is more than three times the size of the group I have currently. Wow, amazing how big and beautiful they get. I hope I can raise mine to that size.