Can you do an all male tank with only part of the fish.

[Maxkolbe]

When you have mbunas I know that keeping an all male tank helps to lower aggression . My question is do all the fish have to be males or would it work to have something like an all male group of zebras and male and female labs In the same tank? The reason I am asking is that I would like to do an all male tank but I believe that I already have a female lab. Also if you just got one of each species and they all looked different would that be an OK setup? My tank is a sixty gallon and I need to figure out what I'm going to stock it with. I need to include 1 yellow lab and 1 cobalt zebra that are in our 28 gal so the fish need to be compatible with these species. I also want to get a cuckoo catfish and was wondering if they needed to be kept in groups. Thank you in advance to everyone.

 

[Jmedic25]

It may work, im really not sure. I do know that zebras and labs will breed. I know kenyi, lab, and zebras can breed. I would say the fish need to be very different. Its a cool idea and a really good question...

 

[Maxkolbe]

I didn't know that they could interbreed, wonder what the fry would look like. Would they be green or blue with yellow splotches. Both would look pretty cool.

 

[Jmedic25]

You may get some cool looking fish, but as a rule thoes hybrid fish arent good for the hobby. Unless you want to keep them all for your personal enjoyment. Fish shops wont take them usually. If you think about it, its a bad thing. Crossing genus will slowly start to make cichlids mutts. Just like in dogs.

 

[garfy]

Cuckoo catfish do fine on their own

 

[tsk5035]

I do not support intentional crossbreeding. It's against nature and will have long term detrimental effects on cichlids as a whole.

However, selective breeding (color morphs, albinism, and other recessive traits) is fine in all regards.

 

[NyteGTI]

honestly, unless you're going to be selling or giving away these fish to other people you can interbreed all you want. just don't give them to other hobbyists and you'll be fine.

 

[tsk5035]

It's unnatural and cannot be good for the offspring...

 

[NyteGTI]

I've been reading this debate back and forth from everybody on AA. I want scientific proof that it's bad. I mean I understand the ramifications of releasing these into the wild/other hobbyists. but if its your own tank I want to know exactly how bad it is rather than people saying it's bad because thats what they've heard/been told without anything to back it up. I'd be happy to get some real info on the subject but 99% of it is people spitting out the advice they've gotten on here with no substance.

but thats for another thread, lets keep this on topic.

They are right above they will interbreed more than likely so if you were gonig to do females try to keep them to species they wont breed with.

 

[Jmedic25]

I've been reading this debate back and forth from everybody on AA. I want scientific proof that it's bad. I mean I understand the ramifications of releasing these into the wild/other hobbyists. but if its your own tank I want to know exactly how bad it is rather than people saying it's bad because thats what they've heard/been told without anything to back it up. I'd be happy to get some real info on the subject but 99% of it is people spitting out the advice they've gotten on here with no substance.

but thats for another thread, lets keep this on topic.

They are right above they will interbreed more than likely so if you were gonig to do females try to keep them to species they wont breed with.

I wouldnt say this is scientific but its a good article saying that they have found that certian crossbreeds have trouble with swimming, breeding, fins, and color. Cichlid Hybrids

 

[Maxkolbe]

This thread has gotten ridiculously off topic.

 

[toddnbecka]

Sexing mbuna isn't always easy, particularly yellow Lab's and cobalt zebras.
Cuckoo catfish don't need to be kept in groups, but you aren't likely to (ever) see a single fish. It will stay under cover until the lights are out.

 

[kay-bee19]

...something like an all male group of zebras and male and female labs In the same tank?...

With the yellow labs all being female in this scenario, the aggression among the male zebra's would be elevated as they'd likely compete for breeding rights. It can be challenging to keep multiple matured male zebras in the same tank where females also exist.