What if....? Converting tank to African Cichlids

[Jess1ca]

I know I looked it up. What I would do if I was mumma is pick out what you want and post that to get everyones opinion on those. So as of now I would not pick compressiceps and also bees. Imo

And probably not Demasoni.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Ok thanks guys! I'm slowly putting together a list. I'm going to visit a few LFS around me (including one that 'specializes' in cichlids) and see what I like. Going to then research and get back to you guys with a list.

 

[darkmatter_3500]

I have never had africans , but my New World cichlids are very aggressive so It is probably a similar situation , it is all about having a balance in your tank, you have to be willing to part with a fish or sometimes a few fish to get that balance, one day everything is fine and the next day something changes and it is chaos, one thing that you learn is tails and fins do grow back.

 

[garfy]

:/ this is going to be a lot more complicated than my community tanks :S

My suggestion would be to try to stick to one type of cichlid. I:E all mbuna or all peacocks or all haps.You can (and People do) get away with mixing them but generally I wouldn't recommend it.Mbuna and peacocks in my experience are not a good mix and it has ended badly for the peacocks.
I have found some haps seem to coexist with mbuna Malawi eye biters and electric blue haps seem to cope with the vibrant mbuna.
I would not tell you you can't do this or you can't do that but be ready to rehome fish quickly if necessary.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

After lots of reading and a bit if confusion and I've decided, if I got ahead with this, I'm going to have all peacocks/haps. They are stunning fish and, from what I've read, not overly aggressive. Sound good?
So how do you go about introducing fish? Do you add all juvies then separate out some males as they mature to make the gender ratio correct?
How many different kinds of peacocks could go in a 70g? How many fish all up? I'm reading 15-20 but that seem like a Lot!
And how many of each kind do you add or doesn't it matter?
Sorry for the silly questions

 

[Malawi Freak]

In a 70g I would say you're looking at 20 peacocks. It's easiest to just grow the males out and pick which ones you want to keep, but just a warning. The female peacocks almost all look alike.

 

[Jess1ca]

Ya know I was thinking that if u did Peacocks you could probably do some Intermedius Lethrinops' with them as they are pretty docile it would also add some variety.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

In a 70g I would say you're looking at 20 peacocks. It's easiest to just grow the males out and pick which ones you want to keep, but just a warning. The female peacocks almost all look alike.

Wow! 20. Ok I've been googling pictures of males and females. They are quite drab but that doesn't matter. Does it cause a problem if they all look alike?

Ya know I was thinking that if u did Peacocks you could probably do some Intermedius Lethrinops' with them as they are pretty docile it would also add some variety.

I just looked them up. They're pretty cool looking.

 

[Malawi Freak]

Wow! 20. Ok I've been googling pictures of males and females. They are quite drab but that doesn't matter. Does it cause a problem if they all look alike?

I just looked them up. They're pretty cool looking.

If you aren't planning to give the fish off its fine but there will be hybridization.

 

[Malawi Freak]

If you aren't planning to give the fish off its fine but there will be hybridization.

That number can also change on some of the larger auloconara chosen. Some can be over 6".

 

[Mumma.of.two]

That number can also change on some of the larger auloconara chosen. Some can be over 6".

Ok thanks
I just got back from my two favorite LFS and one only stocks males while the other stocks both. Would it be better to have all males or males and females? With females present in the tank would the males would show better colors?
I'm thinking of getting both sexes because it just seems more natural to me.
I know this is a touchy subject but if hybridization occurs what do I do? I'm not planning on purposefully saving any fry but if a few survive do I cull them if I don't want them?

 

[Jmedic25]

Elise, Dont be afraid of the Demasoni. I love mine. I also mix Mbuna with peacocks. But I am doing it at my own risk. I would stay away from the haps. They just get so big. a 70 is great but prob. a little small for the full grown haps. A peacock only tank is by far the most beautiful IMO. What about an all make peacock tank? Bunch of jakes all swimming around strutting???

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Elise, Dont be afraid of the Demasoni. I love mine. I also mix Mbuna with peacocks. But I am doing it at my own risk. I would stay away from the haps. They just get so big. a 70 is great but prob. a little small for the full grown haps. A peacock only tank is by far the most beautiful IMO. What about an all make peacock tank? Bunch of jakes all swimming around strutting???

I'm on the fence. I really like the idea of a more 'natural' set up and the possibility of fry but I also like the idea of an all male tank full of all color.
That brings me to my next question. Yellow labs are mbuna right? Could I still keep one with peacocks? I have been reading they are fairly docile (in mbuna terms).

 

[Jmedic25]

I keep Labs, Demasoni, zebras, and some peacocks together. Its a dice roll. The diets for the peacocks are higher in protien. So i feed brine shrimp once a week. I really want to do a round of blood worms but im scared too. Fresh veggies, and I have a ton of MTS that the peacocks really go after. Im glad they reproduce alot because my tank looks like a snail shell graveyard. Yes yellow labs are mbuna. I think 4-5 labs would be fine with peacocks. But you will be wanting to take up that space in peacocks soon. I love my labs, but just look at the color difference. I would love an all peacock show tank about 200 gallon...Would be awesome

 

[Malawi Freak]

All male tanks are just as colorful since they are coloring up to show who is boss.

Yellow labs are fine with peacocks

 

[Malawi Freak]

Stores are flooded with hybrid peacocks, especially since the majority of peacocks are hybrids anyway. It really doesn't matter. If you were planning on releasing 15 fry a month to stores I would go against it, but for what you're trying to do I say go for it.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Thank you both! So excited. TV tanks on hold so I can start tearing down the 70.
I swear I dreamed of cichlids last night. Lol. I've been agonizing about getting females and knowing I'd end up with hybrids. Thinking back I'm pretty sure all the peacocks I saw yesterday would have been hybrids. They didn't have any specific names on the labels just 'assorted peacocks'.
I've 'stolen' some rocks from my garden that should work well and I've got one bag if PFS so all I have to buy is more PFS and maybe a bag of CC. My pH is 7.7-7.8 out of the tap, should I even bother buffering it up?

Oh and I'm going to get some yellow labs. I only want 1-3. Does it matter how many or if they are all males?

 

[Cichlid Kid]

I would either get 1male 2female or all 3male.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I wish I didn't put any females in mine just in the last month I've probably had 40 and it kinda sucks. The more time I spend in a fish store the more money I spend so I try to limit myself. I have haps, peacocks and mbuna all in one tank and I have no problems yet

 

[Malawi Freak]

No chance you would want to do mbuna? My absolute favorite are Pseudotropheus elongatus. I love the looks of chailosi, chewere, saulosi,(just started breeding those 3) and mpanga.

Click it, you know you wanna. No pressure into these, I like how they are smaller than aulonocara.

vatoelvis.tripod.com/PsElongatus.html