south african cichlid
Nikki B
I got
1 albino socolofi
1 kenyi cichlid
1 pseudo daktari
1 violet cichlid g lawsi
2 electric blue
Were they a good choice ? I dont know I told Luke to pic six to start
and thats what i got, my buddy Eric game me male and female electric
blues. They are all still litte and just comming into their color. i
will be grabbing some more this week and they will all go into the 120
together, how many would be good for a 120g tank i know they need to be
somewhat crowded so they dont fight, but it will take a bit to do that
with a 120g and i dont think i can stock it full all at one time, so
will i run into problems adding new ones with the ones who are there or
should i move things a bit when i put new ones in.
I hate pH really i do....I got the coral on the bottom of the tank they
are in now and when i tested the ph it was a dark blue, but that is a
smaller tank i guess i will put it in the filter and some on the bottom
of the 120g, how many pounds should it take to get the pH right in the
120g tank? and i know i ask before but now that i am doing it i forgot
some things and dont want to kill no fish. How often will the pH fall
with crushed coral?
One more question the day i got my cichlids my mom grabbed two and put
them in with the four baby striped convicts i gave her, i did not know
this till yesterday, when she told me. I told her convicts need lower
pH then south african cichlids so i looked them up (ill ask her again
today what kind they are) and it said their pH should be 7.5-8.5 i
think, could she leave them together or seperate them, 7.5 is not all
that high is it?
let me know because i am dumb with the entire pH thing and dont really
know what to tell her to do. I could put them in with mine but mine
are much bigger then hers.
Nik
NetMax
Nikki B wrote:
> Well i finally went and got them.
> I got
Let's take em in order:
> 1 albino socolofi
Pseutotropheus socolofi : ... and I was going to ask if you got the
blue or yellow color morph ;~) This is a relatively peaceful mbuna
(vegetarian).
> 1 kenyi cichlid
Pseudotropheus lombardoi : blue = female, yellow = male (once sexually
mature). Also a mbuna, vegetarian, but relatively aggressive, hope you
have a female if you only have one.
> 1 pseudo daktari
Pseudotropheus daktari : another Malawian mouthbreeder, but this one's
an omnivore. Relatively aggressive.
> 1 violet cichlid g lawsi
Gephyrochromis lawsi? : I'm not familiar with this one. Looks like a
medium sized Malawian omnivore, open water? He might get lonely.
> 2 electric blue
Sometimes I hate common names... maybe Haplochromis ahli. Another
Malawian mouthbrooder, but definitely not mbuna. These guys may
explore the caves, but generally avoid them because they are full of
mbuna. Open water fish, males has excellent blue reflective
coloration. You might need a couple more females in there as they do
best in a harem. Not vegetarians, but they also don't do well on a
meat diet, so I'd say they were opportunistic vegetarians, which do
well on most foods fed in variety.
> Were they a good choice ? I dont know I told Luke to pic six to start
> and thats what i got, my buddy Eric game me male and female electric
> blues. They are all still litte and just comming into their color. i
> will be grabbing some more this week and they will all go into the 120
> together, how many would be good for a 120g tank i know they need to be
> somewhat crowded so they dont fight, but it will take a bit to do that
> with a 120g and i dont think i can stock it full all at one time, so
> will i run into problems adding new ones with the ones who are there or
> should i move things a bit when i put new ones in.
You don't need to overcrowd it. If you find their territories become
too 'established' move the rocks around to reset it.
> I hate pH really i do....I got the coral on the bottom of the tank they
> are in now and when i tested the ph it was a dark blue, but that is a
> smaller tank i guess i will put it in the filter and some on the bottom
> of the 120g, how many pounds should it take to get the pH right in the
> 120g tank? and i know i ask before but now that i am doing it i forgot
> some things and dont want to kill no fish. How often will the pH fall
> with crushed coral?
Anything over a pH of 7.6 is fine for all these guys, right up to 8.6.
Crushed coral is self regulating. The more acidic the water, the
faster they will dissolve. I usually make the entire substrate using
something like crushed coral for a Malawian or Tanganyikan tank. It
regulates the kH and gH itself. The more different your local water,
the smaller and more frequent your water changes should be, but mbuna
are tough fish.
> One more question the day i got my cichlids my mom grabbed two and put
> them in with the four baby striped convicts i gave her, i did not know
> this till yesterday, when she told me. I told her convicts need lower
> pH then south african cichlids so i looked them up (ill ask her again
> today what kind they are) and it said their pH should be 7.5-8.5 i
> think, could she leave them together or seperate them, 7.5 is not all
> that high is it?
The Convicts are tough fish too and will be fine in higher pH (under
8). Generally you don't mix new and old world cichlids because they
don't speak the same language. The 'word' for aggression in African is
to fade their colors, while in the Americas, they express aggression by
brightening their colors. The expression for submission is also
reversed, so these fish cannot communicate properly visually, and their
body movements will tend to contradict coloration. It gets very
confusing. For example, if the Convict shows submission, the African
will see that as a threat (and mbuna don't respond well to threats ;~)
The Convict (now very confused) will continue to be attacked by an
African which exhibits passive colors but aggressive behavior.
> let me know because i am dumb with the entire pH thing and dont really
> know what to tell her to do. I could put them in with mine but mine
> are much bigger then hers.
> Nik
Play it by ear. I've had lots of customers who didn't know better, mix
the oddest fish and it worked out fine. A lot depends on the age the
fish were introduced together, the size of the tank etc.
NetMax
Adam
Nikki B
Yeah thats what i always say when netmax says something too...
As far as my mom goes with the convicts and africans, I guess one good
thing is they are all babies, maybe that will help, see how it goes.
I love my african cichlid tank, i get stuck just watching them.
I will get some more females, the Electric blue said just that on the
tank, right now they are not very blue but they are young, he had some
older ones and they were a very deep blue, I want the bright yellow
ones, what are they called?
So i will be going out to get more any ideas what would make a good
addition? i will get some more of each of the ones i got so they are
not alone.
thanks for the help, it always makes me feel better to know i am not
doing something to bad.
Nik
NetMax
labidochromis caerelus? ;~)
NetMax
techi...@gmail.com
fish in my tank very quickly. T'other fish are malawis that I was told
should be compatible. Obviously it depends how much space you have (I'm
always having to rebuild the tank because all the rocks and wood I put
up to make hiding places are moved around overnight) but do keep an eye
out.
I bought some malawis and at the end of the day they bullied and killed
each other until it worked out. There are 4 fish left and now it's
settled. Good luck!
Gill Passman
but I will second techiebabe in saying that it does settle down - mine is
now coming up to 2 years old...
Mix is Melanchronis Cyaneorhabdes (aka Johanni or Electric Blue as well but
definitely Mbuna) - these are vivid blue with black markings - the females
are paler than the males - about the most peaceful ones in the tank bar the
sole surviving Yellow Lab - breed like rabbits - so I guess "lover not
fighter". Then I have Maylandia Lombardoi - used to be Pseudotreophus when I
bought them - at the same time as the reclassification they changed from
being described as relatively peaceful to very aggressive - I think I would
second the "very aggressive". Then there are the Maylandia estheria (Red
Zebra) that are a very bright intense yellow - not as violent as the
Lombardoi but a bit more aggressive than the rest - also breed like rabbits.
Then there is a single yellow lab and one other fish that has been
reclassified so many times I no longer have a clue what he is - both of
these fish are peaceful and keep themselves to themselves. Oh, and there is
a Snowball Plec in there who just does his own thing....and treats all
Mbuna's with contempt.
From my experience if you have M/F mix your tank will get heavily stocked
quickly. I have also read that similar species will interbreed but mine
haven't done so - the "mutts" can sometimes be found on sale described as
"mixed Malawi/Mbuna"
Very colourful and interesting fish....enjoy :-)
Gill