Cichlids And Plecos

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digsy

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I am in the process of starting a tank (5 yellow labs so far) that is going to have the following species:

Metriaclima estherae (Red)
Labidochromis caeruleus
Iodotropheus sprengerae
Melanochromis auratus
Yellow Tail Acei

Would a pleco work with this setup ? I want something to help keep the algae down (well and also I like catfish)
 
What size is the tank? In my personal experince I find that plecos don't do that great a job of cleaning algea, I find they produce more waste then they clean. But this may vary from situation to situation. But if anything, I found that smaller plecos do a little better job. Like I mentioned before, it will depend on the size of the tank, whether or not a pleco will work.
 
What size is the tank? In my personal experince I find that plecos don't do that great a job of cleaning algea, I find they produce more waste then they clean. But this may vary from situation to situation. But if anything, I found that smaller plecos do a little better job. Like I mentioned before, it will depend on the size of the tank, whether or not a pleco will work.

Its a 120 gallon tank. I have two in my 30gallon tank and they do a great job of cleaning the leaves and glass.
 
Bristlenose plecos are the most recommended for mbuna tanks. They stay a bit smaller, do an excellent job of eating algae, can tolerate high pH, and are usually ignored by the mbuna. That said, some keepers have found that no pleco survives long in their mbuna tanks. I'd just keep a close eye on the tank and if you see the pleco being excessively harrassed, remove it. :good:

I'm not sure if you have much experience with mbuna, but I do want to caution you on a couple of your stocking choices. L.caeruleus & m.estherae have a tendency to hybridize, so any offspring should be culled or remain in your tank. And, m.auratus are one of the most aggressive mbuna in the hobby, even a 120gal tank may not be large enough to avoid them attacking their tank mates. They're really best in a species tank, or in an aggressive community. As all of your other species choices are on the peaceful end of the mbuna spectrum I'd suggest picking something less aggressive.
 
Bristlenose plecos are the most recommended for mbuna tanks. They stay a bit smaller, do an excellent job of eating algae, can tolerate high pH, and are usually ignored by the mbuna. That said, some keepers have found that no pleco survives long in their mbuna tanks. I'd just keep a close eye on the tank and if you see the pleco being excessively harrassed, remove it. :good:

I'm not sure if you have much experience with mbuna, but I do want to caution you on a couple of your stocking choices. L.caeruleus & m.estherae have a tendency to hybridize, so any offspring should be culled or remain in your tank. And, m.auratus are one of the most aggressive mbuna in the hobby, even a 120gal tank may not be large enough to avoid them attacking their tank mates. They're really best in a species tank, or in an aggressive community. As all of your other species choices are on the peaceful end of the mbuna spectrum I'd suggest picking something less aggressive.

I'm completely new to cichlids so thanks for the advice. How does this sound instead:

5 x Yellow Tail Acei
7 x Labidochromis caeruleus
5 x Iodotropheus sprengerae
 
5 x Yellow Tail Acei
7 x Labidochromis caeruleus
5 x Iodotropheus sprengerae

That sounds fine, you have enough space to add another species as well. Are there any others you are interested in?
 
5 x Yellow Tail Acei
7 x Labidochromis caeruleus
5 x Iodotropheus sprengerae

That sounds fine, you have enough space to add another species as well. Are there any others you are interested in?

What would you suggest ? I'm finding it difficult to pick a 4th option

I'm new to cichlids but have been keeping fish for 3 years so I'm not a total beginner. I'd prefer a species that isnt too aggressive but apart from that I'm fairly easy.
 
You could go w/about 30 mbuna in there if you wanted to stock on the heavy side. It's best to have filtration to do 8 to 10 times your tank volume if you're going to stock heavy. That'd be 960 gph to 1200 gph.

For other species, how about going to your lfs and see what's available. Then come back and tell us what you liked and we'll let you know if they will work or not :)
 

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