Does This Mbuna Selection Work?

[odannyboy]

hi! setting up a 48x18x18 tank and considering some groups (1m / 3-4 f )of the following
1)salousi ( really like these really want them or very simular in my tank)
2)yellow labs
3)melanochromis cyaneorhabdos
4)metiaclima/maylandia gresheki
5)metraclima callianos ( solid blue colour)
6) possibly some labeotropheos trewasse ( depends what colours i can find but like the brown speckled and purple/orange ones- not an essencial addition to the tank tho )
7)red zebras -maylandia treasea
8)poss acei yellow tail
9)poss acei white tail
would there be probs with the red zebs and greshecki.would they cross breed? dont want that.
can you keep red zebs and ob red zebs or is that bad breeeding wise
can you keep acei yellow tail and white tail in same tank or will that cause cross breeding?
all fish will be bought as fry and grown on.
cheers all!!!!

 

[Ferris]

I don't see any serious compatibility issues with any of those species - some are more aggressive than others like the Trewavasae and Greshakei but that's pretty normal for a Mbuna community tank.

You could comfortably choose 4 species with 4 of each (1M/3F). They are far less likely to crossbreed when there are males/females of their own species present but it's not something you can guarantee to avoid.

Adding them as fry is the best way to go IME - baby Mbuna have bags of character and are practically fearless.

 

[odannyboy]

so from my list what four groups would people chose.forgot to put i quite fancied rusty cichlids for a colour change? any feedback on those? definatly like saulosi's thought they will need to be in there!

 

[Ferris]

OK my suggestion would be - Saulosi, Rusties, Labs and Cyaneorhabdos. A nice settled fairly non-aggressive tank (by Mbuna standards)

My own personal choice from that list though would be - Greshakei, Cyaneorhabdos, Trewavasae and Acei Ngara. - Quite a lot more aggressive but includes species i prefer.

 

[dthoffsett]

OK my suggestion would be - Saulosi, Rusties, Labs and Cyaneorhabdos. A nice settled fairly non-aggressive tank (by Mbuna standards)

My own personal choice from that list though would be - Greshakei, Cyaneorhabdos, Trewavasae and Acei Ngara. - Quite a lot more aggressive but includes species i prefer.

I agree with you on both choices Ferris. I would be more likely to choose the more aggressive species, but only because I'm comfortable keeping cichlids now.

Odannyboy, go with the saulosi, rusties, labs, and cyaneorhabdos; they'll be active enough to truely get the most out of keeping mbuna, without too much concern of a possible blood-bath if a couple of fish decide to take over.

 

[odannyboy]

so any other suggestions that could work well with/ better than my choices?

 

[adambrum]

1)salousi ( really like these really want them or very simular in my tank)
2)yellow labs
3)melanochromis cyaneorhabdos
4)metiaclima/maylandia gresheki
5)metraclima callianos ( solid blue colour)
6) possibly some labeotropheos trewasse ( depends what colours i can find but like the brown speckled and purple/orange ones- not an essencial addition to the tank tho )
7)red zebras -maylandia treasea
8)poss acei yellow tail
9)poss acei white tail

1. ok
2. ok but difficult to get good examples most turn out to be poorly bred
3. aggresive but one fish needs to be boss
4. not a big fan, get large and some can be highly aggresive
5. no idea
6. i would say these may get to big for your tank
7. ok
8 and 9 will get to big for your tank

I like ferris idea but i would swap the yellow labs for red zebras

The Cyaneorhabdos will be boss of the tank no doubts and will keep the rest in check

 

[dthoffsett]

5)metraclima callianos ( solid blue colour) no idea

I keep callainos in a 75gal w/labs, acei, and a female crabro. They are great fish, the most aggressive in my tank, but not overly so. My alpha male definately runs the tank, however the poor guy picked too large of a territory and spends most of his time in a frazzle chasing off everyone else.

 

[odannyboy]

are callianos the same family as red zebras. i thought callianos is the cobalt blue zebra?if so are they gonna cross breed?.what about ob zebras,can they live with reds or should you have one or the other?

 

[dthoffsett]

are callianos the same family as red zebras. i thought callianos is the cobalt blue zebra?if so are they gonna cross breed?.what about ob zebras,can they live with reds or should you have one or the other?

The common name for m.callainos is cobalt blue zebra. Both are metriclima, however they are two different species, cobalts are callainos and red zebras are estherae. They can live with reds, and to my knowledge won't cross-breed unless there aren't enough of one sex available, any cichlid will breed with any other if none of their own species is available.

OB and regular red zebras are the same species, just two different color morphs. Now this may cause some controversy, I don't see a problem with them being together, both color morphs may breed since they are the same species, and you should get a mix of the two colors. However, purists prefer to keep the two seperate since the OB color morph is desirable, and I belive (though I don't know that much about genetics) after a couple of generations you would have less and less OB showing up when constantly bred with the red morph. *Interesting fact: In the wild male red zebras are actually blue (not to be confused with m.callainos), red colored red zebras are only found in the aquarium trade.
Here's are two good articles on the species.
http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/met_estherae.php
http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/m_callainos.php

 

[Ferris]

There are loads of OB zebra/Red zebra hybrids in the trade - i see more of these that true OB's in most LFS now.

I don't suppose it matter's though as the OB zebra is a man-made hybrid anyway.

 

[dthoffsett]

There are loads of OB zebra/Red zebra hybrids in the trade - i see more of these that true OB's in most LFS now.

I don't suppose it matter's though as the OB zebra is a man-made hybrid anyway.

Is the OB a man-made hybrid Ferris? According to the species article on cichlid-forum.com Ad Konings has seen them in the wild. Though I wouldn't be surprised most in the trade are hybrids.

In addition to the Blue and Orange Males, there are OB males. Ad Konings has only ever seen one in all of his dives at Minos Reef, and suggests that this colour represents only about 0.1% of the natural population of estherae at Minos Reef.Most of the females are Orange/Red in colour. There are also OB females, and while they are more plentiful then the males, they still only represent about 2-5% of the natural population.

 

[Ferris]

Is the OB a man-made hybrid Ferris? According to the species article on cichlid-forum.com Ad Konings has seen them in the wild. Though I wouldn't be surprised most in the trade are hybrids.

My bad - memory is failing me It's the OB peacock that's man-made.

 

[adambrum]

Is the OB a man-made hybrid Ferris? According to the species article on cichlid-forum.com Ad Konings has seen them in the wild. Though I wouldn't be surprised most in the trade are hybrids.

My bad - memory is failing me It's the OB peacock that's man-made.

I was going to jump in and say for the first time i can remember ferris is wrong

But saying that have you seen the price of ob zebras that is the real wild caught ones almost £100 each makes you wonder if the tank breds are indeed man made.

I think the all red male zebra is also thought to be man made but is infact a rare form of the species

 

[dthoffsett]

Is the OB a man-made hybrid Ferris? According to the species article on cichlid-forum.com Ad Konings has seen them in the wild. Though I wouldn't be surprised most in the trade are hybrids.

My bad - memory is failing me It's the OB peacock that's man-made.

I was going to jump in and say for the first time i can remember ferris is wrong

But saying that have you seen the price of ob zebras that is the real wild caught ones almost £100 each makes you wonder if the tank breds are indeed man made.

I think the all red male zebra is also thought to be man made but is infact a rare form of the species

I was going to comment of ferris being wrong too, but I though I'd be nice.

All red males species are rare in the wild, but were bred for the color in the LFS trade; just like yellow labs in fact.
For those who didn't know, yellow l.caeruleus are only found in one area in the wild. Most wild labs are blue (which is why they were name caeruelus for the color cerulean) but the yellow color was bred and brought to the fish trade. And the blues are rarely seen in the trade now. If you haven't already read it. This is a good article.
http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/l_caeruleus.php