Electric Blue And Yellow Question

[detroit_fan]

HI all, i am considering trying cichlids for the first time. i have a 55 gal tank to work with and will provide a lot of rock. I have been looking thru the profiles and find the Electric Blue Johannii (Blue Mbuna) and the Electric Yellow (Yellow Lab, Lemon Yellow) stunning.
Do i have enoough room for some of each, or do i have to choose only 1 species? If i do have enough room for both, how many do you guys recomend?
Thanks for any advice.

 

[Ginge]

If they were the only two types you wanted you could go as high as 8 of each. 2m6f per species.

 

[detroit_fan]

HI all, i am considering trying cichlids for the first time. i have a 55 gal tank to work with and will provide a lot of rock. I have been looking thru the profiles and find the Electric Blue Johannii (Blue Mbuna) and the Electric Yellow (Yellow Lab, Lemon Yellow) stunning.
Do i have enoough room for some of each, or do i have to choose only 1 species? If i do have enough room for both, how many do you guys recomend?
Thanks for any advice.

The problem is where i'm at there aren't any good fish stores around. i'm scared if i try to get too many species i'll get ones that are mislabeled in the store. I am interested in color. can you suggest 1 or 2 of the more readily available species that will go good with them?

 

[dthoffsett]

Pseudotropheus Acei, Idotropheus Sperengae (Rusty Cichlid) are fairly common and mildly aggressive. Metriaclima Estherae (Red Zebra) are a little more aggressive but would look stunning w/blue and yellow. Also, you don't really have to worry about the m/f ratio w/labs. But, I'd agree you could get away w/a total of 14-16 fish if you stick w/the less aggressive species.

 

[detroit_fan]

Pseudotropheus Acei, Idotropheus Sperengae (Rusty Cichlid) are fairly common and mildly aggressive. Metriaclima Estherae (Red Zebra) are a little more aggressive but would look stunning w/blue and yellow. Also, you don't really have to worry about the m/f ratio w/labs. But, I'd agree you could get away w/a total of 14-16 fish if you stick w/the less aggressive species.

wow, i really like the looks of the Pseudotropheus Acei! Does it go by that name in the stores, or does it have a more common name?

ok, lets say i go with a set of the Blue Johannii (Blue Mbuna) 2m and 6f/m, three to four of the labs, how many and what ratio do i go with in the Acei?

One last question, do i need a scavenger of any type in the tank?.

Thanks for all the great help guys!

 

[sylvia]

You might find them udner the name 'yellow-tail acei' or, if they are the white-tail variety, then under 'white-tail acei'.

I'd go with a similar ratio for the acei as you're considering for the johanii though it would probably matter less (never ahd aggression issues with acei - but I've never kept johanii).

Your mbuna need to be fed a veggie-based diet (except the labs - they are insectivores) and there shouldn't realy be a need for 'scavengers' if your not over-feeding. You can try some of the synodontis catfish (as a scavenger - but one that you'll need to feed its own food ) or a bristlenose plec (to eat algae). If your interest lies with the cichlids, don't bother with 'scavengers' and other bottom-feeders - just make shure you don't overfeed and use an algae scraper for the glass.

 

[detroit_fan]

ok, so for final aproval, how about

Blue Johannii (Blue Mbuna) 2m and 6f/m

three to four of the yellow labs

and Pseudotropheus Acei 2m 4 f/m
i will not use a scavenger.

That will be 17-18 fish max. I just hope i can find them labeled properly at my lfs.

How do i tell the male and female Johannii's apart, amd also the Acei's?
Most of the tanks at the fish stores around here just say african cichlids on them, with no species info.

 

[sylvia]

Unfortunately, p. acei is monomorphic and sexing juveniles is usualy pretty much impossible. The males do have pointier dorsal and anal fins and tend to be a darker and brighter shade of blue whereas females can sometimes fade into quite a light color - particularly around the ventral area. But, like I said, juveniles can be near impossible as many of the differences are not apparent at this stage. Obviously, with adult fish there is also a size difference where males look bigger and chunkier. Your best bet is probably to grab a few juveniles and wait until they are more mature and then return any extra ones.

As for the johannii - females are yellow, males are blue .

edit: Just discovered we do actualy have a profile for the johannii here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showforum=41

 

[detroit_fan]

Thanks, you are helping me out a lot. should i go with sand instead of gravel?

 

[sylvia]

If you have that option, deffinately go with sand - the cichlids realy do seem to preffer it as it allows them to dig around in it more and such. Just one little thing though - if you can, put your rocks (I assume you'll have rocks ) in before you put the sand in so that they don't end up digging under the rocks.

 

[detroit_fan]

well, i want to do what is best for the fish, is there a particular brand or type of sand, that i need. how does it's maint compare to gravel?

 

[sylvia]

Personaly, I don't think the type of sand matters unless you're looking to buffer your pH by using it (eg: coral sand helps raise pH). On the other hand, some people preffer light-colored sand to darker sand. i personaly like the dark sand and like combining it with light-colored rockwork. It makes the fish and aquascaping stand out.

Maintaining sand is pretty much the same as with gravel except that any dirt remains at the surface. That's a good thing IMO as you can see when it's dirty or you're over-feeding and nothing gets trapped lower down either. With mbuna, however, your sand is likely to not stay still for long anyway - so if you don't like the idea of seeing your fish' poo, don't worry You won't be able to with the mbuna anyway lol The only thing that's realy an issue, then, is actualy cleaning it. You can sue a gravel vacuum just as you would with gravel but, obviously, don't just put it straight into the sand as you would with gravel or else it'll all just get sucked up ;p Instead you need to swirl it around near the surface or just above and you should manage to get all the dirt without also sucking up all the sand. It takes a bit of getting used to but it's not that bad and it's realy worth it when it comes to watching the behaviour of your fish - especialy with mbuna species.

I'm shure there are pinned topics about sand. Maybe check the FAQ section or do a forum search. You're bound to fins something.

One mroe thing about sand - make shure you REALY rinse it out before adding it to your tank

 

[detroit_fan]

great, i can't wait to start designing the tank. you said i will need veggie-based food and insectivorous. Are there any products you recomend?

 

[sylvia]

Yes - the mbuna you'll have are all herbivorous fish except the yellow labs which eat insects in the wild (ie: are insectivores). You'll need to find a flake food that has spirulina as its main ingredient and not much protein. You'll probably find plenty of brands aimed at african cichlids and any of those will do. Besides these, I find mbuna enjoy algae waffers and some fresh veggies (eg: cucumber, zuchinni and, occasionaly blanched lettuce). For the sake of the labs in particular, try feeding daphnia and/or brine shrimp as a supplement - but avoid worms and things which are very protein-rich and try to only feed live or frozen foods - freeze-dried is not nutricious at all and can cause various problems (eg: constipation).

Actualy, there a pinned article on feeding mbuna: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=98179

 

[mamafish68]

the johanni will beat the crap out of just about anything else in the tank.....



keep the intake tubes for filters high enough that sand will not get sucked up as it will chew up the impeller on the filters...



if you plan on piling up rocks, go into home depot and in the lighting section look for "egg crate" it's a white sheet of squares, you can clip off sections or measure the piece to fit your tank bottom. it keeps the bottom from busting out from pressure of rocks.



good luck

just ticked off some points I thought you needed to know.


PS, labs are called OMNIVORES not insectivores LOLOL