Final, Refined Fish Selection

[fishboytoo]

Sorry, I duplicated this post but I wanted a reply before I went shopping.

Okay, The 90 gallon tank is cycled!

I am going to buy fish today. This is what I'd like to end up with.

5 Pseudotropheus acei
5 Iodotropheus sprengerae
5 Labidochromis caeruleus
5 Pseudotropheus saulosi
5 Metriaclima sp. - i don't know what's available for sure but there are three varieties i like:
"maisoni reef", "zebra gold breast orange", and "yellow belly"
I found these three on google, the rest from cichlid-forum.com.

Does this selection get the nod? or not?

I was thinking of getting them in two batches, 10 at first then add the last 15. Is this unwise?

Are these numbers appropriate-five of each and 25 in total?

Thanks for looking

 

[jayjay]

only thing i'd say is add the less aggressive fish first. so they stick a chance to get somewhere to call their own.

 

[fishboytoo]

That was my intention, the caeruleus and sprengerae first then the others.
I may end up omitting the P. acei and going with 6 of the four species. In this case it would be two batches of half.

What do you think of P.acei? I liked them when I first saw them but now not so sure.

Thanks for replying.

 

[Ferris]

Thats a solid combination and should work well. There are no compatibility issues with P.Acei, in fact they would fit in nicely. If you fancy something a little more striking in appearance, check out Cynotilapia Afra, lovely fish and would also work well in your tank.

 

[jayjay]

i really like the colour differences between male and female Pseudotropheus saulosi. i don't know much about pseudotropheus acei. i don't have any experience in keeping malawi actually lol. all i know about them is through reading about them. i think the mix you've chosen should work personally. but i prefer the others - Iodotropheus sprengerae, Labidochromis caeruleus, Pseudotropheus saulosi, Metriaclima sp., personally. i think they would look great together

 

[fishboytoo]

Thanks for the substitution Ferris, I looked them up and I agree with you, they are quite striking. I think I would go with those over the P.acei.

Then again, as Jayjay said, I think the four species would also be a good combination.

Decisions, decisions...

I'll let you all know what I come home with.
Thanks again.

 

[jayjay]

hope you get evrything on your list

are you going to the lfs 2 get them? and when you going to get them?

 

[fishboytoo]

Alright. This is what I ended up with.

I bought 5 Labidochromis caeruleus, 5 Cynotilapia afra "cobwe", 5 Pseudotropheus saulosi, and 5 L. fuellborni "marmelade cats".

I know that some people told me that fuelleborni might be a problem, but the guy at the LFS convinced me to get them. This guy is in charge of the cichlid section of the store and keeps them himself. He said fuelleborni was no worse than zebras or the afra. I deferred to his expertice and decided to get them. Not having any experience of my own, I found it hard to disagree with him. I hope it all works fine. And at least i'm aware of a potential problem with them and the saulosi, so I can watch out for it. Also, he said that it wasn't a good idea to mix the zebras and the afras which is another reason I changed my plan. I didn't get the sprengerae as I checked at five stores and none carried them. I could have them ordered in if I really want them, but I think there's enough fish in there right now.

I may yet add 5 more, but right now I'm happy with these. They are wonderful little fish and I'm glad I chose mbuna. I almost got 5 P.acei "white tail". They look nice as juvenilles but some of the adult pictures i've seen aren't that nice. I like it when they look dark with a bright tail, the contrast is appealing. But some just look like a dull blue with an almost grey tail and really lack that sharp contrast. Anyone have good pics of these? What do you think of them?

I will post some pics when I get the film developed. Ancient technology, I know.

Thanks again, to those who replied, for all your advice