How does this combo sound to the pro's

[Doohic722]

ok, I've been looking around, and I found a nice variety of fish that i want, but im not too sure how compatible they are. I am going for very colorful fish, hence the mbuna's, and I will have many rocks in my tank.

A mbuna/malawi tank alone would be fine with me but I would like to also have the following

any kind of freshwater puffer
dwarf puffer
south american puffer
or any other puffer you think is pretty and may be compatible with mbuna's?

an algea eater
common plec / pleco Suckermouth catfish
havnt thought of any others, sugestions welcome

and of course my Dwarf Frog, I really must have the frog

let me know what ya'll think

 

[sgtbirch]

I'm not sure about the puffers with malawi cichlids. They are pretty aggresive. Cats are cool. Check out planetcatfish.com. very cool site I suggest a vampire pleco or queen arabesque or something cool like that

 

[dixaisy930]

The only fish I know anything about really is the puffers. I know that most of them are somewhat aggressive. I have a dwarf puffer though, and she's in with platies, and is the most passive out of all of them. I had another dwarf puffer, but had to return him because he became a bully. It can really vary sometimes...

 

[CFC]

Dont keep the frog with mbunas! Like most cichlids they will see your little froggy friend as lunch .Plecos aren't really suited to life with african cichlids either,most prefer soft water where as the cichlids need it hard,better to go with one of the synodontis species as they are used to life with aggresive african cichlids and enjoy the same water conditions .How big is the tank again?You could keep a MBU Puffer (Tetradon mbu) with mbunas as they are large and aggerssive enough to look after themselves,but be aware they can grow up to 30".

 

[Doohic722]

wow.. yeah, I have a 55 gallon tank
and I have soft water, looks like the mbuna's may not be my best choice

I looked around a little bit on that site sgtbirch, thanks looks like a nice site.. I looked at the queen arabesque, that was pretty soweet

Would puffers attack my froggie too?

no frog with mbunas, I will have to keep searching for more docile type fish that are vibrant with color.

no mbu for me cfc.. lol.. that thing could end up being a monster

but if I go with the mbuna's I checked out the synodontis decorus and those seem like a good cleaner fish to have.

let me know what you guys think would be vibrant colorful fish to have with my froggie

thanks everyone for your replies

 

[CFC]

I'm afraid most species of puffer will be out if you want a frog,most get quite big and can be aggressive,they have very sharp beaks and can inflict nasty wounds on the targets of their aggression.
Its a shame but there are very few fish which match the stunning colours of the African lake cichlids in fw,and with the frog you are limited even further,you will have to look at smaller more peaceful fish like tetras (neons ect) and dwarf gouramies.

 

[Doohic722]

first, sorry for the slow response, I started my spring break this past friday!

ok, here we go, I recently picked up a 10 gallon tank, a 20 gallon tank, cheesy heater, cheesy filter, rocks, couple fake plants.... all freebie's.. woohoo

downside.... bottom of 10gallon was broke

anyway, point: I have decided to set up the 20gallon for my frog and one or two other fish (maybe a betta what do you think?)

Im still on the look out for stunning fw fish, but I am 90% sure I will go with mbuna's in my 55gallon

so let me know what you think, and how big do mbuna's get? I have a 55gallon, are they too small, should I go with something bigger?

thanks

 

[Doohic722]

to add in with the Frog and Betta, can I also drop in a goldfish? My mother has a foldfish needing a new home and I thought this might be the best way to help her our.. lmk

 

[cichlidmaster]

The average adult size of most Mbuna is 4-5", depending on the species!!

Your 55 is an ideal tank for them.

CM

 

[superman]

You might be able to keep the dwarf frog in with the puffers and cichlids, I had one in with a Jack Dempsey, a 12 inch clown knife fish, and a fire eel, and he was out hunting for food in the gravel all the time, and was never bothered. It's almost like they knew (from smell or taste) that they would get sick if they ate him. But I will leave it up to you on whether you want to risk it

 

[cichlid_freak]

Where do I start?

Mbunas love to "play" with their tankmates, actually they are defending territory. I would go with at least 10-12 Mbunas (maybe go with a Peacock tank) but would shy away from putting a puffer or dwarf frog with them. The synodontis would be great, then you would have a regional tank. This means that you will have to do water changes more frequently, but you are less likely to end up with dead or beat up fish.

I have a friend who loves her Albino African Clawed Frog, and keeps it with Oscars. The frog is about 4" long (not counting legs) and about 3" wide. This is a little large for the Oscars to get a hold of. But I had a dwarf african frog when I had a pair of small Oscars, and came in to see little legs sticking out of the albino tiger oscar's mouth(what a shame). That's when I got rid of the Oscars and made it a Malawi Bio-type tank.

That leads me into my questions. What is a Malawi algea-eater. I'm sure there must be something in that lake that eats the stuff other than the Mbunas. This has been asked before but never got a good answer. Do synodontis eat algea along with blanched veggies? Are there any from Malawi?


Last question, I swear. Where can you get a cheap Mbu puffer (baby) and what is the size of a good tank to house an adult?

Was that two questions?

I guess that's three? Doh!

 

[Doohic722]

thanks cm, superman, and cf

superman,, i dont think Im gonna risk the froggie in the tank.. I have time to think about it, and I might try it out but if the mbuna's attack him I will have another tank ready to keep him in.

cf, sorry about your frog, and I too am intrested in your questions being answered. If I was back at school at my computer I could tell you for sure if the synodontis decorus ate algea but im not.... if I was to bet on it... I would give it a 90% shot of it eating algea.. thats why I wanted it

still looking for the answer to this one though..

can I keep a dwarf frog, betta (male), and a goldfish in the same tank?

thanks

 

[Doohic722]

wouldnt I be ok with having the mbuna's and puffers in together if they are all young?

then they would be growing together, seems like if they grow up together they would get along? Im probably wrong.. just wondering.

some of you tell me that puffers are aggressive, but arent the Malawi's aggressive also?,

another question, i know a malawi tank can be overstocked (and from what I have read, does better overstocked), would puffers be ok in this situation?

 

[CFC]

I think puffers would be ok in a malawi tank like you say they are also aggressive and can probably look after themselves,in fish keeping dont be afraid to try anything (except the obvious like brackish or salt water fish with freshies) i was told that putting a snakehead (ceylonese green) in my large community set up was a problem waiting to happen but i haven't had any (yet).

 

[CraZ4fiSHieS]

Hey Doohic~

I had 3 dwarf frogs in a tank with several fish, 2 female bettas being among them. One frog was found dead, all legas gone. The next day, I was on the computer and watched the female bettas swim commly up the a 2nd from and bite his foot off! Well that did it. I took the frogs out and they lived in a tupperware container for about a week before I found them a new home. The poor little tri-pod frog died a week in, but the other one is still kickin!
Moral of the story? I would maybe think twice about mixing bettas and frogs. Of course, like I said, mine werer females. Maybe males dont prefer the delicacy of frogs legs!
Good luck!