I'm new to this!

[Hels]

Hi guys im looking for some advice...

After an african cichlid tank was suggested for my local hard water i've been doing some thinking.... I'm planning a little moving and changing to free up one of my rexford 96l for a species tank....

I've posted on chit chat for ideas for the re-arranging but was wondering when i've got the empty tank what should i do with it??

So... its a 96L, with sand.... I already have a pair of juildachromis which can probably go to my lfs if needed (which i was told would be okay in one of my community tanks which im now having second thoughts about ...)

okay so ideal info would about about which species?? how many?? male/female ratio?? could they mix with anything else?? etc...

any help would be much apreciated!!!

 

[glolite]

Only dwarfs in that size. Neolamprologus brichardi are beautiful and kept alone as a species are fine. If you want to keep different species then the brichardi is too aggressive once it starts to breed. Lab caeruleus, or electric yellow lab are more peaceful and would mix with other peaceful african dwarf cichlids. Mostly best to keep one male to a ratio of 3 or more females.

 

[fish_r_great]

Well I would keep the julidochromis out of a community tank and maybe add some shelldwellers you would just need to add shells and then maybe stack some rocks around the shells for the julidochromis add some synos and a smaller pleco and you would have a nice slice of Africa in your house.

 

[fish_r_great]

Oh and as glo-lite said Brichardi are good in a species tank and will take over the tank with breeding so keep in mind if you go with Brichardi you might end up with a lot of babies. You might likes this or might not IDK.

 

[freddyk]

What's the dimensions of the tank? Juli's might harass shelldwellers, or anything els you put in there, depending on how much space there is - they're quite territorial themselves.

 

[fish_r_great]

It is 25 US Gallons but, couldn't he/she gets a more aggressive species of shell dweller such as ocellatus that would be able to hold its own.

 

[fish_r_great]

Oh and I think its demensions are 24 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 20 3/4

 

[freddyk]

but, couldn't he/she gets a more aggressive species of shell dweller such as ocellatus that would be able to hold its own.

It could be worth a try, but although it can work it doesn't always - Juli's can be pretty darn territorial. One mark against this tank is that the Juli's have already established themselves in it - newcomers usually will not be treated kindly. Chances would be much better if they were introduced together. Still, it could be worth a shot.

 

[fish_r_great]

Especially if upon the new arrival of the shell dwellers Hels moved around the stuff in the tank or totally redid the tank as I reccomended before.

 

[Hels]

thanks for the help guys...

at the moment the julidachromis have been moved to my hospital tank after they didnt seem to get on very well with my cory cats.... so they'll go into their new home when i get whatever im getting

i've been to my lfs (who are as far as i know really good...v. helpful...great stock of fish plus the only lfs in my area which will trade fish) just a little concerned about the advice they gave me this morning tho so i thought id check it out with you guys....

i saw some electric yellow lab which i really liked, i told her about my tank (to be) she said to overstock it to control aggression....she said i could perhaps have up to 15 in my tank....(is this okay???) also she said that i could mix them with mostly everything else she had in (including julidachromis, plus Neolamprologus brichardi)... im really regreting i didnt write down any names (im terrible at remembering the scientific names!!!), there was some small quite bright blue ones which it would be great if anyone could suggest a name that i could look up

so... was this good advice or not.... i do really quite like the electric yellow labs but would like a bit of a mix if poss... is there any suggestions of set-up which would be compatible

thanks!!!

 

[Hels]

plus... i meant to ask (sorry)... i kinda remember reading (prob on here) that electric yellow labs could inter-breed which i'd like to avoid...so suggestions with that in mind would be great!

 

[fish_r_great]

Heres the thing, you really only want to overstock a Mbuna tank which are rock dwellers from Lake Malawi. Those are the Labs and maybe the blue ones (might be peacocks in which case a 25 is too small). The rest (Brichardi & Julies) are from Lake Tanginykia (sp.) You really wouldn't want to mix Lakes although some people have. Brichardi breed like mad and you probably wouldn't want to mix lakes. If anything I would get maybe 5 shelldwellers preferably ocellatus and then after that add the julies back and maybe 2 more depending on what others have to say on the subject.

 

[fish_r_great]

Heres a pic of my 29 gallon tang tank with shelldwellers and soon to have Julidochromis.

 

[freddyk]

so... was this good advice or not.... i do really quite like the electric yellow labs but would like a bit of a mix if poss... is there any suggestions of set-up which would be compatible

It was pretty poor advice, right on some levels, but wrong on most

Yellow labs get to a good 4-5", and 15 in a 25 gallon tank is like a sardine can - forget about keeping that puppy clean. The good news is that you don't need to overstock labs -they're socialable fish with minimal aggression. What could work is about 4 or 5 of them - you can start off with a couple of extra juveniles at first. A two foot tank, however, is a poor long term home for these very active fish, and I'd never subject them to such quarters, even if they will technically live in these conditions.

You actually can add a single julidochromis, or a single brichardi, or both, to the tank with some labs. These tanganyikans actually are not territorial or aggressive as singles, it's only in a breeding pair that they get hostile. Don't keep pairs and you'll be ok. In a tank this size though, mixing is not the best thing.

Beware of small bright blue fish! They tend to be species like Kenyi or Demasoni, fish that are very, very aggressive and will wreck havoc on your tank. Absolutely do not buy these fish until you've confirmed what they are and that they will work - chances are best that they won't. This size tank is considered very small for these types of fish.

Now that you've removed the julis I'd recommend trying what fish_r_great already recommended - redecorating the tank with a good mix of rockwork and open space, intruducing some shell dwellers with the juli's at the same time. In addition, the tank is tall enough that you can add some non-cichlid shoalers to spice things up.

 

[fish_r_great]

Great advice and I 100% agree with everything that Freddy has said.

So, what are your plans?

Oh and BTW what Tangs lack in coloration they make up in personality!!