Is This A Working Setup?

[.Relinquished]

I'm new to keeping fish but I have read alot. I'm in the process of cycling my tank right now. It's a 36 gallon, I have a fluval filter and the temperature is at about 76-77 degrees. I've created lots of hiding spots and it's away from natural light so there won't be a boom in algae growth with proper maintainance. So now that my tank is almost ready, I'm wondering if this would be a working setup

2 Electric Yellows (Labidochromis)
2-4 Black Mollies
2-4 Red Eyed Tetras
An African Dwarf Frog
And 1 or 2 Apple snails

I'm worried about conflicts with the fish, I don't want the tetras being eaten. Anyone who can offer advice or who can confirm that this is worth doing. Let me know

Thanks alot!

 

[Puffdaddy]

Actually the Yellows are African Cichlids and require different water parameters than the other fish, frog, snails. The Mollies
will live in freshwater but would be better of in low brackish. I think you might have to choose some other fish. So what I would do is decide on one species you want most, then build around them.

 

[MoonstruckMuse]

Generally Africans can be a bit tougher to start off with - they're hardy fish but are a little on the aggressive/territorial side.
As for the mollies, a nice freshwater alternative that's another livebearer and bears somewhat similar shape is the platy. Also pretty hardy, and in tons of different varieties for you to choose from.

With this setup, you can probably even choose another type of tetra/barb to put in your tank and make a small shoal with. Danios, Cherry Barbs, Black skirt/widow Tetras, and Rosy barbs have been some of my favorites for starting a new tank, they're hardy and relatively disease resistant while offering color and/or activity to your tank.

 

[.Relinquished]

Actually the Yellows are African Cichlids and require different water parameters than the other fish, frog, snails. The Mollies
will live in freshwater but would be better of in low brackish. I think you might have to choose some other fish. So what I would do is decide on one species you want most, then build around them.

So is it best not to mix cichilids with other species? Could you recommend some that would be a good working combonation?

Generally Africans can be a bit tougher to start off with - they're hardy fish but are a little on the aggressive/territorial side.
As for the mollies, a nice freshwater alternative that's another livebearer and bears somewhat similar shape is the platy. Also pretty hardy, and in tons of different varieties for you to choose from.

With this setup, you can probably even choose another type of tetra/barb to put in your tank and make a small shoal with. Danios, Cherry Barbs, Black skirt/widow Tetras, and Rosy barbs have been some of my favorites for starting a new tank, they're hardy and relatively disease resistant while offering color and/or activity to your tank.

Thanks, I'll look into the platy. I was originally interested in the black molly because it's pure black and would look good in my tank, do platys come in a similar colour to this? I'll go to some fish stores today and check some out too.

 

[-germ-]

You may already have, but just in case make sure you read this Link before you purchase an African Dwarf Frog...
Good luck with your new tank

 

[.Relinquished]

Yeah, I've read up on them. I'll be sure to check for webbing before buying one.

 

[.Relinquished]

I'm thinking about getting 3 of the Cichlids. Getting more tetra's and holding off on the mollies and maybe getting platy's later.

Im still worried that the Cichlids will try to eat the tetras and nip at other fish. Is this a common problem or should I be good?

 

[-germ-]

I'd post that question in the cichlid section for more specific advice.....

 

[Puffdaddy]

The Red Eyes will be fine with the Cichlids. You just have to acclimate them to the same water. The Cichlids will reach a
size of about 5"-6" and you will need to keep 1 male to every 3 females, to keep aggression down. The way to tell the
difference is the male will have black Anal & Ventral fins the females will not. Also these Cichlids are hard water fish so you
will have to keep the PH up (7.8-8.6) there are various was of doing this. As for the Red Eyes they will reach a size of 2.5"
and I strongly believe that these fish should kept in groups of 5 or more. I have some now that are almost 3 yrs old. I would not get any Mollies as I believe they are prone to diseases especially if not kept in brackish water. I'm not to sure if the frogs and snails will be able to handle hard water or not. I have never tried. If I was in your shoe this is what my stocking list would look like.

3-4 Electric Yellow Cichlids (1 male, 2-3 females)
5+ Red Eye Tetra
3-5 Marble Hatchet Fish
1 Bristlenose Pleco
maybe the frogs and snails?

The water parameters for this set-up would be
PH: 7.8
Hardness: 12-15
Temp: 79*F (26*C)