Malawi compatibility

[becs66]

I have just bought a new 4ft, 55gal setup second hand and it came with fish with it, I only wanted the tank but the seller was keen to get rid of the fish too! The tank contains in total about 35 fish of species Melanchromis auratus, Pseudotropheus zebra blue, Iodotropheus sprengerae, Sciaenochromis ahli, Cyontiliapia Afra, (all juvenilles from about 1-2"), one clown loach(~4"), one red tail black shark (4-5") and a gourami. Basically I don't really know what to do this lot and have a few questions I would be very grateful for some answers to!

I have taken out the gourami and put it in with my tropicals as it was looking a rather harassed, but will the RTBS and clown loach be ok in a malawi tank as they wont fit in my 35gal?

How many adult fish would be a sensible number to keep in a tank this size? as it looks too busy now even with the fish being small?!

I was originally planning on having Labidochromis caerueus and Iodotropheus sprengerae plus possibly a smaller Pseudotropheus sp. are any of the other species that I acquired suitable to keep with these less aggressive species or not as I plan to try to trade some of the existing fish for credit or other fish, and don't know what to trade and what to keep.

Thanks
Becs

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Remove every auratus, they grow big for mbuna and are extremely aggressive. RTBS has been known to work, but it's not an optimum environment for it, I'd trade it as well. The Scienochromis is a hap, they prefer lower stocking densities and more swiming space then mbuna. You can keep him if you plan on keeping it less crowded with less aggressive fish, but even they can become very aggressive as they get older.

The Cyn. Afra should work fine, the Zebra may or may not, just keep an eye on them and jusdge their aggression levels. In addition you can do Pseudotroheus Saulosi and Pseudotropheus Acei in that mix without a problem, and if you keep it understocked, Aulonocara too.

about 15 adult fish, give or take, are good for a 55.

 

[becs66]

Thanks! Just one more question the species names were told to me by the previous owner and all seem to match in description to what i can find in book and on the web except Cyn Afra, the fish that were identified to me as them are yellowy orange with black horizontal bands, whereas everywhere i look they have vertical stripes. Is this a colour variant or a different species?!

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

It could be different species, or it could be that all of the pictures you've seen are of full grown adults, or when they are in their breeding colors

 

[thecichlidaddict]

That sounds like a different species. There are different color morphs of cynotilapia, but I've never seen one with horizontal stripes.

 

[becs66]

I think I'll try and take some photos and post them and you can give me you're expert opinions!!

 

[becs66]

Could anyone give me some help with the identification of these fish in the pictures forum. Thanks!!
Fishy Pics

 

[baldric]

http/www.jjphoto.dk/introa-fish.htm try this site to identify your fish Ive got the same problem with a trio of haps i just bought