Melanochromis Auruatus Species Tank Sugestions

[Freedom18]

I just bought a 55 gallon on eBay and i really want to do a species tank with these guys (there gorgeous!) I know there extremely aggressive and what-not, and I have done some research, and now I need some experienced opinion...

1. how many can I keep in this tank?
2. how old/big do the males get before changing to the darker color, Im hoping this helps me pick the right ones up from the LFS
3. tank mates? Ive read that certain catfish can live with these guys but im not sure what. any suggestions? altough ill probably keep it just M. auruatus

Thanks for the help!

 

[J4MES]

You can keep synodontis catfish with them.

J4MES

 

[dthoffsett]

Sounds like an interesting tank to me. I'd aim for around 12 to 15 adults, you MIGHT be able to get away with two males, but I'd make sure your lfs will allow you to return extra males and get females. Not too sure how long before they start changing, but mbuna are generally sexually mature at around 2 inches, so somewhere around there. Your best bet would be to get 15 to 20 juvies and then return the extra males. You'll definately want to have TONS of rocks so the females aren't picked on too much. 100lbs of rock or more wouldn't be unreasonable. Typically, any synodontis species would work well, as would bristlenose plecos, but I'm not sure how they would fare with aurautus.

Good luck, and I definately want to see pics.

 

[Freedom18]

Just got the tank today, and holy crap is it huge! I got so used to my 20 gallon... Now I'm really excited!

 

[dthoffsett]

Just got the tank today, and holy crap is it huge! I got so used to my 20 gallon... Now I'm really excited!

I was the same way when I got my 75gal, now I look at it and think, is that really 75gals? I wonder if I could fit a 125 in that corner.

 

[caboose_122]

i agree with dthoffsett said, ain for about 12-15 adults, with only 1 or 2 males, the hard thing is that most lfs only sell juvies, atleast the ones around me and other cities near me, my friends male auratus started to colour up to his black/brown and white colour when it was about 2 inches, i dont know about cats, i heard some good and bad stories about synos, you could try a very strong pleco, athough my friends was killed in about 3 days due to the aggrestion of the fish, have lots and lots of rocks, i would say as much as you feel comfortable with in your tank becuase the aggrestion from the males, even the females can be to much for the other fish, the more rocks the beter, and make sure your lfs will let you bring back the males if you get juvies, because my friend got 6 auratus juvies, 5 of which turned out to be males they killed each other withen a matter of them getting the colours.

good luck with your tank, it will sure be a interesting one!

 

[Freedom18]

Alright so I've decided to pick these out of "mixed chiclid" tanks you always see at the LFS, save me a couple of bucks each, but my next question is about the rocks, I'm kinda nervous about putting 100 LBS of rock in a glass case, it's a half inch thick so I'm sure it'll be ok, but any advice about placing the rocks would be much appreciated...

 

[caboose_122]

you will be suprised at how much rock you can put in a fish tank, my friend has about 160-200 pounds of rock in his 75 gallon, i would put egg crate down if you are going to add lots of rock it helps diffuse the weight of the rocks, its also called light diffuser and can be found at most hardware stores, try to get the flattest, like slate or roughest, lava rock for example try not to get anything that will flake shards into the tank, its unsafe for the fish and they can be quite sharp and can cut yourself too, just try to pile the rock ontop of each other, make a base of of rocks in a triangleand try and pile from there, do let anything wiggle or move cause that could be a potential disaster so make sure everything is stiff and wont move around when its ontop of another rock.

 

[dthoffsett]

I strongly advise against picking fish from the "mixed african cichlid" tanks, you may be saving a few bucks, but the vast majority of those fish are hybrids, and that can lead to all kinds of problems.
http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/mixed_africans.php


Like caboose said you can fit a lot more rocks in a tank than you think, I have around 130lbs in my 75gal, I did have close to 160lbs before I rescaped. I don't have eggcrate on the bottom either, I don't think it's really necessary, but if it makes you feel better, go for it.

 

[Freedom18]

Well I already had that in mind, but you have to factor in that I'm doing a species tank, so as long as i stick to Melanochromis Auruatus i should be fine, and if I'm not sure if it's Melanochromis Auruatus then i wouldnt want to put it in there anyway, not worth the risk to the poor fishy.

And as for egg crate, would it effect there digging? I have a M. Auruatus in my other tank (my inspiration) and right now shes digging up a storm (and yes she has caves) so I'd like to give them some room to dig if they so feel like it. and to prevent "undermining" the rocks I'm planning on placing the rocks first, then the sand around them (read that tip in a forum somewhere)

 

[dthoffsett]

IMO eggcrate really isn't necessary, and yes it will prevent them from digging all the way to the glass.

 

[caboose_122]

sure eggcrate is not nessisary i just like to be safe thats all

 

[Freedom18]

hmm. well how much does eggcrate cost? that'll probably be the deciding factor.

 

[caboose_122]

i dont think its very much, it depends on were you are i guess best thing to do is go check out the hardware store

 

[Freedom18]

Bad (well not really) news everyone, after some discussion with my fiance, we decided to go another route (hooray for compromise!). sorry I wasted your time everyone, but were gonna do a brackish tank.