Need A Question Answered Plz

[fish_keeper2]

i have a ten gal(i know def not the best ) mbuna tank with a yellow lab, an "assorted" more than likely a hybrid, and one i cant remember the name of. first of all i need the id for one of them. its a dark purpleish blue. all i remember from the latin name is at the end in parentheses as azures(or something like that....i might remember it once i see the name. i believe this is one of the ones commonly called electric blue.

also the "assorted" one is being far to aggressive. the yellow lab and the one i need the id on have taken quite a beating while the "assorted one has no torn fins or anything so im going to give him to a lfs and get another gentleler cichlid........i just dont know which one. right now im between another yellow lab, another of the purpleish blue or maybe an albino scolofi(SP). would the scolofi(SP) be suitable one?
btw i have LOTS of hiding places and the assorted one will go in one and chase out the others constantly.

 

[Ferris]

i have a ten gal(i know def not the best ) mbuna tank

I'm afraid that's an understatement, that tank is nowhere near suitable for even 1 of those fish. You need to re-home them in a tank of no less than 30 gallons or return them to your LFS, unfortunately there is no alternative.

Mbuna are far too agressive to be kept in small tanks, a 55 gallon is ideal and a 30 gal is the absolute minimum, personally i wouldn't keep them in anything less than a 40.

 

[Ginge]

I agree its like keeping an elephant in your bedroom if th ten gal isnt very long backways the fish wont be able to turn round in the tank. With rock your tank might only have 8G of water in it.

 

[fish_keeper2]

im getting rid of the aggressive one today and yesterday i seperated him and got another to replace him.
right now they all seem to be getting along. i saw no new holes or peices missing from thier fins or anything.

i have looked up the fish i have:
1 yellow lab/labidochromis cearuleus
1 snow white socolofi/albino p. socolofi
1 copadichromis azureus

sorry for spelling im not good with latin names.

can you guys please give me all the info on these guys and how big of a tank i would need.....im happy with these ones and i dont want any more than these 3. btw im not using rocks, im using pieces of broken ceramic pots that i stacked on the backside of the tank in a way to form lots of cubby holes which they seem to realy like.

 

[Ginge]

Still no you can't keep these fish in a tank that small for example the yellow lab can get to 5" he would only just be able to turn round and you are planning to have 3 of them. Immagin sitting in a solitary confinmant cell for the rest of your life with another 2 people in there who you would stand the risk of being beaten up every day. Thats what it would be like.

P.S Sorry for being so dramatic but its true.

 

[fish_keeper2]

can you guys please give me all the info on these guys and how big of a tank i would need

if you would have read my post all the way would see that i want to know how big of a tank i would need for the 3 of them. it also be great if you would give me info on the fish i have............

 

[Ferris]

Tank size

Mbuna are far too agressive to be kept in small tanks, a 55 gallon is ideal and a 30 gal is the absolute minimum, personally i wouldn't keep them in anything less than a 40.

As for the specific fish

Yello labs

Socolofi

Azureus

Amazing tool Google!

 

[fish_keeper2]

thanks. if i were to get a 30 gal cube how many more mbuna can i add?

 

[Ginge]

Not that many more as it is a cube a long would be better as two fihs can be 36" away when being agressive but in a cube they can only be 20" away.

 

[fish_keeper2]

i know that but i have probs tansporting any tank longer than 40 inches........wont fit in the car and i have no other way to transport it. the 30 gal cube i was thinking about is approx 20inches on all sides. will it be allright if i have a total of 5 altogether....maybe the 3 i have plus 2 more yellow labs or something.

 

[Ginge]

Yeah should be. But if you cant get a 40" in to your car dont worry ask around you must no somone with a van that can help you out??? P.S DO the seats come out of your car?? If not you could lay a 40" on teh back seats of the car.

 

[Ferris]

A normal 3 foot tank would be better than the cube, Mbuna spend most of their time near the bottom of the tank so the tank length is much more important than its height. 5 Mbuna may work in a 3 foot tank, especially if you just get 2 or 3 more labs.