Other Cichlid Mates For Electric Yellows?

[Dalaran]

Currently 2 electric yellows and wondering what would be some good cichlid mates for them.

Thanks. All do's and don't's appreciated.

 

[kizno1]

how big is the tank

 

[Dalaran]

40 US gal... ~ 3.5ft long.

 

[Dalaran]

I think everything goes with yellow labs

Won't something too aggressive take advantage and pick on them? I was under the impression, please correct me if I'm wrong, that I would need a more laid back tank mate (as much as cichlids come) like they are themselves.

Thanks for the help though!

 

[Dalaran]

Thanks! I'm looking at possibly some Jewels... was always very impressed with their appearance.

 

[gouramigrl]

comeing from experience i have a 29 gallon bow front fish tank and i have a yellow lab and a bumble bee cichlid and its going ok for the moment but once the bumble bee hits his mature state its going to be world war three in there. my boyfriend and i have had a albino red top zebra in there, yellow tail acei, and now the bumble bee. it didnt go as good as we would have hoped with the zebra he ended up killing our first pleco that only got 5 inches then the other one died as well from the zebra and he was the normal size pleco. so we in the end we ended up getting rid of the zebra and the acei. and a month ago we got the bumble bee and everything seems to be going ok and from what other people have told us is that the bumble bee is the most aggressive of the mbuna cichlids.and thats when my boyfriend decided to do an all yellow lab tank. so if you guys know anything else that would go good for let me know. and i was just letting you guys know from experience so far that i have had going with the 30 gallon fish tank

 

[dthoffsett]

TBH yellow labs (Labidochromis caeruleus) should be kept in a minimum 4ft (55gal) tank. While they are one of the more peaceful mbuna they are still aggressive. When I started w/mbuna I tried keeping them in a 29gal tank, unfortunately the male and 2 females killed off all of their tankmates and would kill any of their fry that reached 1". Once they were moved to a 75gal tank they dropped to the bottom of the pecking order and were some of the most laid back fish in the tank. Just goes to show what a difference a proper sized tank can make.

My recommendation would be to upgrade the tank or rehome them.

gouramigirl, bumble bees (Pseudotropheus crabro) aren't actually the most aggressive mbuna (though males can be right terrors) that dubious award goes to Melanochromis chipokae, in fact all the the Melanochromis species are highly aggressive.

 

[gouramigrl]

i know that they need to be kept in a larger tank but my boyfriends is doing just fine in the 29 gallon tank and we havent had any problems with him being in there other then the bumble bee and the lab going at it every now and then. usually just them chaseing each other away. nothing serouis. im not really saying that the bumble bee is the most aggressive but he is one of the other mbuna's that is known for their aggressive behavior at their max size

 

[Dalaran]

TBH yellow labs (Labidochromis caeruleus) should be kept in a minimum 4ft (55gal) tank.

Hmmm... I read from the African cichlid index on this site that Labidochromis caeruleus work in a minimum size tank of 30gal? Should this be changed then if you are telling me they will not work in anything smaller than 55gal? With 40gal I assumed there would be lots of room.

Thanks.

 

[dthoffsett]

TBH yellow labs (Labidochromis caeruleus) should be kept in a minimum 4ft (55gal) tank.

Hmmm... I read from the African cichlid index on this site that Labidochromis caeruleus work in a minimum size tank of 30gal? Should this be changed then if you are telling me they will not work in anything smaller than 55gal? With 40gal I assumed there would be lots of room.

Thanks.

Yes, IMO it should be changed. I wouldn't consider a 30gal adequate for any mbuna and the only species I would suggest for a 40gal is a Pseudotropheus demasoni species tank. A few people have been able to keep labs in a smaller tank, kribensis12 has them in a 30gal but has had some problems with aggression (I believe 1 female has been killed so far). While I highly recommend not keeping them in a smaller tank, if you are going to it will need to be a species only tank.

Gouramigirl the problem your going to have is trying to add anymore fish to the tank, once your lab or bumblebee hits sexual maturity (if the lab hasn't already) their aggression level will escalate. It's likely they will fight until one is killed or extremely stressed, the remaining fish will then consider the entire tank it's territory and will attack any newcomers. That's the main reason small tanks just don't work with mbuna.

 

[Dalaran]

Yes, IMO it should be changed. I wouldn't consider a 30gal adequate for any mbuna and the only species I would suggest for a 40gal is a Pseudotropheus demasoni species tank. A few people have been able to keep labs in a smaller tank, kribensis12 has them in a 30gal but has had some problems with aggression (I believe 1 female has been killed so far). While I highly recommend not keeping them in a smaller tank, if you are going to it will need to be a species only tank.

Gouramigirl the problem your going to have is trying to add anymore fish to the tank, once your lab or bumblebee hits sexual maturity (if the lab hasn't already) their aggression level will escalate. It's likely they will fight until one is killed or extremely stressed, the remaining fish will then consider the entire tank it's territory and will attack any newcomers. That's the main reason small tanks just don't work with mbuna.

Thanks again! I guess there are lots of mixed opinions because I also read the bio for Pseudotropheus demasoni and I believe it suggests 55g tank minimum just do to their aggression levels (not size).

 

[dthoffsett]

Thanks again! I guess there are lots of mixed opinions because I also read the bio for Pseudotropheus demasoni and I believe it suggests 55g tank minimum just do to their aggression levels (not size).

Yeah, you'll find in mbuna everyone has a different opinion, though if you see something consistently recommended for or against it's a good bet you should or shouldn't go for it.

I would agree with 55 being the minimum for dems if you mix them with other species, as a species only tank you can go a bit smaller. They tend to ignore any species that doesn't look like them so they make pretty good tankmates, the problem is that they are so aggressive towards their own species that they should be kept in groups of 12 or more so you need a bigger tank to do that.

 

[gouramigrl]

dthoffsett im going to be putting another type of cichlid in the tank and my boyfriend purchased him out of the assorted cichlid tank and we arent sure what type of fish he actually is (ill try and get a picture of him so we can get an opinion on what he looks like) he is no bigger then my albino corycat so im growing it out for my boyfriend until he gets a little bigger to be put into the 30 gallon tank. we didnt want to put him in that because of how tiny he is and we didnt want to take the chance of the little guy getting killed in the tank with the lab and the bumble bee. yea i know we need a bigger tank but its all we have for the moment and everyone is doing fine in the tank.

 

[doktor doris]

My 3 yellow labs are happy in my tiny 125 litre tank, but they are youngsters, and Iam soon going to put the in a 300 litre tank.

So my advice is based upon what size your labs are.

In my 125l tank I have 3 yellow labs, one venustus, 8 hajomaylandia, 3 orange zebra (metriaclima estherae), and 2 blue stripey jobs whose ID eludes me.

And they all get on fine.

But my filter's powerhead pullls through 1000l an hour, I do 25% water changes every other day, my tank has loads of hiding places, and I will be moving them to a new 300l tank in a week or so.

So I think lots of mbuna (including L. cerulae) in a tank is perfectly okay, as long as-

a/ they are small
b/ you have lots of hiding places
c/ you have loads of filtration
d/ it is only temporary


doris


Mind you, Iam only an inexoerienced new-boy.
So I may be talking utter rot!

 

[dthoffsett]

No doris you're not talking utter rot. The reason I always suggest starting with the larger tank is that you never know what might happen while you are waiting to upgrade, that and mbuna grow fairly quick.

Multiple species can get along fine in a smaller tank while they are juveniles it's once they reach sexual maturity that all of their agression starts. I believe you've had a small taste of that with your venustus so far.

So, if you want to start out in a smaller tank, great, just make sure you have plenty of hiding spaces and filtration, also make sure you have a larger tank on hand to move them to in 2-4 months depending on the size your purchased them at. I just think it's easier to have the correct size tank before you start stocking.

gouramigirl, please don't think I'm picking on you I'm just trying to save you some trouble in the future. While things may be going fine in the tank now I highly doubt it will be that way 6 months from now. If it is you are one very lucky exception to the rule and I wish you the best of luck.