Roommate's cichlid tank needs help

[GrayTeall]

These are not my fish, but my advice to the owner is welcome, so I've come here for help from you good people. I know absolutely nothing about cichlids or their care. There's 5 total tanks in the house (2 are five-gallons and another is a 20-gallon, which are all too small for the listed fish so they're omitted) and my roommate would like to keep as many fish as possible. The polar blue parrots are highest on the priority list. We're trying to figure out which fish to put in which tanks in order to give the best quality of life, and then try to rehome any that don't fit into any good setup. These are the current tanks and inhabitants.

30 gallon tank with: 4 cory catfish and 1 tiger loach, 1 juvenile pictus catfish, 2 yellow lab cichlids (male and female), 1 male kribensis cichlid, and 4 polar blue parrot cichlids (2 male, 2 female).
55 gallon corner tall tank with: 1 adult male Chinese algae eater, 1 adult (sex unknown) striped Raphael catfish, 1 male demasoni cichlid.

A friend has a 50-gallon long that they're willing to donate to the cause, which opens new options.

I humbly ask for help figuring out which fish should go where, and also what the water parameters should be for each tank given that there's cichlids from different parts of the world and have different needs, what the decorations should be, and which fish need to go.

 

[Back in the fold]

That is certainly a mixed bunch of fish and it doesn’t sound like it should work. What’s a yellow lab cichlid ? Is that some African Labidochromis or something ? Everything might go alright for awhile but I bet that Kribensis won’t last long. IMHO I think a guy should stick to one continent with cichlids except for Africa because that place is really diverse. Does your friend want to breed cichlids or just have a bunch of different ones to look at and admire ? You have to consider that.
You opened up a can of worms here and I will be interested to see what our learned colleagues have to say.

 

[Wills]

Hi this is certainly a bit of a mix!

First question - what is your water hardness like. You have a lot of softwater fish and the rift lake cichlids that need hard water.

A quick grouping would suggest that you move the Yellow Labs and the Demasoni into one of the 50/55 gallon tanks, though not sure which would be best - what are the dimensions of the corner tank? I'd then add a lot more to their groups and keep them as a 2 species tank with sand and rocks that will harden their water to the levels they experience in the wild. You'd want the Yellow Labs in a group of 1 male to 4 females and the Demasoni 1 male to 7 females. Demasoni are one of the most aggressive Mbuna though so you may struggle, Labs are quite adaptable but quite peaceful so should be ok - a better choice than the Demasoni might be Rusty Cichlids or Chindongo Saulosi but if they want to keep the Demasoni you could try adding a bigger group first.

I'd then put the Kribs in the 30 gallon possibly with the Cory Catfish - but I'd get more Cories, ideally at least 12 all together, though depending on the species these might be better in one of the 20 gallon tanks and give the Kribs the bottom of the tank and add other species to their tank that stay higher in the water.

Then in the other 50/55 gallon (not used for the Mbuna) I'd have the Polar Parrots with the Raphael Catfish and get 4 more Pictus Catfish. You could add a midwater fish to this tank too like some Barbs or a large Tetra?

Do you know the species of the Tiger Loach as this can be applied to a lot of species but the actual 'Tiger Loaches' are quite aggressive. I'm also not sure what to do with the Chinese Algae Eater, they are a tricky fish to keep sometimes as they get quite big and also can be a bit aggressive as they get older, the tank with the Polar Parrots might work but it could be a candidate to rehome?

Wills

 

[Colin_T]

Get rid of the pictus catfish because they need to be kept in groups of 8-10 and grow to 10 inches long. They need a tank that is at least 6 foot long.

Get rid of the Chinese algae eater because they grow to a foot long and are highly territorial when mature.

Get rid of the polar blue parrots because they are a man made mutant balloon fish. Balloon fish have shorter bodies and their organs are squished up. they have more problems digesting their food and often die from internal problems.

All balloon fishes should be avoided by everyone because it is cruel and inhumane to keep a deformed animal that can't digest food properly and has its internal organs squished up to such a degree the intestine and stomach and often resting against the heart.

You need more Corydoras.

Move the loach into another tank. You only want Corydoras or loaches in a tank, not both.

The Kribensis needs to be in a tank without other bottom dwelling fishes or other cichlids. Or better still, get rid of it.

Get rid of the demasoni.

Put the electric yellow cichlids in their own tank and make sure the pH and GH is high enough for them. They come from Lake Malawi in Africa and need a pH above 7.6 and a GH around 300ppm.

Most of the fish you have are from soft acid water (pH below 7.0 and a GH below 150ppm). The electric yellows and demasoni come from hard water (GH 300ppm and pH above 7.6).

The electric yellows and demasoni come from Lake Malawi that contains lots of limestone and sandstone rocks and not many plants. You can grow plants with them and the electric yellows need plant matter in their diet.

The other fish can have driftwood, rocks that don't affect the water chemistry (slate, smooth river rocks), and plants.