stocking mbuna tank

[guppygirl]

Hi all,
I have recently set up my 30 gallon Mbuna tank. It has almost completed it's cycle, the nitrites are just going down. I am cycling it with 2 clown loaches and 11 danios. So far so good, and the ph is about 7.7. I have crushed coral as a substrate, and have various rocks in there too. Most of the rocks are quartz of some kind, I also have a piece of sandstone and some granite too. They were all washed tons, with a scrubber brush. I am planning on putting maybe some vallisneria and/or anubias in there too.
ANYWAYS...
In my other tank, (a 55 gallon) I have 2 dojos (japanese weather loaches) that I had planned to put in there. They are both about 6 inches long, and about the width of a jumbo hotdog . I read they can stand ph up to 7.5. Since I also have 2 clown loaches in there, and I heard they do better in groups of 4 or more, Is it possible to add the dojos or do I have to keep them in my 55? I know they love it in my 55, but since I'm turning that tank into a heavily planted tank, I need to get them out of there. Let's just say they're avid redecoraters.
I have 2 filters on my 30, an Aquaclear power filter 50, and an Aquaclear 1140 powerhead with a quickfilter filled with bioballs and lava rock attached.
The species of cichlids I want to get are: (and I've researched compatability)
Labidochromis caeruleus
Pseudotropheus saulosi
Pseudotriopheus Acei

To clarify the above, I don't want to overstock my 30, since I don't know how many cichlids I want to get yet either. I will remove all 11 danios after the cycle is complete, but I want to keep the loaches.
To boil it all down to a few questions~
1. Can I add 2 more loaches AND the 2 dojos?
2. How many cichlids should I get of each species?
3. If I can't put the dojos in there, what should I do with them? (other than sell them)
4. Can the dojos tolerate the ph?

WHOA this post is long!! I'm sorry!! )
Thanks so much!!!
~Robin

 

[guppygirl]

Anybody?

 

[G_Sharky]

You can stock it up with one per species like mine . I think having a breeding pair on a 30 gallon could get rough on your other fish. I just recently started my mbuna tank and everything is going well, no serious fighting yet, and i'm hoping that there would be none. I think adding all those fish should be fine as long as you add them first, don't let your mbuna establish their territory then add fish cause they will fight or kill for their territory...good luck....

 

[guppygirl]

So I shouldn't do breeding pairs or trios or anything?
Yes I know I can't add them gradually, my mom was like, well you can just get a few now and we can just add some later! I was like no, mom, I don't want any dead fish!!
So what do you think about the dojos and clown loaches??

 

[G_Sharky]

Iam also planning on getting clown loaches, but i'm not sure how my cichlids would welcome their new tankmates. I recently added a green spotted plec on my tank, they did bother him for a bit but didn't hurt him just put a little rip on his fins(now healing). I think if you get small cichlids then maybe getting a larger clown or dojo loach would do fine. You should put them on your tank first before the cichlids....

 

[modernhamlet]

I haven't heard of dojo's being kept with mbuna in a high pH environment, so I can't speak to those questions.

However...

1. Clown loaches, as you know, need to be in groups of at least 4. And even a single one would get way too big for a 30g.

2. 30g is pretty much the bare minimum tank size for mbuna. In such a short tank, you're going to have territory and aggression issues as the fish mature. You have to stock with this in mind. I would only stock 2 species in a 30g, in your case the acei and the labs. The saulosi are not likely to work in the longrun. I would suggest 1M:3F of each species, for 8 fish total.

Hope that helps... Good luck with your choices.

 

[yhbae]

guppygirl, what is the footprint of your 30g tank?

 

[guppygirl]

Ok, so should I move the 2 clown loaches to the 55, and then put the dojos in there? Hmmm. Then I would have to get 2 more loaches to go with them. Actually, that wouldn't be too bad, since I'm moving my dojos somewhere anyway. Ahhh, decisions, decisions!!
I think that stocking scheme sounds good. I try that!
What do you mean by footprint, yhbae??

 

[yhbae]

Sorry, I meant what is the dimension of your tank? I am more interested in the length and width (not the height).

 

[guppygirl]

Ok...
Length: about 2 1/2 feet... 30 inches to be exact.
Width: about a foot
Here I'll give stats too:
Ammonia:0ppm
Nitrites: probably 0ppm by now
Nitrates: Unknown, I don't have a test, but it's probably spiking now.
pH: 7.7
General hardness: averages about 9 or 10 degrees dGH
Carbonate hardness: 6 degrees dKH
11 danios
2 clown loaches

HTH!

 

[yhbae]

In a 2.5fter, I'm not sure even P Acei would work... After all, they grow to 5 inches and likes open spaces...

IMO, you only have enough room for a single species - Yellow Lab. It will appear as if it is working out if you populate more than one species in your tank, but in the long run, I doubt they will thrive. 3ft is really the bare minimum, and some consider even this not sufficient.

Do you have a plan to upgrade to a larger mbuna tank within 6 months?

 

[modernhamlet]

Ouch. I agree with yhbae, I'm afraid. My recommendations were based on a 30g tank (36" long), not a 29g (30" long).

Sorry.

 

[guppygirl]

No, I don't have any plan on moving them... my mom would kill me if I said I needed ANOTHER tank! I already have 3 tank that still need to be set up, and one to be renovated.
Ok this is interesting...
So do you think I could just get maybe 6-8 yellow labs?? And put the dojos in there and move the 2 clown loaches out of the 30 and into the 55? I can always get a few more to keep the 2 Clowns company.
I don't think I'd mind just having yellow labs, I love their colors and personality. Plus the dojos, but that's a different story..
So if I just get Labs, how many males and females should there be? And how do I tell the difference between them when I buy them?
Thanks for all your help guys, I'm glad I didn't buy a bunch of fish and make a big mistake!!!
Oh here, I'll post a pic of the tank. Just for fun. This was when I just finished setting it up. It doesn't have the black backround or any of the fish in it. The second filter in behind the rocks. The rock structure is actually very stable. My mom is awesome at rock stuff.
30 gallon
~Robin

 

[yhbae]

I would think that you can buy 8 juv yellow labs and raise them until you can sexually identify them. Then perhaps you could aim for 1 male and 4 or 5 females. Compare to other mbuna, it isn't as important to get the sex ratio correct since they are more peaceful, but still you will have less problem by having less males. Besides, there's not a whole lot of visual difference between a male and a female yellow lab...

Remember, even Yellow Labs can reach up to 4 or 5 inches, so these aren't small. Think of what your tank would look when you have these fully grown up fishes. 10 of them in your tank will look very crowded! My P Acei went from 1.5 inches to 3 inches in 6 months, so they do grow quite fast!

 

[guppygirl]

Ok that sounds good! I think I know where to buy them at too. I'll see.
So what should I feed them when I get them?
Thanks!
~Robin