Would Frontosa's go with my fish?

[SarahBravo]

My cichlid tank looks kinda empty... there are 2 yellow labs (labidochromis caerulus) about 4cm long, 2 nyassae about 8cm long, 3 blue dolphins (cyrtocara moori) also about 4cm long and a synodontis multpunctatus about 14cm long. It's a Rio 180 litre. I'm thinking of adding 3 frontosas (about 4cm long) and maybe 3 hemichromis lillafili (also small). Would this mix work?

I know they all grow quite big, and they will all be re-homed or part-ex'd as and when they need more space.

Water specs are ideal for africans, and decor will be sand or very, very fine gravel and a wall of holey rock, maybe a plant or two and a bit of bogwood for the cat.

I'm also thinking maybe a couple of small Copadi Borleyi (sorry, don't know the common names, am going from the Trimar stocklist and www.fishprofiles.com).

All of the above fish are described as peaceful as far as cichlids go. Do you think this mix would be okay?

Any comments or stocking suggestions welcome!

Sarah

 

[wrs]

NO.

First that tank is way to small. Even though you will rehome them they are still territorail and will need to form territories. In a tank that size they wont. They also can get stunted.

Second, they are diffrent kinds of Africans. You should not mix Tanganyikans and Mbunas because Tangs are not as aggressive or boistrus, which the Mbuna Complex are. They will not like them.

 

[G_Sharky]

How many gallons is that???, IF you wanna keep frontosa's you should have at least a 150 gallon tank or bigger....It's okay to mix fish from different lakes as long as you give them some territory and hiding place for the weaker fish.....

 

[aberdeen aquarist]

My cichlid tank looks kinda empty... there are 2 yellow labs (labidochromis caerulus) about 4cm long, 2 nyassae about 8cm long, 3 blue dolphins (cyrtocara moori) also about 4cm long and a synodontis multpunctatus about 14cm long. It's a Rio 180 litre. I'm thinking of adding 3 frontosas (about 4cm long) and maybe 3 hemichromis lillafili (also small). Would this mix work?
Water specs are ideal for africans, and decor will be sand or very, very fine gravel and a wall of holey rock, maybe a plant or two and a bit of bogwood for the cat.

I'm also thinking maybe a couple of small Copadi Borleyi (sorry, don't know the common names, am going from the Trimar stocklist and www.fishprofiles.com).

All of the above fish are described as peaceful as far as cichlids go. Do you think this mix would be okay?

Any comments or stocking suggestions welcome!

Sarah

don't add the frontosas or the jewels, the fronts grow too big and will make a meal of your malawis (eventually) and the jewels are from west africa and live in softer water, pH less than 7. the copidachromis will be a much better option. just beware of mixing any more aggressive mbuna with haps ( aulonocara nyassae is one of those, as is copidachromis borleyi ) as the haps will suffer in the long term.

 

[freddyk]

Firstly, there are always exceptions when it comes to mixing fish. Frontosa CAN be mixed with Labs and Dolphins because these are two Malawi fish that are actually quite calm. Dolphins will not be edible by the Front, and only a fully grown adult Front who lucks out can eat an adult Lab. Labs get to a fair size, and their laterally compressed bodies are not an easy meal for the Front.

I DO agree that the tank is simply too small for all these big fish. Buying big fish with the intention of upgrading or getting rid of them is usually not a good idea. If you're going to upgrade, upgrade and then get your fronts. Also Despite being calm, slow moving fish, Frontosa are very aggressive toward conspicifics - this is why they are kept in colonies, rather then trio's.

I seem to repeat myself regularly about this, but Jewels and Africans CAN handle the same water aberdeen, as long as the water is not excessively high or low. Freshwater fish are very resilient and versatile, and I've been keeping both in the same water for many years, and so have many other cichlid fans that I know.

The nyassae I actually assumed was Synodontis - can you make what kind of fish they are a little more clear?

 

[aberdeen aquarist]

Firstly, there are always exceptions when it comes to mixing fish.
I seem to repeat myself regularly about this, but Jewels and Africans CAN handle the same water aberdeen, as long as the water is not excessively high or low. Freshwater fish are very resilient and versatile, and I've been keeping both in the same water for many years, and so have many other cichlid fans that I know.

firstly, how would you feel if you asked someone for advice, did what they said, only to find that when it went wrong they told you it was an exception to the rule?
i'm not saying that fronts can't be mixed with malawi cichlids, just that its not the norm. there seems to be 2 schools of thought on mixing fish from different lakes, but personally i wouldn't do it unless it was under emergency circumstances eg. a tank breakage.

maybe jewels and malawis can handle the same water, but are their dietary requirements not totally different?

i know how versatile fish can be if its forced on them, my point is that we should try to give them a life as close to what they would have in the wild without the risk from predation.