Change of plans....

[blainetyson]

Well i have finally made up my mind about what type of fish i want to keep, and the tank is nearly cycled!!

Hubby got me a 130g instead of the 90g, and i decided to go with mbuna fish.

Here is my list, it still needs work but that is why i am here....

Now i know that not all of these will work for various reasons, but it is a start

Cynotilapia afra

Labidochromis caeruleus

Labidochromis sp. "Perlmutt"

Labeotropheus fuelleborni

Labeotropheus trewavasae

Melanochromis joanjohnsonae

Metriaclima sp. "Black Dorsal Heteropictus"

Metriaclima estherae

Metriaclima callainos

Pseudotropheus saulosi

Pseudotropheus polit

Pseudotropheus socolofi

I need help narrowing it down, as well as how many of each??

Thanks,

Chantell

[spcy]

Some recamend 1 inch of fish per gal. of water or another option is the amount of surface area, eg. Length of fish vs. one square foot of surface area. A fish 4" long you can put 2 per square foot of surface area. Hope that helps.

[Vallisneria]

I would narrow it down to 1 species from each genus( 1 species of labidochromis, 1 pseudotropheus, etc.) that way you will reduce inbreeding.

In african tanks, I like the look of a few species with larger group numbers. I'd tend to keep the species to about 3. I find it looks better then a cluttered tank full of a million different fish.

[jvision]

In a 130, I'd do 3 big piles of rock or shell (I have a lot of oyster & clam shells if you want) - pretty much right to the surface. Then:

6 C. afra (2M,4F)

6 L. caeruleus

6 M. estherae

6 P. saulosi

That's what I'd do. And throw in about 8-12 Syno. petricola or multipunctatus.... and a few BN plecos for algae control.

[Vallisneria]

In a 130, I'd do 3 big piles of rock or shell (I have a lot of oyster & clam shells if you want) - pretty much right to the surface. Then:

6 C. afra (2M,4F)

6 L. caeruleus

6 M. estherae

6 P. saulosi

That's what I'd do. And throw in about 8-12 Syno. petricola or multipunctatus.... and a few BN plecos for algae control.

I dont' know if i'd do M. estherae and saulosi. The red zebras and female saulosi look pretty much the same. I"d replace the estherae with Metriaclima callainos.

Otherwise the rest of Jason's list looks good.

[RD.]

A few questions ........ Are you buying juvie fish, or sexed groups? Do you plan on keeping the fry, or letting them spit in your tank? Do you prefer colorful females over drab colored females, or does this not matter to you? IOW .. are you planning a 'show' tank, or a breeding set up?

Also, what is the 'footprint" of your 130? (72 x 18"?)

If you plan on breeding these fish & keeping/selling the fry, just keep in mind that this will require a number of fry tanks, the number of species that you can keep with little chance of hybridization taking place will be limited, and the manner in which you aquascape your tank will also be limited. There's nothing worse than having to remove a few hundred pounds of rocks (and them put them all back) just to catch a single holding female.

If you plan on simply having this tank as a display or show tank, then you can increase the number of species, not worry quite so much about the sex ratios of juvies, and design the tank any way that you prefer.

In African tanks, especially those that contain species classified as herbivores, I prefer to let the rocks etc get a good growth of algae on them (meaning no BN plecos) as it allows the fish to do what comes naturally to them, and it helps keep the more aggressive species preoccupied from each other. I would also leave out the catfish, and use the bio load that they would add to the tank for more mbuna, which will also help alleviate aggression.

I'll add more once I know what your overall plan for this tank is.

Edited January 11, 2007 by RD.

[blainetyson]

Thanks for the input!!

The dimension of the tank is 59"(L) X 24"(W) X 28"(H).

I would like this to be the show tank, I will let them spit in the tank, and i would prefer more colorful female over the drab ones.

I would like to get juvies, because i was told it is cheaper that way???

Also do I add all the fish at once (i have been cycling the tank for this just in case) or add them by group?

jvision: I would love to have some shells!!! Right now i only have two large decoration (trying to hide the pumps, it is not working well) and some slate we had laying around. I am getting some more slate brought up from newfoundland, it is free that way!!

Thanks everyone!!

Chantell

[nevchewy]

Should be a nice tank no matter what you put in it!

word of caution... i have kept saulosi and red zebras in the same tank and they have alway fought for alpha male in the tank. Not saying that it will happen for sure... but just a thought.

nev

[RD.]

Chantell - if you decide to go with a more natural look, round river rocks can be found locally (for free) or you can get them quite cheap from commercial landscaping operations. That's your call, just something to think about.

As far as stocking, just keep in mind that even if you have a fully cycled tank waiting, the bio filtration will only be able to handle the bio load that it is currently running off of. IOW, don't add more fish at one time than your bio bacteria can handle. If adding by groups, add the smallest least aggressive species first, and the largest and most aggressive species last.

If you have mega filtration, and don't mind performing large scale weekly water changes once these fish all mature, I would shoot for a total of approx. 40 juvies. This will allow you a bit of wiggle room as they mature, just in case you need to remove any overly aggressive individuals, or if you lose the odd fish along the way. Mbuna do best if stocked to the max, as it will help disperse aggression. Seeing as you don't want any drab females, I would go with 4 monomorphic species that have females with good color, such as Labidochromis caeruleus, Metriaclima estherae, Pseudotropheus socolofi and one more species of your choice, and add 10 of each group, for a total of 40 juvies.

[jvision]

one more species of your choice

Melanochormis cyaneorhabdos

[blainetyson]

So would this work, 10 of each, juvies

Labidochromis caeruleus

Melanochormis cyaneorhabdos

Pseudotropheus saulosi

??

If i can not get all of them as juvies, what would the #'s/ratio be for adults?

So how should i add the fish? All at once, by group or 2/3 at a time??

I am cycling the tank, using the fishless cycle i found on this site. Right now i just have the one filter going (flow rate:2X240ghr) but i plan on getting a canister in the next month or so.

Thanks!!

Chantell

[RD.]

That would be my choice as well Jason.

A nice well rounded mix of color, which should make for a great looking mbuna tank.

Also Chantell, if by chance you do decide to keep any fry, with that mix of species & numbers

there should be very little chance of hybridization.

I would add the yellow labs first to give them some time to settle in & establish themselves before you add the other fish.

I would personally scrap the idea of Pseudotropheus saulosi, as the females will look very similar to the yellow labs, and swap with the M. estherae. The cyano's will give you the dark blue color for the tank.

A good adult ratio would be 3 males, 7 females, but chances are you will have a much easier time finding juvies, vs. sexed semi adults or adults. Add 1 group at a time, starting with yellow labs, then increase the fish load as your bio capacity increases.

Edited January 11, 2007 by RD.

[nevchewy]

I would personally scrap the idea of Pseudotropheus saulosi, as the females will look very similar to the yellow labs, and swap with the M. estherae. The cyano's will give you the dark blue color for the tank.

If you were planning on breeding these fish possibly and selling them... then I would agree.

I have kept a group of Saulosi with a small group of yellow labs and have never had a problem. The Yellow labs are less aggressive compared to the Saulosi but share a similar yellow with the female Saulosi.

the question right now boils down to what colors do you want to have in your tank, and where you can find the fish you are looking for!

if you are planning on going with Cyan's and Labs, make sure you get in contact with African_Fever as he will have the best stock available. There was a member (chloe_close) that had a 90 gal tank full of Cyan's, Labs, and Zebras... it was a very nice looking tank with plenty of color!

Punman also has very nice yellow labs from what I hear.

make sure to pick up a couple BN Plecos as well as Jason suggested... you won't regret it!

nev

Edited January 11, 2007 by nevchewy

[RD.]

My selection of species was for overall aesthetics, not breeding.

yellow-light blue, orange, and dark striped blue. A stunning mix of color I think, but yes,

obviously the overall selection of fish will ultimately be Chantell's decision.

As for BN pleco's, I have never understood why anyone would keep plecos with mbuna that naturally graze algae. I prefer the au natural look of algae on the rocks, and it keeps the fish busy on something other than themselves. But hey, that's just me. :P

Again, that's a personal decision that Chantell will have to make.

FYI - I do have a BN pleco in my planted tank. (no other algae eating species in this tank)

[jvision]

I kept my mbuna tanks well lit, so there was more than enough algae to go around. I found the BNs did a good job of keeping the glass clean while the cichlids did most of their grazing on rocks & shells.