tikka223 Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I have just aquired a 230 gallon tank and want to do an Africian chiclid tank. Can you combine Tang. and Malawi chiclids? If so does anyone have suggestions as to what ones and how many I can safely keep? I would like to have as many different species as possible but I do want to have a peaceful tank. All you help or suggestion would be greatly accepted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop Eye Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I have both in one tank.. For me, What I find works is not to have lots of hiding places.. cuz they tend to fight over territories.. and to have a few fish to spread the agresssion around.. other then that.. i havent had any problems with both of them together. alot will dissagree with me .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Mixing can be done you just need to carefully chose the species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikka223 Posted June 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I have both in one tank.. For me, What I find works is not to have lots of hiding places.. cuz they tend to fight over territories.. and to have a few fish to spread the agresssion around.. other then that.. i havent had any problems with both of them together. alot will dissagree with me .. Thanks for your help. I have tried to find peaceful species to combine and have come up with about 20 different species, 10 from each lake so I hope it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikka223 Posted June 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Mixing can be done you just need to carefully chose the species. Thanks again. Do you have any suggestions as to what species are compatiable. I have a list and would like to compare it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 If you get fish that live in different parts of the tank (some like rocks, others open water, etc.) you should be able to get a good mix in a tank that size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 What are the dimensions of the tank? You might want to post your list and let us critique and tweak it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikka223 Posted June 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 What are the dimensions of the tank? You might want to post your list and let us critique and tweak it. The tank is 72"X24"X30". My hopeful list is from Lake Tanganykian: Erermodus cyanostictus,Altolamprologus calvus & compressiceps, Julidochromis regain,Noelamprologus brichardi & leleupi & prochilus & toae, Plecodus straelini, Cyphotiliapia frontosa, Tropheus duboisi & moorii. From Lake Malawi Iodotropheus sprengerae, Labidochromis caeruleus, Melanochromis labrosus, Metiaclima estherae, Aulonocara hansbaenschi & stuartgranti & sp, Cyrtocara moorii, Dimidiochromis strigatus, Lethrinops cf. lethrinus, Sciaenochromis fryeri. The spelling I hope is correct and any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Also, out of the blue could I use Tufa rock in my tank to offset the Mexican bowl rock? thanks again Shane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 Ok, the good news is that the Lethrinops are fairly peaceful. Other than that, your stock list is a recipe for disaster. Even though you have a good sized tank to work with, it's not nearly large enough to pull off that type of set up. You're attempting to do far too much, with far too little, and IMHO most of the fish in that tank would be under constant stress. You need to rework the entire list, and quite frankly my advice would be to go with one lake or the other. Once you get a better feel for what it takes to provide the proper environment for one lake, you can consider adding some fish from the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 In a peacefull african setup I'd suggest Copadichromis "virginalis Gold".http://www.cichlids.ca/subcategory.php?cat=2&scat=4 I happen to have mine in with yellow labs, auratus, kenyii, cyans and johanis. They will soon be separated as some of the more aggressive ones(kenyii, johani) are juvies yet and I'll want a more peacefull habitat for them. So far though they are not picked on or harassed in any way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 (edited) You might want to have a look around at some of the shops or do some asking around as to what's available. A number of your fish from Tanganyika I've never seen even on lists anywhere, and even then I don't think you'd want them (pretty sure Plecodus is a scale eater and would really cause havoc in your tank). I'd have to agree with RD about going with one lake or another; until you've got some experience keeping cichlids from both lakes I wouldn't try combining the two in a single tank. This is probably a good site for some reading to get you started anyways, especially 'Species Recommendations for beginners'. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/introduction_list.php Edited June 10, 2007 by African_Fever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikka223 Posted June 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 You might want to have a look around at some of the shops or do some asking around as to what's available. A number of your fish from Tanganyika I've never seen even on lists anywhere, and even then I don't think you'd want them (pretty sure Plecodus is a scale eater and would really cause havoc in your tank). I'd have to agree with RD about going with one lake or another; until you've got some experience keeping cichlids from both lakes I wouldn't try combining the two in a single tank. This is probably a good site for some reading to get you started anyways, especially 'Species Recommendations for beginners'. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/introduction_list.php Thanks for your information. The link was great and gave me some where to start. All I have to do now is decide which lake to go with first. I will also have to be on the lookout for another large tank for the one lake I don't go with now. I have 2 40 gallon tanks to use so maybe I can start one as a Tang.tank and I think I will start my big tank as a Malawi tank. What quantities of each species to start would you suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikka223 Posted June 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 Ok, the good news is that the Lethrinops are fairly peaceful. Other than that, your stock list is a recipe for disaster. Even though you have a good sized tank to work with, it's not nearly large enough to pull off that type of set up. You're attempting to do far too much, with far too little, and IMHO most of the fish in that tank would be under constant stress. You need to rework the entire list, and quite frankly my advice would be to go with one lake or the other. Once you get a better feel for what it takes to provide the proper environment for one lake, you can consider adding some fish from the other. Thanks for your advice. I think I will try a Malawi tank. I will use the list showen on the chiclid forum to start, but if you have any suggestions I would like to hear them. Thanks Shane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikka223 Posted June 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 In a peacefull african setup I'd suggest Copadichromis "virginalis Gold".http://www.cichlids.ca/subcategory.php?cat=2&scat=4I happen to have mine in with yellow labs, auratus, kenyii, cyans and johanis. They will soon be separated as some of the more aggressive ones(kenyii, johani) are juvies yet and I'll want a more peacefull habitat for them. So far though they are not picked on or harassed in any way. Thanks for your imput. I have decided to go with a Malawi tank so if you have any suggestions I would like to hear them. I will use the list on the Chiclids forum. Tweek it if possible. Thanks Shane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 (edited) Shane, there's a couple of different ways you can approach this. Do you want to have male/female groups of fish that will constantly be breeding, or are you more interested in maximizing color, as in more of a show tank? The former can be very interesting to watch, but requires keeping less species to reduce overall aggression and cross breeding, and many of the female haps, peacocks, & mbuna have drab colored females. The latter won't allow you to witness any of their breeding habits & rituals, but IMO can in many ways be far more peaceful, while allowing one to maximize the number of species, with a tank that contains almost every color of the rainbow. As an example, below is what I have in my 125 gallon all male tank, and overall this is by far the most peaceful Malawi tank that I have had. 3 - Labidochromis caeruleus "Electric yellow" 1 - Copadichromis borleyi (Kadango) 1 - Copadichromis azureus 1 - Protomelas sp. "Steveni Taiwan" (Taiwan Reef) 1 - Protomelas taeniolatus "Red Empress" 1 - Sciaenochromis fryeri 1- Nimbochromis venustus 2 - Placidochromis sp. "Phenochilus Tanzania" 1 - Crytocara moorii 1 - Aulonocara baenschi 1 - Aulonocara jacobfreibergi "Eureka" A total of 14 fish, 9 haps, 2 peacocks, and 3 mbuna. I also have 2 albino Bristlenose plecos in this tank for algae control. Edited June 10, 2007 by RD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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