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230 gallon Africian chiclids


tikka223
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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.

That list looks great. I would like a colorful tank but would also like to witness their breeding habits. Could I have both female and males in my tank and romove the breeding fish at the right time or could I leave them in the tank and remove the fry when they are visible? Thanks for your help. I'm still waiting for our renovations to get done so I have time to ponder. Thanks Shane

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Sure you can do that, but just keep in mind that unless you let the females spit in the tank, you're going to have to catch them before they release their fry. Not an easy task in a tank the size that you have, even IF you have long arms. lol

The more rocks you have, the more difficult it becomes.

If you can provide a list of potential species for your Malawi tank, Kyle (African Fever) and others will be able assist you in any potential cross breeding issues that you might run in to.

Edited by RD.
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Sure you can do that, but just keep in mind that unless you let the females spit in the tank, you're going to have to catch them before they release their fry. Not an easy task in a tank the size that you have, even IF you have long arms. lol

The more rocks you have, the more difficult it becomes.

If you can provide a list of potential species for your Malawi tank, Kyle (African Fever) and others will be able assist you in any potential cross breeding issues that you might run in to.

My arms are short but I have a long net lol. This sounds like it could be an adventure but something I might try. The list of potential species are: Pseudotropheus acei , Labidochromis caeruleus, Pseudotropheus saulosi, Metriaclima estherae, Labeotropheus trewavase, Nimbochromis venustus, Nimbochromis polystigma, Iodotropheus sprengerae,Placidochromis electra. Any additions or possible deletions would be welcome. I have 230 gallons to use but not the money to fill it with fish at once. With time I would like to have a tank "happily" filled. When that time comes I will again bug you for more advice as to what is a "happily" filled tank. Thanks Shane

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I wouldn't get overly hung up on the list posted on cichlid-forum. If you plan on keeping mbuna with larger haps such as nimbochromis etc, just keep in mind that while attempting to provide enough feed for your haps, your smaller mbuna will usually end up with more than their fair share. It can still work, but out of your list I would stick to the yellow labs & acei (due to potential aggression issues from the other mbuna on that list), and then focus on a few groups of haps and/or peacocks. The saulosi would work as well, but the female saulosi are usually fairly similar in color to the labs, so I guess it depends on how much yellow you want in your tank? Also, mixing two groups of breeding nimbos in the same tank wouldn't be a great idea. Try to keep each group of fish as non similar looking as possible to avoid cross breeding, and aggression issues.

Also, there are no hard & fast rules when it comes to aggression levels with these various species. Each fish comes with an individual temperament, and sometimes even species listed as being peaceful, can become hyper dominant & cause serious problems in a tank.

In a tank your size you could provide some rock work for the mbuna, while still allowing a lot of open spaces for the haps.

Here's a potential stocking list that won't break the bank & that has a good chance of working long term.

Feel free to swap out any species that don't appeal to you.

10 yellow labs (sex won't matter too much with this species)

8 acei (3 males & 5 females would be a good mix)

1 male venustus with 3-4 females

1 male S. fryeri with 3-4 females

1 male A. jacobfreibergi with 3-4 females

The chance of cross breeding would be slim, and the haps & peacock would be fairly even on the aggression scale.

Jakes are one of the few peacocks that can hold their own with some of the more aggressive haps. IMO always stock with the least aggressive & smaller species first, and once they are well established introduce the larger more aggressive species. In a stock list such as the one above, I would stock the labs first, then the acei, jacobfreibergi, fryeri, and the venustus last.

I think that your biggest problem is going to be finding groups of juvie fish that are sexable, which means that you will have to start with extra fish, and remove extra males as they mature. Or better yet, watch this forum for members that are looking to sell sexed breeding groups.

There are lots of haps that would work equally well that you can choose from, such as C. moorii, C. borleyi, P. phenochilus,

P. taeniolatus, P. Spilonotus, P. sp. "Steveni Taiwan", etc-etc-etc.

Planning is half the fun, so take your time & have fun! :)

Edited by RD.
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If you want to breed cichlids do so in your 40gal tanks . Way easier to catch females and you won't disrupt the rest of the fish in your 230gal. Plus breeding gets old fast. Breed the yellow labs and later on when you get sick of breeding them and dealing with fry ,and trying to find homes for them you can just put them into the 230gal. When you see an awesome show tank like RD's and compare it to your tank that has 4 or 5 nice males and a bunch of drab looking females you will soon wish you'd gone with an all male tank. Here's an idea of what you can do with 230gal

IMG_2051.jpg

This my 230 gal work in progress.

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LOL, nothing like being brutally honest, Ryan. :lol:

Shane, I can't argue with RDFISHGUY's logic. The day will come that you will curse yourself for mixing females in a 230 gallon tank (ask Ryan about that!), especially when you have to remove 200+ pounds worth of rocks each & every week or two just to catch the latest holding female. You can still have female mbuna, that also have color, and let the male haps & peacocks make a snack out of their fry. In essence you'll have the best of both worlds. :beer:

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Sorry for being so abrasive , I'd just hate to see you waste all of your time and money only to end up right where I'm at.Neil came up with an excellent solution. You will be happier in the long run. Post a list of prospects and members here can help you make some informed decisions . Good luck!

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Sorry for being so abrasive , I'd just hate to see you waste all of your time and money only to end up right where I'm at.Neil came up with an excellent solution. You will be happier in the long run. Post a list of prospects and members here can help you make some informed decisions . Good luck!

You were not abrasive just honest and from what I gather speaking from experience. Your tank looks great and that is what I would like to achieve. Your advice for breeding may happen down the road but for now I want to concentrate on my 230 gallon tank. I have visited a local fish store and found a lady who is very knowleagable about chiclids and as I progress I hope she will stear me in the right direction. I willalso be keeping all who have helped me posted as to my progress. Thanks again Shane

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Just to let you know, I have a 150 Gallon African setup right now, I started with Male Malawi peacocks, then recently added 3 Tangs, leleupi,brachardi and compressips all males, The tangs did raise the agresiveness a little but it's settling down now I just kept lots of hiding places. As far as adding mbuna I personally wouldn't recommend it but there are always exceptions to the rule. Good luck with the setup.

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