Lake specific vs. mixed african tanks.

[Boom]

I had every intention of making my 180 gallon just Lake Malawi, and turning the 55 into Tanganyikan only. But it seems there are always other fish that I want to add that "don't belong". I.e, I have 3 Victorian fish and a tanganyikan (tropheus) that I decided to throw in the 180. I like them in there and despite my intentions for an all Malawi tank, I have no real intent on moving them out!

Likewise for the 55 gallon. I had some extra unsexed white and yellow labs that I was leary to throw in to the all male 180 gallon tank. So now I have those lake malawi fish in my Tang tank, again with little inclination to move them.

So I thought I'd pose the question(s):

How many of you are motivated (stong willed?) enough to keep pure lake specific tanks?

How do you resist the urge to mix?

And I guess the real question, does it matter? (Obvious cross-breeding issues aside.)

I'd love to hear your opinions and anecdotes.

Boom :boom:

[Fishful Thinking]

You know my theory on this, lol. I don't see it as a major issue as long as the fish that are together work. Shell-dwellers with a fusco is not good mixing, but the vics I have work well with haps and the compressiceps are fine too. My tropheus are in single-species colonies, but that is a bit of a different story with their behaviour and breeding etc. If a fish is not working out, move them.

This is not just my theory, but some people with far more experience than myself, k9outfit (Rita) and popeye (Gina) have said the same. And they have been keeping fish for far longer than me.

I guess I should be asking the question--what crazy new fish do you want to buy?!?

[Vallisneria]

I personally don't like mixing lakes but if done properly I think it can be ok. You just have to make sure to choose compatible species and watch out for cross breeding issues.

[Burbot]

Personally I haven't had a problem mixing fish from different lakes when I first starting keeping cichlids 25 years ago (we were all noobs once right?) but in the end there is always something in the back of my mind that just doesn't seem right about mixing cichlids from different lakes.

It is just out of place to see a Front surrounded by Zebras, especailly when there are so many different and exciting species available from each lake there is really no reason to mix. Afterall, you just end up with a glorified community tank once you start mixing hehehe

Ultimately there is only one solution to resisting the urge to mix, MORE TANKS! -roll-

So when are you setting are going to set up a new 180?

Cheers

:beer:

[African_Fever]

I used to mix the lakes when I first started keeping cichlids years ago, but found over time that I was never very fond of the mish-mash that ended up resulting. I prefer to keep colonies of fish that do well together, rather than a few of these and a few of those, and find that for the most part the lake vary so much in behaviour that the fish from one lake will usually thrive over those of the other (most often Malawians outcompete Tangs for food). Vic's I've found do well with Malawians for the most part (though I have nowhere near the experience Patrick has with them), and some Tangs work as well, but for my personal fishkeeping, I'd rather keep them separate if I can.

If I were going for the show tank that you are with an all-male show tank, I probably wouldn't worry too much about combining the lakes, as long as all the fish were healthy, eating well, and aggression wasn't an issue.

[patrick]

I also prefer to keep colonies of fish rather than a few of many different species. I find that their behavior becomes more interesting when they have many of their own species to interact with.

For a show tank I think it's perfectly fine to mix species from the lakes. It is so difficult to know what will work or not though. I have kept Aulonocara kandeense and stuartgranti with both vic's and tangs and it work great. I also know people that keep vic's with mbuna's.

[roypark05]

I can never resist the urge to mix. The best I could do this time around was stick to Africans...I had a nasty habit of mixing Africans and SA/CA's all the time.

[loki]

i love having a lake specific tank. finding tang. cichlids is fun and interesting, there is enough variety that i can resist the urge to mix. on the other hand, i can see the appeal to having a mixed tank. researching and matching fish from different areas can be very rewarding!!

[Boom]

Thanks for the replies and sharing your thoughts guys.

I think I'll see how I like the 55 once I get the Cyps in there and maybe remove the labs to make it a pure Tang tank.

For the 180, I guess I'll be happy that it's MOSTLY lake malawi fish with a few Vics and Tangs thrown in "for good measure".

Merry X-mas.

Boom :boom: