Brent1992 Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 So when i got into this hobby I went out and bought a 75 gallon tank and bought all kinda of cichlids. American, river cichlids Africans such as haps peacocks and mbunas I 20 fish now. Now that there starting to mature there's a lot of agression going on. So I separated the peacocks, haps and americans Into my 150 gallon. I know this is pretty had but I got way to excited and bought way to fast before learning about these fish. So my question is what's a good group of mbunas for a 75 gallon tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 For a 75, I personally would stick with the smaller ones - Afra, Saulosi, Yellow labs, and the like - if you want mixed breeding groups (keep to separate genera to reduce the chance of hybridization). Otherwise, if there is one or two that you like, you could get a group of one or two - zebras, socolofi, etc. I know a lot of people who will see 75 as a good size for pretty much any mbuna, and I've seen some very nice male-only displays with a wide range of Rift Lake Africans. Really, the choice is up to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLaferriere Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 Are you wanting a breeding tank or no breeding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent1992 Posted January 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 Well that depends on easy it would be to sell them Breeding them would be really cool! I like the kennyi, yellow labs and demasoni. At the moment I have 8 mbuna and 7 are males I'm pretty sure. I find it hard to tell the yellow labs apart from male to female. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent1992 Posted January 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 Currently I have 1 male kennyi 1 female kennyi 2 male yellow labs 1 female ice blue zebra 1 male snow-white 3 randoms I'm not sure what the randoms are I know they are mbuna. When I bought then they came from a mixed mbuna tank and that guys are the store had no clue what they were. But I'm sure they are males very colorful and have egg spots. Does the egg spots mean they are male? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLaferriere Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 Don't sell fry unless you have only two species in the tank and they are not closely related.Females can have egg spots too. Demasoni and Kenyi is a bad mix. The male demasoni and female kenyi look similar and you'll run into problems. If you want to get into breeding get rid of all the fish you have and start over. I recommend getting at least 12 juveniles of two different species to grow up. Take out any extra males until you have a desired ratio. I like to have 2-3 males because this forces the dominant male to show off his dominance and takes his attention away from the females and onto other males. Also, I like to have 2 females per male at the very least. So 2-3 males with 6-8+ females would be ideal. If you want to breed demasoni you'll want to over crowd them and have approx 20 juveniles to start with. Also you'll need a lot of rock work to break up sightlines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent1992 Posted January 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 I've posted all my fish forsale online. I want to restart this and do it the right way! So if I went with socolofi and a red top afra Would they be a good mix? Am I trying to aim for fish that don't look similar to each other? And let say I go with not breeding any of them are my only options to go with an all male tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent1992 Posted January 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 Here is my setup on the go right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLaferriere Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 Setup looking good. For breeding, if all goes well you'll need two more tanks...a fry tank for newly released fry and a grow-out tank where the older juveniles can go. Secondly, you'll want to choose species that you can get rid of, otherwise you'll be stuck with them. A good idea is to talk with your local fish shop and ask them whether they would take juveniles (1.5"+) and what kind they would want. Typically they want fish with colour as fry and fish that aren't crazy aggressive. If you're selling yourself again you'll want to choose species that you can get rid of and this is even more crucial when selling to other hobbyists. For example, having a large group of standard electric yellows that are mediocre quality will be a hard sell to other aquarists. But if you can get high quality from a reputable breeder/supplier then you're golden. Lastly, don't buy from a local fish store for your breeding stock. Your best bet is to contact reputable breeders/suppliers like "fairdeal" on the forum. Here's a good cookie cutter style stock list for you:Species List #1 (choose one of the following species)-Pseudotropheus cyaneorhabdos (Electric Blue Johannii) 12+ juvies to try to get 2 males 4 females-Pseudotropheus demasoni 20+ juvies and take out any extra males...ideally you'll want 3 males total in the end-Cynotilapia sp. "Hara" 12+ juvies to try to get 2 males 4 females-Cynotilapia zebroides/afra "Cobue" (fairdeal has these) 12+ juvies -Pseudotropheus saulosi 12+ juvies to try to get 2 males 4 females (don't mix with Yellow Labs)-Metriaclima callainos (Cobalt Blues) 12+ juvies-Pseudotropheus acei (fairdeal has these) 12+ juviesSpecies List #2 (choose one of the following species)-Labidochromis caeruleus (either Yellow or White) 12+ juvies-Labidochromis perlmutt (fairdeal has these) 12+ juvies-Pseudotropheus socolofi "albino" (don't mix with Electric Blue Johannii) 12+ juvies-Labidochromis hongi (fairdeal has these, don't mix with Cyno.sp."hara") 12+ juvies-Labidochromis chisumulae (don't mix with Ps. saulosi or Ps. demasoni) 12+ juviesOr you can substitute one species of mbuna for a species of Hap depending on which species of mbuna you decide to keep and what species of Hap you want. Anyways, just a run-down on some ideas. Check Kijiji as well as I remember seeing some of these above fish available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLaferriere Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 Pseudotropheus saulosi in Red Deer, ABhttp://www.kijiji.ca/v-fish/red-deer/saulosi-cichlids-for-sale/1132855552?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 A really nice mix is the Ps. cyaneorhabdos with Lab. caeruleus - dark and royal blue fish mixed with bright yellow, it's an awesome display! And, they won't hybridize. Get a few Valisneria and Java fern in your tank and you'll have a stunning display. Several years ago, we had some stunning stock of each around the province; I'm sure it shouldn't be too hard to find some good quality of both fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent1992 Posted January 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 Yeah the maingano and lAb would be a good a nice group! So let's say I bought 12 of each and weeded out The male to female ratio to a 2:8 And when they breed would they eat there babies if I left them in that tank until sold? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 If you make a rock wall up one corner and fill the gaps with some 2" rock, it should give plenty of cover for fry/juvies... will make it a PITA to get them out, tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLaferriere Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 If you're wanting to keep it as a show tank then decorate it much like Jason suggested. This makes it nearly impossible to catch females or fry but looks cool if you have some fry survive and grow up with the rest. If you want to maximize fry production then sparse decor is better that can be easily removed to retrieve females without too much stress. Best to do this after dark too so the fish are lethargic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent1992 Posted January 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 The reason I'd like to keep Fry in the tank is cause I'm worried I wouldn't sell them. Then what do I do with the little guys? Feed em to the the turtle? Lol Let's say I didn't wanna breed the fish is my option an all male setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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