Will this fish mix get along

"Christopher Kollmann" wrote in message
.. .
Interesting. Thank you for the information. I had not realized that
socolofi got that big. Boy, it seems like everything I read about
cichlids is later contradicted by someone else (seen today on
cichlidtank.com: Pseudotropheus demasoni described as "moderately
peaceful," which is not what I've read at all). Maybe C. afra is the
way to go, if I can find them around here. I know you recommended
against Pseudotropheus, but what about Pseudotropheus acei? From what
I've read, they are supposedly fairly peaceful, but I'm beginning to
wonder about the accuracy of my sources. Do you think they would be a
good fit for this tank?

Thanks for all your help.

Chris

Chris,
As for the differing opinions, you'll find them not only online, but
also in some of the more trusted books out there. From reading online, in
books and personal experience, P. demasoni are anything but peaceful. They
are very pretty though. For the P. socolofi and their ability to get larger
than normal in tanks, that comes from Ad Konings and "Malawi Cichlids in
their natural habitat".
The P. acei if you get the species from Ngara are fairly peaceful. That
much I agree with.
They are found in the lake in a sandy area where a lot of trees are fallen
in the water or overhang the water. They form a large community there as
opposed to guarding a specific area. They were the most peaceful
Pseudotropheus I've owned. I can't speak for some of the other acei species
I've seen, because I've never owned them. I don't know how any of the acei
will react in a 55 gallon. Mine were in a 75 when I had them. There's also
the Iodotropheus sprengerae to consider.
Tim
www.fishaholics.org

Hello Netmax and other members,

First time poster. Was pleasantly surprised to find a ng just for
cichlid lovers. Wife bought me a 26g (don't laugh) for Christmas. I
thought it was pretty big but notice that many are talking 55g plus in
this ng. Guess I'll work up to it.

I have just put in 7 cichlids and notice as you pointed out that the
top half is not used too much. I have two yellow Labs, two dolphin
and two zebras and one can't remember. They are just babies now (1"
+). Eventually I want to put in a pleco and small eel or blue
crayfish. Do I have any room to add more with the 26g tank or should
I be satisfied with what I have?

TIA

All the best,

Larry
Southern Ontario

"Larry" wrote in message
...
Hello Netmax and other members,

First time poster. Was pleasantly surprised to find a ng just for
cichlid lovers. Wife bought me a 26g (don't laugh) for Christmas. I
thought it was pretty big but notice that many are talking 55g plus in
this ng. Guess I'll work up to it.

I have just put in 7 cichlids and notice as you pointed out that the
top half is not used too much. I have two yellow Labs, two dolphin
and two zebras and one can't remember. They are just babies now (1"
+). Eventually I want to put in a pleco and small eel or blue
crayfish. Do I have any room to add more with the 26g tank or should
I be satisfied with what I have?

TIA

All the best,

Larry
Southern Ontario

Do you want the good news or the bad news first? ;~) The good news is
that you have started with some of the more interesting and personable
types of fish in the trade. The bad news is that you will soon be
hooked, and within a year, you will look back fondly at your 26g which
will be a quarantine or a fry tank, and be admiring your dolphins
swimming back & forth in their 60 to 100g tank (dolphins or Cyrtocara
moorii get to about 20cm (7-8 inches) and are best kept in groups of
about 5 to 7 fish). They group fairly nicely with Labs which have
similar diets but prefer the lower reaches of the tank (the dolphins will
take to the upper reaches as they mature). Labs are properly kept in
small groups as well. Zebra (some type of Pseudotropheus) can have
nastier dispositions and require more vegetation in their diet. They
will be your 'black sheep' and will probably make that tank feel smaller
than it is for the other occupants.

Trade secret: larger tanks are in many regards, much easier to take care
of than smaller tanks. Personally, my smallest tank which I have
patience to operate is 40g, and I really prefer larger than 60g as this
is when I find the system stabilizes much more easily, jmo.

Please look into cycling *important* as it sounds like these fish were
just dropped into a new tank. They will die or suffer tremendously in
the accumulation of their own waste unless you take aggressive action to
control this while the tank cycles (establishes a colony of bacteria
which converts fish waste into less toxic forms).
http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html

ps: more fish - bad idea, unless you were already cycled, and were just
using this as a grow-out tank, before they were moved into something
bigger in 8 months.
jmho
--
www.NetMax.tk

Thanks for responding. Sounds to me like we had better be running not
walking these babies (dolphins and maybe even the zebras) back to the
fish store.

We TOLD the guy there that we didn't want anything larger than 4"
fully grown but I guess he figured we were amateurs from the get go.
What others will live nicely with the little yellow guys (and not get
huge)?

Larry

On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 13:03:28 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:

The bad news is that you will soon be
hooked, and within a year, you will look back fondly at your 26g which
will be a quarantine or a fry tank, and be admiring your dolphins
swimming back & forth in their 60 to 100g tank (dolphins or Cyrtocara
moorii get to about 20cm (7-8 inches) and are best kept in groups of
about 5 to 7 fish).

While your dolphins might not get to 7 inches, I don't think they would
have much trouble getting well over 4". I would not put medium to large
African cichlids in a 26g. I find that their territory tends to be in
the neighbourhood of 20g, and their tolerance for other fish within their
territory tends to be poor *cough*. Your results might vary with some of
the smaller dwarf species, such as Julidochromis or better yet, some of
the Neolamprologous. A 26g is more for a small community tank of less
aggressive and less territorial fishes. In cichlids, this would be
something from the Apistogramma family (South America, if your tap water
is generally neutral to soft). Do a bit of research and get a few more
poster's advice. This is a hobby with much anecdotal advice and results
will vary considerably. I think I remember www.cichlidrecipe.com having
a recipe for small tanks with Africans if you are set on them (and your
source water is naturally hard & alkaline). That might help you.
--
www.NetMax.tk

"Larry" wrote in message
...
Thanks for responding. Sounds to me like we had better be running not
walking these babies (dolphins and maybe even the zebras) back to the
fish store.

We TOLD the guy there that we didn't want anything larger than 4"
fully grown but I guess he figured we were amateurs from the get go.
What others will live nicely with the little yellow guys (and not get
huge)?

Larry

On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 13:03:28 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:

The bad news is that you will soon be
hooked, and within a year, you will look back fondly at your 26g which
will be a quarantine or a fry tank, and be admiring your dolphins
swimming back & forth in their 60 to 100g tank (dolphins or Cyrtocara
moorii get to about 20cm (7-8 inches) and are best kept in groups of
about 5 to 7 fish).

Quoth ,

Chris,
As for the differing opinions, you'll find them not only online, but
also in some of the more trusted books out there. From reading online, in
books and personal experience, P. demasoni are anything but peaceful. They
are very pretty though. For the P. socolofi and their ability to get larger
than normal in tanks, that comes from Ad Konings and "Malawi Cichlids in
their natural habitat".
The P. acei if you get the species from Ngara are fairly peaceful. That
much I agree with.
They are found in the lake in a sandy area where a lot of trees are fallen
in the water or overhang the water. They form a large community there as
opposed to guarding a specific area. They were the most peaceful
Pseudotropheus I've owned. I can't speak for some of the other acei species
I've seen, because I've never owned them. I don't know how any of the acei
will react in a 55 gallon. Mine were in a 75 when I had them. There's also
the Iodotropheus sprengerae to consider.

OK, you've convinced me to go with L. caerelus, C. afra and S.
multipunctatus. My LFS has the caerelus and multipunctatus (although
the catfish are $50 each!) in stock, and will be getting some afras soon
(now I have to decide *which* afra to get, boy, there are a lot of
them).

LFS guy is recommending overstocking the tank, he claims I should end up
with 20-30 cichlids in a 55 gallon, added 8-12 at a time. Is that a
good idea? The tank is a 55 gallon, with crushed coral and a lot of
rock work, filtered by an Eheim 2126.

Thanks,
Chris
--
Chris Kollmann

"Christopher Kollmann" wrote in message
.. .


LFS guy is recommending overstocking the tank, he claims I should end up
with 20-30 cichlids in a 55 gallon, added 8-12 at a time. Is that a
good idea? The tank is a 55 gallon, with crushed coral and a lot of
rock work, filtered by an Eheim 2126.

Thanks,
Chris
--


Although overstocking is a common method of aggression control, 30 cichlids
in a 55 is too many fish. IMO. I'd stick with 6-8 of each. With the yellow
labids, I'd only do a single male. With the Cynotilapia, I'd do two males
with four to six females. Research the C. afras carefully, as some of them
can be quite aggressive. Depending on where you're located, Pam Chin
typically has C. afra juveniles and hangs out on the forum at
cichlid-forum.com
Tim

"Christopher Kollmann" wrote in message
.. .


Thanks Tim. I knew 30 sounded like way too many. Looks like I've got
some more research to do about the afra. I'm in Boston, planning to get
my fish from Uncle Ned's Fish Factory.

--
Chris Kollmann

Too bad you didn't want to do West Africans. =) I have plenty of kribs you
could drive down to get.
Tim