C
Chuck & Veronica
Guest
Veronica and I enjoy all kinds of fish, but she's particularly drawn to colorfish and enjoys the look of a crowded tank. So it seems natural that we would begin thinking at some point about starting a tank with African Cichlids, particularly Mbuna where it seems to be a strong recommendation to stock heavily.
We're both fairly new to Cichlids, so I'll be relying on the advice of others when we start our Mbuna tank (which will be a mininum of 55 gallons, and preferably 75 gallons). One source of expert advice that I'm looking at is contained in the March 2006 issue of Practical Fishkeeping magazine: "How to Keep Mbuna the Right Way," by Jeremy Gay.
In the article, the author recommends stocking certain species in a specific order (always juveniles and in a ratio of one male to two females). Here's his recommendation:
Labidochromis caeruleus "yellow" (Yellow Labs)
Pseudotropheus acei
Metriaclima estherae (Red Zebra)
Metriaclima callainos (Cobalt Zebra)
This collection shoud make up about 20, he says. These fish are comparatively mild-mannered (for Mbuna Cichlids, that is). After that, he says we can spice up the tank a bit with some species that are a bit more testy:
Melanchromis spp.
Labeotropheus spp.
Metriaclima lombardoi
Pseudotropheus socolofi
Cynotilapia spp.
Pseudotropheus elongatus
So what do you think? Any help from experienced Mbuna keepers would be greatly appreciated!
Chuck
We're both fairly new to Cichlids, so I'll be relying on the advice of others when we start our Mbuna tank (which will be a mininum of 55 gallons, and preferably 75 gallons). One source of expert advice that I'm looking at is contained in the March 2006 issue of Practical Fishkeeping magazine: "How to Keep Mbuna the Right Way," by Jeremy Gay.
In the article, the author recommends stocking certain species in a specific order (always juveniles and in a ratio of one male to two females). Here's his recommendation:
Labidochromis caeruleus "yellow" (Yellow Labs)
Pseudotropheus acei
Metriaclima estherae (Red Zebra)
Metriaclima callainos (Cobalt Zebra)
This collection shoud make up about 20, he says. These fish are comparatively mild-mannered (for Mbuna Cichlids, that is). After that, he says we can spice up the tank a bit with some species that are a bit more testy:
Melanchromis spp.
Labeotropheus spp.
Metriaclima lombardoi
Pseudotropheus socolofi
Cynotilapia spp.
Pseudotropheus elongatus
So what do you think? Any help from experienced Mbuna keepers would be greatly appreciated!
Chuck