joewilliamsbeard
New Member
Hi, all!
New to the forum and very excited! I've kept various tropical and some more simple marine tanks over the years with mostly success. I've recently started trying to "seriously" keep African cichlids - Miliawi specifically. By serious, I mean that I'm more interested in the quality of their lives than just keeping them alive. I've been curating advice from the usual places for a couple of months and have finally gotten to the point where my aquarium is set up, the water parameters match great, and I've introduced a few cichlids. I've got a 29-gallon with a Labidochromis Ceruleus that I had in a community tank for about a year and two newly purchased "assorted" African cichlids. I chose the assorted because of the price point and the fact that I'm new to keeping them.
I have a Red Tail Shark and six Red Eye Tetras as tank mates. I know that the tetras are a concern and that the shark will get more territorial as he matures. I verified that all species have comparable water parameter requirements, and I'm watching for signs of aggression/stress. I'm prepared to move any or all of them to other tanks when/if needed. I chose them on the advice of some professional hobbyists. I'm trying to figure out exactly what it is that I bought as "assorted". I've narrowed the suspects down to a few possibilities... One, I believe, is either a Demasoni or a Blue Zebra. The other, I believe, is a Red Zebra. I'm hoping the group can help me figure this out. I'd love your opinions or advice on better ways to identify the species/variety. I'd also love to hear any advice on keeping cichlids in general. Thanks, everyone, and happy fishkeeping!!!
New to the forum and very excited! I've kept various tropical and some more simple marine tanks over the years with mostly success. I've recently started trying to "seriously" keep African cichlids - Miliawi specifically. By serious, I mean that I'm more interested in the quality of their lives than just keeping them alive. I've been curating advice from the usual places for a couple of months and have finally gotten to the point where my aquarium is set up, the water parameters match great, and I've introduced a few cichlids. I've got a 29-gallon with a Labidochromis Ceruleus that I had in a community tank for about a year and two newly purchased "assorted" African cichlids. I chose the assorted because of the price point and the fact that I'm new to keeping them.
I have a Red Tail Shark and six Red Eye Tetras as tank mates. I know that the tetras are a concern and that the shark will get more territorial as he matures. I verified that all species have comparable water parameter requirements, and I'm watching for signs of aggression/stress. I'm prepared to move any or all of them to other tanks when/if needed. I chose them on the advice of some professional hobbyists. I'm trying to figure out exactly what it is that I bought as "assorted". I've narrowed the suspects down to a few possibilities... One, I believe, is either a Demasoni or a Blue Zebra. The other, I believe, is a Red Zebra. I'm hoping the group can help me figure this out. I'd love your opinions or advice on better ways to identify the species/variety. I'd also love to hear any advice on keeping cichlids in general. Thanks, everyone, and happy fishkeeping!!!
