Suggestions for one species to add to our 65g Malawi tank

[chris_todd]

A couple of months ago, we converted our 65g tank to a lake malawi tank, and picked up a bunch of mbuna from danger_chicken. We since added some cool melanochromis from sonny_disposition. This was our first dedicated cichlid tank.

We've really enjoyed that tank, there's lots of activity and color, but not too much aggression. There's chasing, but it's more like they're playing tag than what I would call agression, and that's just the way we like it (my girls wouldn't like it if fish were really beating up on each other, LOL).

We'd like to add one more species with a different color scheme, though, and wanted some suggestions, keeping in mind that we want something of similar temperment. While we've browsed cichlid-forum and numerous books and other websites, we thought we would ask the CCA membership the following question:

What would you add to our tank to give it some different colors?

Here's the tank's current contents:
Four cobalt zebras (all about 4-5" TL)
One large Red-top zebra (probably 8" TL, and fat, clearly the BMOC of the tank, LOL)
Six Melanochromis cyanorhabdos (maybe 3" TL, who have been taking on a very nice purple-ish tinge lately)
One pseudotropheus socolofi (~5" TL)
Eight or so Yellow lab younguns (1-2" TL)
Plucky, the 12" common pleco

Currently, the tank has PVC caves, some rocks, some plants, and ecocomplete for substrate, though we'll be changing that to pool filter sand in the next couple of weeks.

So we'd like something different, around 4-5" TL or less, not overly aggressive, but not shy hiders either.

There are no wrong answers, so throw out some suggestions!

 

[SubMariner]

You can add the following Mbuna's:

Metriaclima sp. " Membe deep "
Rusty Cichlid
Albino Pseudotropheus
Pseudotropheus demasoni
Red Zebra's
Cynotilapia Afra Cobue
Labidichromis Hongi
Pseudotropheus Salousi
Pseudotropheus acci

But no Aurotus please...

Good Luck Chris.))

 

[chris_todd]

Thanks for the suggestions, Richard! Those are all pretty cool looking fish.

I like the look of the Pseudotropheus demasoni, and IIRC, they're widely available in the club (doesn't Pat breed them?). The cichlid-forum profile suggests they are highly aggressive, though - think they'd fit in in our tank?

The Cynotilapia afra Cobue, P. saulosi and P. acei are nice, too.

We had seen the rusty cichlid and thought those might be nice - about the right size, peaceful, and the rust/purple combination sounds attractive. Does anyone in the club breed those?

Richard, I know you keep a lot of peacocks, which are certainly colorful - in general, can you mix mbuna and peacocks?

 

[danger_chicken]

I had some rusty's with them and they looked great. I got them from Kevin & Wendy Beaudean (kbeaudean), I don't know if they are still breeding them. AE has them most of the time I go there. I also had some peacocks with them with no problems.

 

[F8LBITE]

I think a small school of Aceis would look nice and would stay in the top of the tank while your mbunas would hang out near the rocks.

 

[YSS]

That's a lot of fish for a 65G tank. I really don't think you have enough room to add more fish. Once your fish get bigger, you may have to remove some fish.

 

[chris_todd]

That's a lot of fish for a 65G tank. I really don't think you have enough room to add more fish. Once your fish get bigger, you may have to remove some fish.

It certainly is well-stocked, that's true, and you may well be right that tank is over-stocked. But it actually had more fish before we sold the six or seven adult yellow labs. And if/when the yellow lab juvies breed, we'll probably keep the fry and sell the adults again.

The tank has an AquaClear 110 (bio only), a rena filstar XP3 (bio, sponge, and filter floss), and we do twice weekly 50% water changes, so we've never had a problem with ammonia or nitrites, and with the water changes, our nitrates don't get above about 15 ppm (we have 10 ppm in our tap water).

I wouldn't mind getting rid of Plucky, but every time I've posted "Who wants a 12" common pleco" here, on PVAS, or on GWAPA, the only response I get is the cound of crickets, LOL!

 

[SubMariner]

Crickets...Crickets... LOL!!! That was funny))

I think your fine as far as the filtration and the bio load.

As for who is breeding what, I would suggest you look in our BAP section to see what our club has been doing. I think Danger is right on the Rusty's being breed by Kevin/Wendy, but they are not the only one's that are breeding them in our club. I can't remember right now who that other person was, but Rusty's are a great fish.

Even though the Demasoni Mbuna is a beautiful looking Mbuna, there might be a problem with your Melanochromis Johanni because they tend to look similar in color. Typically, the African's with the same color tend to have issues with each other and will fight.

Nevertheless, I believe there is a club member who is breeding them on consistent basis right now and there is always a bag for sale at our auctions. Otherwise, if I'm not mistaken, House of Tropicals might have some Demasoni or Exotic Aquatics. Give them a call before you drive up there.

Jose is right about the Acci's, they're a great looking fish and do get along with the yellow labs. Nonetheless, the only peacock I would recommend for your tank that would be able to handle the aggression from your Mbuna would be either a Maleri or Benga Peacock.

However, they are the most aggressive Peacock that I have seen besides a BiColor Peacock that could handle those colorful Mbunas. The referenced Aulonocara species that I was talking about have a bright yellow color and are stunning. Remember, make sure they are at least over 2 inches in size if you put them in that tank, that way they'll be safe.

Salousi are an awesome fish too, but they can be really aggressive at times and can cause conflict in the tank. You can try to get away with the Demasoni in your tank because I know your kids will love them. Reason being, they kind of look like Nemo if you know what I mean.

Good Luck and keep us up to date,


RM

 

[chris_todd]

Thanks again, Richard! Sounds like the rusties are our best bet. We'll probably give it some more thought and wait until after the holidays to go looking around. I PM'd Kevin/Wendy, and they don't have any ATM.

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

Yeah, you have a lot of blue and yellow going on in that tank, so the rusty's or red zebras would give it more color if thats what you're looking for. Your filtration is good for a crowded tank, but with Africans you have to keep it crowded to prevent any homicides. I think ruby reds would be another ok peacock to go with, they seem to hold their own against mbuna. FYI, Bill (fischfan13) brought down a bag of rusty's to the last auction, so I think he is breeding them at the moment. I think Exotic Aquatics does stock them usually as well. Good luck with the addition!

 

[hollyfish2000]

My ruby reds have always been wimps, so I personally wouldn't add one of those to the current mix. The Eureka Reds tend to be more aggressive and might hold their own if you're looking for red coloration.

BTW, I've had poor luck adding a single fish to an existing, established peacock/hap tank (and I'd think it would be even more problematic in a mbuna tank.) So it's something to consider. If you go with rusties or p. acei, you might want to consider adding three at one time to help the newcomers avoid a concentration of "hey -- who are you!!??" type attention . . .

 

[chris_todd]

BTW, I've had poor luck adding a single fish to an existing, established peacock/hap tank (and I'd think it would be even more problematic in a mbuna tank.) So it's something to consider. If you go with rusties or p. acei, you might want to consider adding three at one time to help the newcomers avoid a concentration of "hey -- who are you!!??" type attention . . .

Yeah, we've seen some of that already - we added one rusty, and while he has acclimated fairly well, he does seem to get chased a good bit. Then again, most of the chasing is from the red top zebra who has lately become a bully in the tank, chasing just about everybody, and even fin nipping Plucky, the 12" pleco. He's considerably larger than any other fish in the tank, and since he's causing a good bit of discord, we're considering getting rid of him. Our only concern is whether removing his aggression might unmask otherwise suppressed aggression in the other species in the tank. I suppose we'll only find out if we remove him, though.

Anyone want to trade a few rusties for a big (7"+ TL, and probably 1.5-2" in girth) red top zebra?